"DIGGERS" IN DESERT CAMP

Evening Star, Issue 23500, 14 February 1940, Page 10

"DIGGERS" IN DESERT CAMP

WORLD INTEREST AROUSED

IMPOSING FORCE ASSEMBLES SHARP GESTURE TO GERMANY NEUTRALS DEEPLY IMPRESSED ’ Frees Association— By Telegraph—Copyright ■ LONDON, February 13. The landing of the New Zealand and troops in Egypt has now been completed. So great was the task that it was midnight before the last of the Australians went ashore at Suez and left for their camp. The first party of New Zealanders reached the camp late in the afternoon. They were very cheerful and glad that the journey was ended. Ninety per cent, had never hitherto "been outside their native land. Hot meals were awaiting them at the camp. Efforts are not being spared to make the troops comfortable, and palliasses are being stuffed with Egyptian cotton instead of straw. The men are already drawing equipment and clothing, and training will be begun in earnest next week- Disembarkation will occupy two days. JUGULAR VEIN OF EMPIRE. The arrival of the Australian and New Zealand troops has stimulated interest and comment on the situation in the Middle East. It is pointed out that Suez is still the jugular vein of the Empire, and it is also recalled that the Allies have given guarantees to the smallest nations of the Balkans. The ‘ New York Times ’ regards the move as an insurance against any attempt by Germany to spread the war, and states further that it is a “ terrible warning ” to Germany and Russia against making 'any move in the East. English papers stress that the more is preparatory and precautionary.” There is ample evidence this morning that the arrival of the troops has made a profound impression in Allied and neutral countries alike. In England it is the leading topic of conversation, • and France has been equally impressed. A headline in ‘Le Journal ’ refers to the landing as “ A New Trump Card for Victory.” The United States papers give a good deal of space to the landing. The ‘ Herald-Tribune ’ calls it “ another stroke like that of the arrival of the Canadian troops, but an even more spectacular one, for technical reasons.” The ‘ New York Times ’ says it is a feat of which Britain has every reason to be proud. It hlso comments, that nothing could prove more convincingly the solidarity of the Empire.

In England the ‘ Daily Telegraph ’ remarks that the feat demonstrates the British command of the seas, for hy no other means could the transport of so great an army have been accomplished. The ‘ Daily Mail ’ commences its leading article by calling for “ three cheers for the men from Down Under.” It recalls that in the last war 412,000 Australians and 1?8,000 New Zealanders went to fight Kaiserism, and now the andies march forth again to fight Hitlerism —a threat which, is under a different name, but the creed of which is the same. ;

VITAL STRATEGIC POSITION. ‘ The limes ’ recalls that Egypt was the training ground for the winners of undying renown on Gallipoli, and declares : “ These troops will live up to their predecessors’ great fighting reputation. Messrs Savage and Menzies have clearly defined the issues for which we are fighting. In all the dominions public opinion has insisted that the great traditions built up -on Gallipoli and in Flanders must be maintained. “ Not accidentally does military history repeat itself, hub because geography is l strategy’s foundation. The , Sees Canal is still the halfway hone? for New Zealand and Australian troops. It is an admirable place for a Near East reserve, more so because it is linked with a similar great French force in Syria, and because Turkey has resumed her traditional friendship with Britain. The dominion forces could not he better placed, and their arrival reinforces our cause, morally and materially.” The ‘ Daily Herald’ says; “ If mass cruelty in Europe appals, remember the free British nations, remember that Socialist New Zealand is turning from a great social experiment to the grimmer job of defending the right of free nations to exist at all. When you remember that, remember the heroic Anzacs in the last war, and you will not doubt the issue.” The ‘ Daily Telegraph,’ singling out New Zealand for a special compliment, with “ Haeremai ” as the heading, interprets the landing after a prosperous voyage as a demonstration of Imperial unity, Britain’s command of the seas, and the efficiency of the Army, tjie Navy, and the mercantile marine. It was appropriate that when the first New Zealand ' transport reached Suez the Maori greeting of * Haeremai ’ should have been vociferously raised, suggesting the obvious English interpretation, 1 Here am I. Three cheers for the Anzacs, the boys are on their way!” The 1 News Chronicle ’ cites the arrival as the dominions’ answer to Germany’s false prophets, who foretold the Empire’s disintegration. “ Qnce more New Zealanders and Australians have taken up war stations, and now await their task, with Turkey no longer a loa, hut a friend.

SWEEPSTAKES ON DESTINATION TROOPS KEEN AND FIT LONDON, February 12. ** The men are keen and fit,” said Brigadier-general Allen. “ They worked hard, even in thp heat of the tropics. Ten per cent, of them had their fathers in the last war, and 10 per cent, fought in it themselves. “ The entire force are volunteers,” he added. “ They did not know their destination and held sweepstakes on it until last night.” DOMINIONS SECRETARY AUDIENCE WITH KING FAROUK SUEZ. February 12. Mr Anthony Eden has gone to Cairo, where King Farouk will receive him to-day. The Kantara correspondent of Reuter’s says Mr Eden will visit the Australian encampment on Thursday. Songs of the last war echoed across the desert as transports carrying the “ Aussies ” crept through the darkness of the Suez Canal to Kantara. Although it was past midnight Kantara was alive with excited welcoming Arabs.

