BRITISH VICTORY

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 December 1940, Page 7

BRITISH VICTORY

WESTERN DESERT FIGHTING

4,000 PRISONERS TAKEN

Tanks and Material Captured

[BY CABLE.—PRESS ASSN.—COPYRIGHT.]

, LONDON, December 10. Striking at the Italians on a broad front in the Sidi Barrani region yesterday, British Imperial forces launched the biggest operation of the war din 'the Western Desert. At least 1000 prisoners were taken and refounded up. Their capture is announced .in a special communique from Cairo. The action can be described more as a great raid than as a general offensive, although it is likely to lead to a more extensive offensive. It required considerable preparations, which were carried out with the greatest secrecy. Troops had to cross eight miles of no-man’s land. Supplies, including petrol, were taken up at the dead of night and buried m sand. All this was achieved without the knowledge of the Italians —at least they were not disturbed by the preparations. When the preparations were complete the British troops attacked the camp at Mabeya, south of Sidi Barrani, at dawn yesterday, and completed the operation at 10 a.m., while other units were advancing in other parts of the same region.. General Headquarters are satisfied with the early operations, and indicated that an extension was possible. This would depend partly on the vigour of the opposition encountered. Fighting was still going on last night. The Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy were also engaged in the operation, which was mainly directed against the Italians’ right flank along the top of an escarpment between lb and 20 miles from the coast.

COMMANDER AND PRESS. The British Commander-in-Chief in the Middle East (General Sir Archibald Wavell) personally gave British, American, and Turkish war correspondents the first news of the British attack, less than four hours after it began.

Leaning cross-legged against a desk, with both hands in his pockets. General Wavell said: “Gentlemen, I have asked you here to tell you that our forces began to carry out an engagement against the Italian armies in the Western Desert at dawn. Two hours a?o I received word that we had captured an Italian camp.” OFFENSIVE ON MOST FRONTS. . LONDON, December 10. The Cairo correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph” says that to-day, just six months after the Italian entry in the war, • finds the British forces in the Middle East taking the offensive on most fronts. On the Abyssinian border, Sudanese troops are hammering day and night with artillery and machine-guns against Italian positions at' Metemma and Kassala. The Royal Air Force is backing them up and the Royal Navy is scouring both the eastern and western Mediterranean, seeking an opportunity to attack, and the Royal Air Force is battering Albanian townsTas the Greeks advance. A staff officer summed up the position as follows: “It is incomparably better than when France fell, and much better than it was two months ago. But the situation is still difficull and full of possibilities. We are quietly confident. All three services have been strengthened and the Dominions are just getting into then stride on a big scale to support us It will probably be a long war.” ... AERIAL ACTIVITY.

CAIRO, December 10. i A special Royal Air Force com-, 'munique says: “Working in close co-] operation with the Army, the Royal; Air Force harassed enemy troops in J the Western Desert throughout the day, heavily damaging motor trans-, port and enemy personnel by con-; tinu'ouS bombing and machine-gun i “Successful patrols were carried out over our advancing troops. Two enemy fighters were shot down. “Enemy aerodromes were also bombed in support of the military operations, particularly that at Benina, which was raided in waves from dusk to dawn, more than 20 tons of bombs falling in the target area. “The first raiders created fires, which were increased during the night by subsequent bombing, until the whole aerodrome appeared to be sblaze. “Sidi Barrani, Solium, and Bardia were also attacked.”

CASTEL BENITO RAID.

' -LONDON, December 10. The'Cairo correspondent of “The; Times” says that the bombing of Castel Benito was one of the most important operations carried out in Libya. Castel Benito is the principal Italian Air Force depot in Libya, ana also the point at which bulk petrol and air force stores from Italy are assembled and distributed to aerodromes throughout Libya. Castel Benito is probably one of the bases from where many of the air raids against Malta are carried out. The Royal Air Force raid can be regarded . as the most serious blow struck at Italy’s Air Force in Libya at a time when she needs it more than every V \ .

