TROOPS OUTRAN SUPPLIES

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 95, 16 January 1943, Page 5

TROOPS OUTRAN SUPPLIES

Position In Tunisia

TUNIS NEARLY TAKEN IN FIRST RUSH (By Telegraph.—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (Received January 15, 9.30 p.m.) LONDON, January 14.

History will soon show how nearly the First Army came to taking Tunis in one rush, states “The Times” Tunisia correspondent in the first connected review of the campaign. “Some weeks ago,” he said, “some of our troops in the forward areas were down to their last day’s rations and were nearly as low in ammunition. This was the result of our extremely and unexpectedly rapid advance in the early stages, when operations outran supplies. It was considered policy to take that risk in the hope of seizing Tunis, but Tunis was not taken, The troops were left out in front with the supply services labouring to catch up. The North African roads have been neglected since June, 1940. The First Army arrived to find that troops and supplies must be carried 500 miles over an inadequate and badily-maintained road system. Bridges had to be repaired and strengthened for the huge army of vehicles. Scores of miles of road surface had to be relaid and much widening was necessary. Bridges almost always were single track and for that reason many duplicate bridges and approaches had to be built. “All sorts of problems arose. Quarries had to be reopened with Arab labour, but the Arabs are not much interested in money wages, but they badly needed clothes, so battledress is being dyed for them. The French have given all the help they could, but the main burden has fallen on the sappers and pioneers. . “The way they attack urgent jobs is a sight for sore eyes. They built a bridge over the Mejersa River with two approach roads within four days. The Germans blew out a 100 ft. span in another bridge and the sappers replaced it within a few hours. The sappers also have to maintain aerodromes and construct new ones. "The lack of aerodromes close to the front has been one of our main problems. The chief trouble is the unsuitability of the soil, which swells when wet and cracks as it dries. The sappers are overcoming the difficulty and new airfields are already under way, though it is useless to expect instantaneous results.”