DESERT EXPLOIT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 38, 14 February 1941, Page 7

DESERT EXPLOIT

GROUP IN LIBYA

ENEMY SABOTAGED

NEW ZEALANDERS TAKE PART

LONDON, February 13

A remarkable story of a longrange desert group has i just been revealed by Reuters special correspondent with the British Imperial Forces in Libya. As soon as Italy entered the war this desert group set out from Cairo and penetrated hundreds of miles into the desert of southern Libya probing the secrets of Italy's defences and sabotaging her preparations.

The desert group, was commanded by a famous explorer of the Libyan desert. It carried its own supplies, destroyed enemy transport, stormed and captured isolated Italian forts, blew up ammunition dumps, and burnt enemy aircraft on the ground.

The operations of this force, were carried out over a radius of some 700 miles south of the oases of Jarabub and Siwa, and most valuable information was sent by them to British headquarters in Cairo. The vanguard of the group, which consisted of one British officer, five New Zealanders, and two light cars of the Royal Armoured Corps, set out into the desert, some 800 miles long and 150 miles wide, in the sweltering heat of the August sun. They penetrated the great sand barrier of the Italian desert base at Kufra, 600 miles from the Mediterranean, and were able to harass enemy troops and motorised units and report the enemy strength to the British authorities. When the vanguard returned with this information, the sand barrier was penetrated again, this time by the full desert group consisting of three columns of loaded trucks. Nothing was. heard of this group at general headquarters for a month, then three bands of bearded, unwashed, but exultant members of the force appeared in Cairo with a batch of Italian prisoners and bags of important captured documents which included official Italian mail for Kufra revealing all the enemy dispositions in the inner desei't area. Another part of the desert group crossed the ancient caravan route and made contact with the Free French outposts in the Chad territory. A third group reached a lonely mountain where they found and destroyed an enemy bomber and a large dump of petrol and bombs.

Today's communique from British general headquarters in Cairo reports satisfactory progress on the three African fronts.

In Eritrea, action about Keren continues to develop. By a series of local

attacks the British troops are steadily improving their positions in the hills covering the town: Further south, the advance towards Aressa is progressing satisfactorily. In Abyssinia, in the Hobok area, South African troops continue successfully to extend the area of their penetration. On other fronts, the situation remains unchanged. Today's news shows that our three-fold attack on Eritrea is making steady progress. One of our ai'mies is pressing southwards into Eritrea down the sea coast, and has already advanced more than 40 miles into Italian territory- The central British Army is steadily occupying positions commanding-the important town of Keren, and the third British force has already advanced deep into Eritrea to the south of Keren. Bombers of the R.A.F. have lately devoted much of their attention to enemy aerodromes, and for the second night in succession the Italian aerodrome on the island of Rhodes has suffered heavily. . , ,