! ITALIAN SUPPLY PROBLEM. i LONDON, December 10. The Cairo correspondent of “The Times” says that the gradual, if slow, building, up of Britain’s Middle Eastern army was made possible by the havoc wrought by the Royal Air Force and the Navy on the Italian communications, and also by the dashing tactics of the mechanised cavalry, which has established an absolute supremacy ranking as one of ’ the most brilliant episodes in the. British military history. The effectiveness of the hammer - ' ing the Royal Air Force has given to Libyan ports and supply, depots can be judged by the fact that the Italians, when they attempted their offensive in September, soon found that they were defeated by the problem of supply. Thereafter,, for ■ three months they were practically i tied down in the desert to the points j to which they originally advanced. ; Thanks to the co-operation of the ■ three services, the bogy of invasion ! which, for months scared the citizens : of Cairo and Alexandria has gradual•ly faded. The shoe is now on the i other foot, because as a result of. rei inforcements of men and materials, ! the British Army is in a position to ! hit back.

DRIVING ENEMY TO SEA. LONDON, December 10. It is believed that thousands of prisoners have been captured by the British in the fighting in North Africa and that they mostly are Libyans, of whom the Italian fiont line forces in the Western Desert region mostly consist. It appears that a British attack is developing on the Italians’ right flank, probably a surprise enfilading movement, with the object of driving the Italians to the sea, where the Royal Navy w< julu make their positions hopeless, lhe Italians are estimated to occupy a front of about 30 miles.

AREA OF OPERATIONS. RUGBY, December 10. The further development of Egyptian desert fighting is eagerly awaited, following the publication in Cairo of two brief communiques, yesterday. The operations have undoubtedly met with initial success, but in the best-informed military quarters there is reluctance to anticipate events. The fighting is taking place> on the eastern side of a roughly-rectangular area, bounded on the noith by the sea, between Solium and Sidi Bar rani, and extending about- 25 JuiLs southward. In this area, the-enemy is . holding a number of perimeter camps, all strongly fortified, and provided with anti-tank defences Two of these have’ been entered by Bri tish troops.

4000 PRISONERS TAKEN RUGBY, December 10. A communique issuedbyGenera wpadauarters at Cairo states: Opera Rons In the Western Desert are successfully continuing. Th , e „ -far caotured are reported to e * ce , 4,000, also a number of In the Sudan, in the Gababat ; ar ’ patrolling activity, supported by ar tillery fire, continues. 22 ITALIAN PLANES LOST. RUGBY, December 10. An R.A.F. communique, issued ax port failed to return i Pilots oi two were | ’Reconnaissance flight «P“ted i large fires west of Buqbuq, and <S areas. Motor transport burning the roads was causing dislocation i to enemy troop movements. NEW ZEALANDERS ENGAGED.

(Recd. Dec. 11, 1.50 p.m.). LONDON, December 10. Picked British, New Zealand Australian and Indian troops were thrown against the Italians in the Western Desert, reports the “Daily Mails Cairo correspondent. New Zealand airmen manned some of the planes which bombed and machine-gunned the Italians to cover the British a.of the attack aroused tremen- ' dous enthusiasm in Cairo, where Sir I A. Wavell is regarded as having struck .while the iron was hottest. i American newspapers headline ‘.Britain’s success.

WEDGE BETWEEN ENEMY. (Received December 11, 2 p.m.) LONDON, December 10. Smashing through the Italian lines on the Western Desert, British armoured units by to-night, are reported to have cut off part of two Italian divisions at Sidi Barrani, driving a formidable wedge between them and the troops further west, and engulfed several smaller camps. The Italians are reported to be resisting strongly at some points, but the British appear to be retaining the initiative. Bright moonlight helped the British to bring up supplies and strengthen the positions at night. Fighting continues* throughout the day, along the 30 mile front forming the right flank of the Italians occupying Sidi Barrani.

