GREAT CLASH AWAITED

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23493, 22 November 1941, Page 9

GREAT CLASH AWAITED

CHURCHILL REVIEWS DEVELOPMENTS BRITISH ADEQUATELY EQUIPPED (Received November 21, 7 p.m.) (U.P.A.) LONDON, November 20. News is awaited of a big tank battle in the Western Desert. The Prime Minister (Mr Churchill) indicated this in a short statemept made to. the House of Commons. He revealed that the British attack took the enemy by surprise, and said that already the British and Empire forces had gained positions of advantage, and the attacking army was now favourably situated for a ■ trial of strength with the enemy. Mr Churchill declared that the object of the attack was not so much the taking of territory as the destruction of the enemy’s army, and especially of his armoured forces. Speaking of the general advance at dawn. on Tuesday, Mr Churchill said that very heavy and exceptional rain hampered the movement of the British forces, which had a great distance to cover. The rain was heavier along the coastal area than in the desert, and 1 might prove more harmful to the enemy than to the attacking army. He did not know whether the trial of strength with the enemy had begun or if it had taken place, and it was far too soon to indulge in any general speculation. Importance of Victory “One thing is certain," he added, “and that is that all the ranks of the British and Empire troops involved will fight with the utmost devotion, realising the part which a British victory ,in Libya will play on the whole course of the war. “The operations are proceeding according to plan. This offensive has been long and elaborately prepared. We waited for nearly five months in order that the army should be well equipped with all the weapons that have made their mark in this war. “If, in this case, the enemy’s armour is destroyed or seriously defeated, and his air power dominated, the plight 6f his infantry and artillery, crowded in the coastal regions, will evidently become serious. The object of the British and Empire offensive is not so much to occupy this or that locality, but the destruction of the prmy, and primarily the armoured forces, of the enemy. “One thing is certain—British and Empire troops are animated by the long pent-up and ardent desire to engage the enemy, feeling, as all do, that this is the first time we have met the Germans at least equally well armed. i Conditions for Battle “There is nothing in the world like the war conditions prevailing in the Libyan Desert, in which swift, farranging movements are only possible by extraordinary use of armour, air power, or the power ot mechanisation. “Conditions in many respects are like those of a sea war. An encounter, when achieved, is like the clash of fleets and flotillas, and, as in a sea battle, all may be settled one way or the other in the course of a few hours. “For this purpose, the army in the Western ipesert took up preliminary station on a broad front from the sea to the Jarabub oasis, and all was in readiness at nightfall on Monday. "Our army made contact with the enemy outposts at many points on Tuesday, and it seemed certain that the enemy was completely surprised.” FINAL STAGE IN ABYSSINIA Italians Trapped At Gondar FOOD SUPPLIES LOW (Received November 21, 9.20 p.m.) LONDON, November 20. The capture of Venticinque by a famous British regiment is reported in an Eastern Command communique dealing with operations in Abyssinia. It adds that the enemy attempted to recapture Venticinque, but was repulsed. “Our forces, advancing from the direction of Om Agar, captured two posts near Ambazzo and Janahoi, causing the enemy to evacuate them and fall back towards Gondar,” it adds. “All the important Kamant chiefs have now joined our forces. “Several machine-gun posts in the enemy’s main positions were destroyed by direct hits from our guns.” _ Daily communiques from Nairobi recording the various moves in the campaign against Gondar, where the last Italians in Abyssinia have taken a stand, have mentioned the capture of positions which must be visualised on the map as a'whole to see the plan of encirclement which is being systematically pursued. The “Manchester Guardian” states: “In the last fighting season, guarded by its site among high, sharp mountains rising to 9000 feet and more, and then by the rains, Gondar is now encircled, and is being steadily approached from six different points. “The complete encirclement began only a few days ago, with the cutting off of communications with Lake Tsana where, on tne Gorgora Peninsula, another body of isolated Italians still holds out. “Towards the end of September, Wolchefit, its northern outpost, surrendered to our columns advancing from Asmara. The loss of the Lake Tsana road will not make the defence of Gondar any easier, for the lakt fish, which were an important part of the garrison’s food, came by that road. “There are many desertions and the firm hand of General Nasi is said to be losing its hold. “The territory remaining to him is not narrow—it stretches 25 miles to the west, for instance—and it is the kind of country easier to defend than to attack. But supplies, except munitions, are low.” CO ORDINATION OF PRODUCTION DUTCH EAST INDIES AND AUSTRALIA (Received November 21, 8 p.m.) CANBERRA, November 21. The Minister for Supply (Mr J. A. Beasley) has ordered the Supply Department to prepare plans to dovetail secial production orders from the Netherlands East Indies with Australia’s own production of war materials and civil supplies. Mr Beasley’s decision followed a conference with the Netherlands East Indies Purchasing Mission, members of which said the Netherlands East Indies Government was eager to establish a permanent purchasing office in Australia. At oresent Australian factories are producing munitions and other equipment for Australian military and civil needs the New Zealand Government, and the Eastern Group Supply Council at Delhi. Continuity of production is not always maintained in these industries, and the Netherlands East Indies Mission suggested that in slack times production should be swung over to the fulfilment of Dutch requirements. This could allow an uninterrupted manufacturing programme !in Australia and enable the Netherlands East Indies to obtain urgently[heeded munitions and other supplies.