POOR COUNTRY LADS! NAZI OPINION OF ANZACS GRISLY FORECAST OF THEIR FATE ' BERLIN, February 13. (Received February 14, at noon.) The first German comment on the Anzacs' arrival is contained in the ' Lokal Anzeiger,' which says: " It is just as well the New Zealand soldiers are, as it were, just poor country lads who do not know what it is alt about. Otherwise the whole continent would be rocked with laughter. However, that would not worry the English, because Mr Eden is certainly not bothering himself about where these -New Zealanders are going. Their bones will bleach the desert and moulder on the steppes and bogs. Certainly it will not be easy to invent a grislier joke than Mr Eden's speech to the New Zealanders. That is what England's fight for freedom and oppressed peoples looks like—namely, a grimace of ar- ' rogance and conceit."

“ NEW ODYSSEY " FURTHER AMERICAN TRIBUTE NEW YORK, February 13. (Received February 14, at 8 a.in.) The ‘ New York Times,’ in an editorial, says: “ This new Odyssey—the landing of the Anzacs—stirs memories of a valour that became a byword. It discounts ■ suggestions of a vast Allied offensive in the Near East. The Allied leaders have not indicated that they are willing for a dangerous gamble unless someone else attacks first. The expedition rather seems a variety of insurance against the spread of war without firing a shot. The British have every right to be proud of. an operation boldly conceived, skilfully planned, and efficiently concluded, hut, above all, the British should be proud that the daughter nations in the Pacific so distant from the war are so well aware of all it means for the continuance of their democratic way of life.”

DEFENCE OF THE MIDDLE EAST EGYPT STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, February IS. (Received February 14, at 11 a.m.) ‘ The Times,’ referring editorially to Mr Eden’s expression of appreciation of Egypt’s hospitable reception of the New Zealand and Australian troops, says: “ What Egypt has done since the outbreak of war to co-operate with the Allies in making an impregnable position in the Near and Middle East deserves indeed the warmest recognition. All the peoples, Arab and non-Arab, of that strategically important area are solidly behind the Allies and are giving them every assistance within their power, but it is the French army in Syria and the British and Egyptian armies in Egypt who are the core of the defence of the Middle East. The forces in Egypt have been expanded by enrolment of volunteers from Malta, Cyprus, and Palestine. Germany’s new subjects—Poles, Czechs, and Slovaks—who have’ been ‘ liberated ’ by the Fuhrer, are being dragged to work for the Reich. Wherever the British flag flies, whether in the dominions, Crown colonies, or dependencies, free men are volunteering to defend the ideals for which the Empire stands.” The ‘ Manchester Guardian ’ says: u It ie not at once that the Empire’s full power can he marshalled. Germany has hut to mobilise and march to the frontier she intends to violate. A few days after France lias given the order her colonial troops can begin to cross the Mediterranean, but our connections span the hemispheres and reach the antipodes. Not only is the distance great and the seas dangerous, but we here can give no orders and make no plan. We can appeal to the

equal members of our Commonwealth, but the decision and speed of the answer rests with them.”

The ‘ Daily Telegraph ’ says: “ With sure instinct people born and bred in the freedom of the King’s subjects of the antipodes, not less than those here at home, realised how clear and simple the issue is. Here in the heart of the Empire we honour and are grateful.for the ungrudging allegiance which our brethren from the other side of the world are rendering to the fundamental ideal and tradition of our common heritage.”

ROYAL NAVY’S PART MAJOR-GENERAL FREYBERG'S APPRECIATION ' SUEZ, February 13. (Received February 14, at noon.) Major-general Freyberg cabled Mr Churchill: “May I send you on this historic day thanks from all ranks of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to the gallant ships of the Royal Navy for protecting us, on the voyage.” Mr Churchill replied: “The Royal Navy has been proud to carry the famous Anzacs once again across the ocean. All your old comrades of the Royal Navy Division rejoice to see you at the head of the New Zealand Command.” 9 AUSTRALIANS IN PALESTINE ADVANCE GUARD ARRIVES JAFFA, February 13. (Received February 14, at 1 p.m.) After five hours in a crowded troop train an advance guard of Australians arrived in a Palestine camp. • SETTLING DOWN FIRST WELCOMES OVER SUEZ, February 13. (Received February 14, at 11.50 a.m.) The first 'welcomes are over, and though the echoes of the mighty reception have scarcely died Suez ports are still pulsing with excitement over the arrival of the New Zealanders and Australians. The troops spent the first night encamped on the desert sands. They were astir early, establishing themselves in active service quarters. It is revealed that one transport was a Polish liner manned by Poles, who were most popular with the New Zealanders and' Australians. Gunner J. R. Matheson provided an historic touch at the New Zealanders’ debarkation. He piped them ashore with bagpipes used in the Crimea and Great War. A British regimental band on the wharf played old and new war tunes.

In Cairo the arrival of the Anzacs was one of the best-kept secrets of the war. None of the local people knew whether overseas or Egyptian troops would be accommodated in the great camp which was being erected' for weeks in the desert in the vicinity of Cairo. Roads were built through sand dunes; water tanks, supplied from the Nile, installed; and a city of soldiers, consisting of yellow and brown camouflaged tents and wooden huts, took shape. One of the six New Zealand nurses accompanying the contingent said: “ Everybody is grand. Wo are thrilled with Egypt; it is something like home. The Egyptian complexion reminds me of the Maoris.”

FRENCH PRESS FEATURES EVENT PARIS, February 13. (Received February 14, at 1 p.m.) “ A new trump card for victory ” is the headline in the ‘ Journal ’ heralding the debarkation. The newspaper’s special correspondent at Suez says: “ I moved among sturdy young soldiers radiant with health and perfectly equipped.” The entire Press gives prominence to the landing. SPAIN IMPRESSED MADRID, February 13. (Received February 14, at 1 p.m.) The Press headlines on the Anzacs emphasise the size of the convoy.