BATTLE AT ALAMEIN

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 July 1942, Page 5

BATTLE AT ALAMEIN

BOTTLE-NECK DEFENCE AREA

AUCHINLECK’S NEW PLAN

“N.Z. MAGNIFICENT STAND”

LONDON; July 1. To-day’s Cairo communique says: “In an armoured battle yesterday a number of enemy tanks were knocked out. The enemy approached certain of our positions earlier in the day, but fighting on a large scale did not develop.” The communique adds that Allied air formations continued to attack enemy concentrations. The latest agency messages indicate that enemy advanced units are keeping up their drive eastward. There is fighting not only east of El Daba but also over a wide area to the south. It was earlier reported that an Axis column had passed El Daba and was feeling its way eastward. El Daba is on the coast road, about 90 miles from Alexandria. The Cairo correspondent of the “Daily Mail” says: “We are fighting for time in which to complete defensive preparations in the Alamein area, across a 35-mile bottle-neck between the sea and the Kattara Depression. General Auchinleck hopes to jam the Bth Army tightly in this bottleneck and force Marshal Rommel to halt. The battle of attrition continues between the rival armoured forces, with anti-tank guns and field guns .doing most of the work. For miles burning trucks and tanks send up pillars of smoke.” Tne correspondent of the Daily Telegraph” said that General Auchinleck appeared on a forward landing ground, arriving in his own aeroplane. He looked calm. It is understood that the enemy force which reached El Daba consists of one German mixed division. The special correspondent of the “Daily Express” at a Middle East port reports: “A steady stream of reinforcements of men, tanks, and aeroplanes is reaching the Bth Army through this and other Middle East ports. The troops are going to the front after only brief halts for transhipment from steamers to trains, with tanks and transport following close behind.”

“Thousands of American troops with enormous quantities of equipment have reached Egypt,” says the Cairo correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph.” American radio reports say that the Americans have already reinforced General Auchinleck’s forces. Fresh Free French units, including the Foreign Legion, motorised Spahis, and Senegalese riflemen, have been sent to the front. SITUATION IMPROVING. “The situation in Egypt is not hopeless,” said an American military observer who returned to Cairo from the battlefront. “It looks better now than in the last few days. The Royal Air Force has kept control of the air. This has had a tremendous effect on the morale of the troops, who are keen for battle.” The Cairo correspondent of the Associated Press of Great Britain says it is known that more than 00 enemy aeroplanes were destroyed in the desert in June, of which onethird were dive-bombers. “The outcome of the battle depends largely on our success in stopping the enemy’s supplies, especially petrol. Another major factor is the speed with which disabled tanks are sent back to battle. A hundred slightly damaged tanks are being repaired day and night.” “The battle is raging over some hundreds of square miles east of Mersa Matruh, where the Bth Army is fighting desperately to stem the enemy’s advance into Egypt,” says the Cairo correspondent of “The Times.” “Reports are still scanty, and even contradictory, but it is evident that the battle has reached a critical stage. The New Zealanders are putting up a magnificent stand from which much is expected. Our air effort increases daily. The enemy is still utterly outclassed in the air, and there is amazingly little interference with our ground forces. Ninety-six enemy aeroplanes were shot down between June 1 and June 29. It now transpires that there was not any real intention of holding Mersa Matruh. The present battleground is the area in which it was generally expected that the big encounter would develop. The Bth Army has been fighting a dogged, delaying, rearguard action, allowing the enemy to pass forward slowly until he was in a position where our commanders thought we could best hit him a hard knock.”

NEARER ALEXANDRIA RUGBY, July 1. The mention in a joint land and air communique of the enemy’s approach to British positions is thought to imply that fighting on a large scale has developed to-day. It is understood in London that the British forces are engaged in the neighbourhood of Alamein, about 70 miles from Alexandria. AUCHINLECK’S APPEAL. ~~ RUGBY, July 1. A supreme effort by the Eighth Army has been called for by General Auchinleck, in an order of the day, which states: “Officers and men of the Eighth Army. You have fought hard and continuously for over a month. No troops could have fought better. You have had heavy losses, and in spite of your efforts you experienced disappointment, giving ground before the enemy, who has superiority in armoured troops. It must not be forgotten that he, ' too, has had serious losses. His units are much more reduced in strength, and he is a long way from his bases of supply. The situation now calls for a supreme effort on the part of all of us. We are fighting a battle for Egypt, a battle in which the enemy must be destroyed. You have shown you can stick it. I know you will stick it right out until he can stand it no longer, and until he cracks. The enemy must be given no rest. He must be attacked and harried wherever you find him. The battle is not ovei’ yet, and will not be over until we have defeated him, as defeat him we will.”

BIG FIGHT STARTED. (Rec. 12.30 p.m.) LONDON, July 1. j The battle in which the main armoured forces of both sides are engaged opened early this morning, west of Alamein. No news has yet been received in Cairo regarding the progress of the battle, which is at the northern end of the 40 miles line, on which the Eighth Army is making a stand between the sea and the Ku'at- I tara depression. I After forced daylight marches, the Germans and Italians concentrated at the southern end of the British line, where Rommel is gathering heavy artillery, apparently aiming to punch a hole and then outflank the defences nearer the coast. Berlin radio stated this morning j that Axis troops were already attack- i ing Alamein (50 miles west of Alex- I andria), which the radio says is the last fortified position before Alexandria. The radio added that Ger-man-Italian troops, advancing on a broad front, are continuously attacking.

