ARMY CORPS DRIVE TOWARD DERNA.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 81, 5 April 1941, Page 10

ARMY CORPS DRIVE TOWARD DERNA.

GERMAN CLAIM. Large Force Of Highly Mechanised Troops. T'nilrrl Press Asem-liiliun.— OpjTlghr. (Reed. 3 p.m.) LONDON", April 4. According to a military spokesman in Cairo there is not the slightest causes for anxiety over the. 105.3 of I icnpra.^i. "Lot. tin , (irrmnni emue as far as they liko." he i-sii<l. "We lire choosing our nun battlefield*. ;is we tiid when j lira/iani advanced in lilt , autumn. It would liM\o .-uitrd iir. hotter mid caused less trouble if Mf weir able to defeat the Italian Army mi the Kgyptian frontier instead of trekking to Bengasi. I'yrenaiea, if anything. i« a liability. We would have been hnppy to defeat the eiieiny fit Solium instead of Bengasi. The Pret-s Association's Middle Kil.-t correspondent sirs that (ieneral Wavell is quite confident of coping with I lie situation. A Berlin report says that a German Army Corps lias begun n drive towards Deriw. Military circles in Berlin state that tlie offensive will be carried through lit considerable speed. The German force in North Africa is believed to comprise tour divisions of crack troops, fully nicehaniscd and equipped with the latest weapons. Element of Surprise. Soine British newspapers are astonished at the loss of Bengasi, and interpret it ae a political victory that may help Hitler's Balkans campaign. The "Daily Herald" *ay<s: "The loss ■ of Bengasi i" a 'most unpleasant shock tor which the public was not prepared. We had no indication that fierman forces in North Africa were sufficiently strong to reverse the most important ' victory of the Libyan campaign. Britain won more than half of Libya by surprise, and now British forecn have 'been surprised." The "Evening Standard." eay«: "The flerman army massed on the frontiers of Greece and Yugoslavia might march at any moment. Its goal is Salonika. The German force in Libya must at lca>t provide a diversion from the major campaign by preventing us giving our full attention to the Balkans battle." The '"News Chronicle" save*: —"Our forward position appears to have been so lightly held that withdrawal was inevitable as soon ae the enemy appeared in strength. It was a mistaken decision and contrary to General Wavell's theory of offensive not to have marched on from Bengasi to Tripoli." - "* i