NO EASY JOB (Recd. December 11, 2.20 P-rn-) LONDON, December 10. “The Times’s” Cairo correspondent says: It must not be thought the British forces, despite reinforcements, have an easy job. The Italians centred on Sidi Barrani, form a formidable force, strongly dug m. Communications on both sides are most difficult, particularly since the early Winter rains began. •The “Daily Express’s” military correspondent also warns against undue optimism, pointing out. the British troops, in order to cut off the northern Italian army, which is probably

100.000 men, must execute a huge enIfilading movement on the right bank against a force greatly numerically superior. He. emphasises ' the Italian pirep.aredness by a vast system of redoubts. r : ' ITALIAN SILENCE. i. (Recd. Dec. 11, 10.20 a.m.). , LONDON, December 10. An Italian communique does not mention the British advance in the Western Desert.' It says: The Italians repulsed a British contingent on the Sudan-Eritrea frontier, and inflicted severe losses. Enemy air attacks on the AssabDjibouti railway caused little' damage.

MR. CHURCHILL’S SPEECH. 75 MILES ACROSS DESERT. RUGBY, December 10. 'Mr. Churchill, in a statement in the Commons on operations in the Western Desert, said: “On the night of December 7 a strong detachment from, the army of the Nile, under Sir Maitland Wilson, comprising British and Imperial troops, and a detachment from the Free French Forces, advanced towards positions which the Italians had fortified since their incursion across the Egyptian frontier three months ago. It is realised that operations .advancing almost in a single bound across 75 miles of desert are by no means free from hazard and complexity, when considerable forces are employed. It was, therefore, with satisfaction that the British Government learned that this long and rapid approach was successfully accomplished. “Yesterday morning (December 9), our forces contacted the enemy at various points over a wide front, stretching from Sidi Barrani to the coast' and into the desert. The attack was delivered against positions on the Italian centre, to the southward of Sidi Barrani, In the first defended area, which was assaulted and over-run, 500 prisoners and some war material fell into our hands. The Italian general in command was killed, and the second in command was captured. Later in the day, a further advance was made into a second stronger and more-important position, nearer the coast. More prisoners and material were taken. Other British forces also reached the coast between Sidi Barrani and Buqbuq, making further captures of transport and prisoners. - It is too soon to attempt to forecast either the scope or the result of the considerable operations which are in progress, but we can say that the preliminary phase has been successful.

FLEET CO-OPERATION. “The British Mediterranean Fleet and the R.A.F. are, of . course, cooperating closely. British warships bombed various coastal positions, including particularly Maktila and Sidi Barrani. On December 8, a heavy attack was made by bombers on the enemy aerodrome at Benghazi, where about 25 tons of bombs were dropped effectively on hangars and enemy aircraft. On the same night, air attacks were made on Italian advanced aerodromes, in a prelude to the morning action, and throughout yesterday bombers continually harassed Italian advanced aerodromes, while fighters, wherein Hurricane squadrons were conspicuous made low-fly-ing machine-gun attacks on troops and motor transport, causing substantial losses.” Mr. Churchill said that the sudden collapse of France had made the task of defending Egypt one of extreme difficulty, but by the time of Mr. Eden’s visit, reinforcements of men and material had given a greater feeling of security, and had opened the possibility of the assumption'of an offensive. Further delay in the execution of the offensive plans which have been matured,” however, was necessitated by air assist ance sent to Greece. +b „ The Prime Minister added that the part played by the R.A.F. in the Greek victories had been most important, and they had received the warmest expressions of gratitude from the Greek King, for the aid they had been able to give. By the beginning of December, the British air forces in Egypt were once again in a position to afford the necessaiy support to the army, in a forward movement.

FREE FRENCH PARTICIPATION RUGBY, December 10. The encouraging report which the Prime Minister was able to give the Commons, on the initiative which the forces under the command of bu Archibald Wavell have taken against the Italians in the Western Desevu, created an excellent impression at Westminster. Particular satisfaction, is felt at the evidence of close and fruitful co-operation between the three Services. , The Prime Minister’s announcement that Free French Forces are taking part in the offensive action against the Italians has- also given Pleasure here, and the knowledge that Fiench troops are once more on the march against the enemy will bring a lift of heart to Frenchmen everywhere.