VERY CONFUSED

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 134, 3 December 1941, Page 9

VERY CONFUSED

FLUID BATTLE

POSITION CHANGES ALMOST DAILY

(Rec. 10.20 a.m.) RUGBY, Dec. 2. The situation in the main area of the Libyan battle, roughly contained in the triangle Sidi Rezegh-Bir el Hamed-El Duda, is very confused, according to informed circles in London. It appears that the British counterattack to iron out the German penetration at Sidi Rezegh was only temporarily successful, and hard fighting is going on. In the frontier area, a British attack on positions at Libyan Omar —one of three places bearing the name Omar in this part of the country —met with determined resistance. The British troops have made some progress, but the present position is not known. Today's Middle East communique states: "In this fluid battle which has been raging on the main front, with local fluctuations over an area of some :. 1600 square miles sinc^- November 20, /^fn^'^h^'dr'trt^ily^has altered almost daily as our tank concentrations-j and those of the enemy have massed for I attack or counter-attack. Yesterday'j •{St^sn-erny threw into the battle all his available armour on a comparatively narrow front. Very heavy fighting throughout the day in the area of Sidi j Rezegh and'Bir el Hamed resulted ■in; a junction between German forces: which, advanced from the south and south-west and those which were originally disposed about Zarran. "In the frontier area, operations for the elimination of centres of resistance are continuing.

"During yesterday's battle our air Jorce again closely supported our ground troops by continuous attacks on enemy armoured vehicles and mechanised transport about and east of Sidi Rezegh. Many direct hits were obtained."—B.O.W.