Allied Positions At El Adem And Sidi Rezegh Evacuated

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXX, Issue 13671, 19 June 1942, Page 5

Allied Positions At El Adem And Sidi Rezegh Evacuated

Ip , H vRMY fights hard to stop enemy 1 rM)V i surrounding fortress

London, June 18. "Ritchie 's Bth Army is now fighting bitterly to stop the :ra f rom surrounding Tobruk. Our positions have been fO T!t El Adem and Sigi Rezegh. I \rniv is now standing on the perimeter of the main f Tobruk and is trying to stop the Axis forces from Von the fortress. ' esDonderit [joints out that as a result of our further C ° r f- Tobruk is now more exposed but when the last news ISilh the road to the east was still open. JL J no late news from Acroma. • ■ there has been no direct attack on Tobruk s defences. ,;«fullv occupied at present in coping with our mobile „< in the desert. ' meS sages point out that our recent withdrawals must f' their proper perspective. When our positions at Gazala ■' fp n at»le it was obviously the best move to fall back from ftTTobruk. The main forces of the Bth Army are intact bile It* the Germans had been quicker in following up our rival from Gazala it might have been a different story. Tip R A.F. continues to make effective attacks on enemy The airfield at Tmimi was attacked and enemy aircraft J ground smashed up. Raids were also made on objectives

The seriousness of the situation in Libya is emphasised by Lonnewspapers. It is undeniable that we. have suffered a very L reverse, says the Daily Telegraph's military correspondent, lie considers it doubtful whether we can maintain any defengposition west of Solium. Whether we shall attempt to hold 4- as an isolated outpost remains to be seen. Probably we ;decide not to do so. t The Times' military critic describes the situation as ugly, and Daily Express' military correspondent says something has gone I* and Rommel has made dangerous gains. More British ress'are inevitable. Factors which seem to account for this at •temporary turn of the tide are: (1) The air superiority was -ted from the R.A.F.; (2) Rommel's preponderance of heavy Is;and (3) Rommel's many 88 which are heavier than ;field piece we possess. These factors gave Rommel superior fire-power, which he kept eealed until lie was able to exploit it to the the maximum by surl We must hope that Rommel so dissipates his strength that iirtlier advance is possible this summer. The fact remains, howr,the battle is no longer on equal terms.