HAMMERING ENEMY'S BIG SUPPLY BUSES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 279, 25 November 1941, Page 7

HAMMERING ENEMY'S BIG SUPPLY BUSES

AIR OFFENSIVE

British Artillery Command

Bottle-Neck

Rec. 2 p.m. LONDON. Nov. 24. Gambut. which the New Zealanders have captured, was probably the largest Axis supply base eastwards of Gazala. The whole of the vicinity was dotted with petrol, ammunition and food dumps. It was improbable that the Germans were able to remove any of these supplies.

The New Zealanders now control all the roads from Gambut. It is thought their object is to join up with the force from Tobruk. It is emphasised that the enemy is not endeavouring to extricate his forces at present, but is fighting with determination to find out which side is superior. The New Zealanders are moving rapidly under improved weather conditions.

British artillery has been brought up to command the bottle neck between the Tobruk forces and those advancing northwards, which are steadily narrowing the gap, reports the Daily Telegraph Cairo correspondent. The fighting has now shifted slightly south eastward of Sidi Rezegh.

More and more infantry are being drawn into the battle, and are somewhat stabilising the fighting, though this will not be fully apparent for a further 24 hours.

Going "Hell for Leather"

The military spokesman in Cairo stated that the infantry were going "hell for leather" and were proving their ability to outwit the German tactical experts. They were out to break the myth about German invincibility.

Further successful operations in support of our offensive in Libya were carried out by our aircraft on Sunday," states to-night's R.A.F. Middle East communique. "In the battle area our fighters were particularly active and five Junkers 87s, five Messerschmitts 109s and one GSO were shot down. Many enemy dive bombers and fighters were severely damaged.

"Low level machine-gunning attacks were made on enemj' aircraft on the ground in the Baree area, where fo\ir Savoia 79s were destroyed. Another Savoia 79 was shot down by our fighters in an unsuccessful attempt by the enemy to raid one of our landing grounds. Cooperating with the Imperial land forces, R.A.F". and S.A.A.F. bombers made a series of raids on enemy tanks, motor transport and personnel in the battle zone. Direct hits were obtained on armoured fighting vehicles and motor transport in the Bir el Gobi area, where our bombers shot down one Messerschmitt 109. The road from El Adorn to Bir el Gobi was also heavily bombed. Further concentrated raids, in which a squadron of Free French bombers took'an active part, were carried out in the vicinity of El Adem.

"On Saturday night our bombers raided the aerodromes at Benina and Berca. At Benina a large fire was started in aerodrome buildings and considerable damage was done to petrol installations. At least one enemy aircraft was seen to burst into flames on the ground. At Berca direct hits were scored on buildings, motor transport on a dispersal area and bomb dumps. Fires and explosions were observed.

"Other bombers were active over Tripoli and Gazala. At Gazala a large petrol dump was destroyed." British Tanks Too Tough In an attempt to overcome the advantage of the British tanks' superior armour the Germans have thrown into the battle hastily devised mobile artillery, says the British United Press correspondent with the Bth Army. The Germans are stripping the armour from some of their heavy tanks and mounting guns on the tank frame, hoping that the increased fire-power will make up for the loss of "protection. British officers report that these lumbering gun-carriers are easy meat for the fast manoeuvrable cruiser and American tanks. The correspondent of the Associated Press of Great Britain says the New Zealand patrol which entered Bardia found the stronghold evacuated. South African infantry, supporting tank columns, cleaned up several Italian formations with the bayonet and grenades.