OASIS CUT OFF

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 10, 13 January 1941, Page 8

OASIS CUT OFF

ITALIAN FORCE TRAPPED

IMPORTANT AIR RAID

LONDON, January 12. The latest news from Libya is that an Italian garrison is cut off in. an oasis in the desert. The Italians, thought to number nearly a brigade, are trapped in the oasis, and cannot hope to join Marshal Graziani's main force along the coast. The oasis is 150 miles due south of Bardia and close to the Egyptian border, and General Wavell's rapid advance along the Libyan coast has isolated it. Cairo military authorities are quoted as saying that it is only a matter of time before the oasis is captured by the British. The British encirclement of Tobruk is being strengthened, and the town and garrison are now threatened with the same fate as Bardia. The British preparatory work' at Tobruk, referred to in an earlier Cairo communique, consists in mounting gun batteries in commanding positions around the town. It is also revealed that our troops are moving into new positions along the approaches to Tobruk under the cover of aircraft protection. In the bombing of the Italian sea- j plane base of Bomba, the Royal Air i Force has struck a decisive blow. This! important base is about 50 miles from Tobruk. The Italian air staff have always held a very high opinion of the use of seaplanes in Mediterranean operations, and a large number of seaplanes were based on Bomba.