ADVANCE INTO THE DESERT

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23494, 24 November 1941, Page 5

ADVANCE INTO THE DESERT

COLUMNS 100 MILES LONG TRAVEL BY NIGHT IN FINAL STAGES (N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent) CAIRO, November 22. Feelings- like none we experienced before possess us as our wheels- roll westwards. We are moving deliberately to war. We feel as if the opening shots of the big battle will be fired with precalculated timeliness: as if someone will blow a whistle and the battle will begin, like a football r .itch, with everyone excited but nobody surprised. More than five days out from the old positions, we are now withing striking distance of the enemy; yet those sensations still persist. It is not like Greece or Crete, where we had to wait for the enemy to make the first move—this time the initiative so far is ours. They told us days ago we were going on exercises and it still seems so, even though we doily expect attack and possibly opposition on the ground itself. The steady westward movement of the great land force of which we form part has been wonderfully smooth on the whole. Our mobility and supply organisations may yet prove to be our surprise weapon. New Zealanders have practised desert moves hardly less assiduously than desert battles nhd this day-to-day diary tells how the practice was put to the test the first day. For the third successive day vehicles bearing New Zealand insignia crowded westward along the coastal highway from morning until dark. Each column was nearly 100 miles long—loo miles of clanking armoured vehicles, rumbling lorries, bouncing gunwheels and roaring motor-cycles not very long off the assembly lines in American and British factories. “Then Back Home” It is hard to say why the New Zealand troops seemed the happiest on the way to battle; but the men I am with are reacting as they should if heading homewards. Perhaps it is because every new campaign may mean a step towards the family fireside. Perhaps it is explained in the typical slogan I heard: "Benghazi, Brindisi Berlin, then back home.” Our force is completely awheel, for even the infantry nowadays rides most of the way to battle on heavy-auty tyres; the vehicles are laden with all the materials of desert warfare and we jettison the bush furniture with which we had made dugouts homely. Since now onwards, we are down to essentials. We moved to strict time-tables and by flag signals through the assembly areas and past checking points. . The second day, we were somewhere along the road between Mersa Matruh and Siwa. The Mediterranean is out of sight but, thinking of the limited water ration, we promise ourselves to meet i* soon again on the Libyan beaches. Spreading over 40 square miles, the whole New Zealand force is congregated here. Nearly 200 miles of gently undulating country stretches before us to the frontier. Like Convoy At Sea Between two chilly nights we rest in the open, while the next leg of the jgurney is reconnoitred. I notice that a black and white dog mascot evacuated from Greece, is with his brigade, and happy too. On the third day thousands of vehicles moved off as one, as the New Zealand forces headed westwards in desert formation. The whole desert is our highway and our front is miles wide. _ There is no better description of this spectacle than comparison with a huge wartime convoy of ships at sea. Compass bearings keep us on course; mobile anti-aircraft guns and field artillery are the counterparts of escorting destroyers and fighters keep watch above. But never was a sea convoy as big. as this. Our desert ships extend to the horizon’s flat rim and far beyond. We halt in the darkness, but there is hot stew waiting—prepared at breakfast time, and kept warm in hot-boxes. We live on preserved food now and water is precious though ample. Half a mugful must do for a shave and wash, if at all. For the fourth and fifth days, we move only at night, as the frontier draws steadily nearer. By day we shroud the vehicles in camouflage nets and doze in shallow trenches. Cold, dusty winds blow and we are glad to be in battle dress. Except for •office staffs, signallers, supply waggon drivers and reconnaissance parties, we are at a standstill until dusk. ‘ Last night we thought for a moment the battle had'burst over our heads. Blinding flashes filled the cloudy western sky as a tropical thunderstorm spent its fury somewhere in the distance. The convoy closes m at nightfall again, like ships at sea. All you see is the black bulk -of vehicles ahead and around you and the noise is like the thunder of heavy surf on a rocky coast. You climb escarpments, and drop into hollows with the motion of a ship bucking a choppy tide. You hear the driver fling purple curses at a neighbour who swings too close. But you get there in the end and the enemy is much nearer. ITALIAN FORCES SURRENDER BRITISH ATTACK IN ABYSSINIA WAY OPEN FOR ATTACK ON GONDAR (8.0. W.) RUGBY, November 22. Further progress toward the capture of the last remaining Italian stronghold in Abyssinia at Gondar is reported in a joint communique issued by the Army Command and Air Headquarters in Nairobi. r . The communique states: Strong enemy positions at Kulkaber and Ferroaber east of Lake Tsana were heavily attacked on Friday, and the Italians surrendered at 3 p.m. Our ground attacks were greatly assisted by heavy raids by both the South African Air Force and the Royal Air Force on enemy positions on Thursday, and by successful air support on Friday. “The capture of Kulkaber on the road to Gondar leaves the way open for an attack on the main defences, 10 miles south of the city. East African troops, together with patriots, attacked at dawn over precipitous country towards the summit of Kulkaber, where the enemy was in a strong position honey-combed with trenches and well defended by machine-guns and artillery. , , . “Our attacking force, after heavy fighting, reached its first objective but was compelled by enemy shelling to withdraw. Later, the column reformed and captured the position. All the troops behaved magnificently, the patriots showing great courage in hand-to-hand fighting. “Our attack was effectively supported by artillery, and towards 3 p.m. many white flags appeared on the hills to show that all was over. The prisoners numbered 800 Italians and 1000 natives, and include Colonel Ugolini, commanding the garrison. “The casualties are not yet known, but the numbers were certainly heavy. Colonel Ugolini stating that many of his men were killed in intensive air attacks on Friday. “On the northern sector, our forces advancing down the Omager-Gondar road completely surrounded the Italian garrison at Cirda, while in other sec- ! tors our troops continue to harass the ' enemy.”