The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Sun. MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1941. DECISION IN LIBYA

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 302, 22 December 1941, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Sun. MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1941. DECISION IN LIBYA

A I'TF.U n beginning in which hopes were pitched too high, and then ;i period of uncertainty in which there were critical days, the Libyan c;inip;ii.i:n seems now, hcvond doubting, to be advancing towards victory, li has been ;i hard campaign, and it is not over yet, for though Rommel's forces have been greatly weakened and are retreating fast, it is not

asserted that thev arc incapable of making another stand. They may still receive strong air reinforcements via Italy. But the fact which

stands out is that the main trial of strength has been decided. Our forces launched the offensive which it was Rommel's part to smash. If he had succeeded in "knocking out" the British tank forces the movement now would be eastward, and Suez would be in deadly peril. But the movement is westward. Tobruk has been relieved. Sidi Omar, Sidi Uezegh, El Adem. Gazala and the other localities which were the centres of furious fighting are now behind our forces, which have occupied Derna and El Mekili and now, once again, are advancing fast toward P.enKasi. Remembering Mr. Churchill's warning that the destruction of the enemy, and not the occupation of localities, is of real importance in desert fighting, we shall not attach too much importance to names on the map, but it is clear that Rommel is retreating fast because he can do no other. Whether and where he will make another stand cannot be said, but his plight is grave. When the offensive began one British force pushed across the desert from Jarabub and was later reported to have reached the coast south of Bengasi. That force, we may expect, will now play its par: in the task of cutting off and encircling the retreating enemy.

If the whole Afrika Korps is lost, and with it the last of Ijie Italian empire, it will be a heavy blow to Axis prestige, which is mostly German prestige, and Axis strategy. Knowing our German enemy, as we should do by now, we may be sure that he is preparing a counter-stroke. Hitler will not be driven from Africa without a further struggle. Somehow, he must try to retain a hold, not only to "tie down" British forces, but also in order that he may continue to hamper the exercise of British sea power in the Mediterranean. Hence the attention lately given to reports of fuller French "collaboration," involving German occupation of French bases in North Africa, and the use of the French fleet. That the Germans have some such purpose need not be doubted; the doubt concerns the degree of French acquiescence. If General Auchinleck succeeds in cutting off and destroying Rommel's force he will presumably do what it was not possible for General Wavell to do—advance into Tripolitania and to the borders of Tunisia. Then, or before then, the Germans may succeed in persuading the Vichy Government that French territory is endangered, and that French troops and even the French fleet should be used to defend it. The possibility cannot be discounted, after the experience in Syria. * But other factors may influence the Vichy Government. Its "collaboration" to date has been based on its belief that the ultimate victor in the war will be Germany. How strong is that belief now— since the failure of the German armies to capture Moscow, and entry into the war of the United States? France, Spain, Portugal, Turkey— ali will be influenced by these two great events, and possibly strengthened in their resistance to German demands. This is not to say that Germany will not, if other means fail, break down their resistance by force. But Germany's way is harder now, and General Auchinleck's army, including our New Zealand Division, has done much to make it harder.