I N.ZERS IN ACTION | NOTABLE EXPLOITS PRAISED i LONDON, June 30. 1 “The New Zealanders’ success on the night of June 27, in breaking through a ring of German tanks, artillery, and infantry, will go down to history as one of the greatest feats of arms in, the North African campaign,” says the Exchange Telegraph Agency correspondent with the Bth Army. “They went through a gap cut in the German lines while machinegun bullets and shells came from every direction. Some of their trucks were hit and went up in flames. New 'Zealand machine-gunners perched on The tops of trucks kept up a withering fire. One hundred trucks got through with only slight losses. It i seemed incredible that the New Zealanders, in a closely packed line 1 without tanks ahead of them, could 'force their way through the German Tanks, artillery, and machine-guns. .Earlier in the battle they put up a 'splendid fight near Mersa Matruh, 'flinging back five attacks by the 25th i Panzer Division. The Maoris wrought havoc with the bayonet.” The Cairo correspondent of the Associated Press of Great Britain says: “Newly arrived New Zealand troops with some tanks, beat off an attack from the 15th Panzer Division round Fuka. Some Axis armoured units caught outside their tanks during the night, were rushed and wiped out with bayonets and hand-grenades. The New Zealanders’ assaults terrorised the, enemy. “The New Zealanders, when they went into action on June 27, flung back five solid attacks' by Marshal Rommel’s 21st Division. The German Command first threw in two infantry (attacks against the New Zealanders, I who held strong positions on the escarpment, and followed up with three tank charges. The New Zealanders beat off all the attacks with 25-pounders and six-pounder antitank guns. They then moved to prearranged new positions. They captured German prisoners who said that the German casualties had been heavy. A British United Press special correspondent says: The New Zealanders’ bayonet charge occurred in moonlight, and it cleared the way for nine columns of artillery lorries and troops and supply lorries. When the Germans saw flashing steel, they just turned round and ran. It is estimated that at least five hundred of the enemy were killed. “I do not suppose so much bayoneting has been done in this war,” said a young Lieutenant, who holds the Military Cross. “We certainly gave the enemy something he will not forget.” The correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph” with the Bth Army says that the New Zealanders now in action in Egypt are veterans of Greece and Crete. They came from Syria with remarkable speed and secrecy. The big convoys rattled down the Syrian mountains, through Palestine and the Sinai Desert, carefully avoiding main roads and towns, to go into action west of Mersa Matruh on June 27. •

MOVE FROM SYRIA DIVISION’S HOLIDAY UPSET . f.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent) WESTERN DESERT, June 27. Under cover of the strictest secrecy, and with bewildering speed, elements of the New Zealand Division made a dramatic dash from the mountains of Syria back to the Western Desert. Their arrival in the Desert was a signal for enthusiasm among the British and Dominion troops, and the presence of New Zealanders near the battle front had a telling effect on tne morale of the units, with whom they are now associated. When things went wrong for the Eighth Army at Knightsbridge, it became obvious that reinforcements would be rushed to the Desert, so the movement order for part of the New Zealand Division came as no real surprise. The troops had, in fact, expected the move, and , when it came, they accepted it with typical resignation. They were keen to fight— but not so keen to go back to the Desert and all the discomforts. Within a few hours of receipt of the movement order by Divisional Headquarters, certain field regiments with twenty-five pounders, were on the move. Signallers worked overtime to flash the coded movement order to New Zealand units scattered all over Syria, from the Turkish frontier to Beirut. One Auckland battalion had settled down to a week’s holiday at a change of air camp, but it was rooted up after two days, and sent back speedily to rejoin its brigade, and get on the move. Arrangements had recently been made for the whole division to spend a week at a change of air camp on the shores of the Mediterranean, one battalion to follow another until the whole division had had a spell. The only troops to benefit by the scheme were a Maori battalion One infantry brigade was out in the Syria Desert on manoeuvres, when the movement order reached them. Instead of driving north on tactical exercise, they headed the trucks south on the long trek from Syria to the Western Desert. Bronzed, through hard digging in the Syrian sun and looking fitter than they ever looked, the troops, stripped to the waist, perched on top of trucks, as great convoys rumbled down through Syria and Palestine across the Sinai Desert, in the cruel heat over the Suez Canal. The main roads and the towns were carefully avoided along the route as part of the security measures employed to conceal as far as possible the move of the New Zealanders. Members of the Maori battalion —a small advance party—were the first of the infantry to reach the Desert. They gave the show away, for they were unmistakably New Zealanders. A group of them sat on an escarpment overlooking the one-time fishing village of I Mersa Matruh. They were playing i cards, completely indifferent to the move, and all it entailed. Along the Alexandria-Sollum road, convoys of New Zealand troops moved in an endless stream for days. In canteens and at all petrol points they were given ! a great welcome by the British, South African, and Indian troops. The South Africans were especialy delighted to see the Kiwis back. Nobody knows what the role of the New Zealanders will be in the new phase of the Libyan battle.

CASUALTIES NOT HEAVY.

WESTERN DESERT, June 27. The action to-day has been like the Sidi Rezegh battle eight months ago. Transport and headquarters have been shelled. Since the attack started against the formation to which I am attached our casualties have not been heavy, but heavy damage has been done to the enemy column. Yesterday was marked by constant air force activity—flights of Bostons passing over the New Zealanders all day—but to-day there have been only four fighters and some friendly, planes seen. There have been several enemy reconnais-

sancc flights. Enemy bombers have been operating at a low level during the last two nights, but the New Zealanders destroyed one and scored 14 hits on others. S. AFRICANS EAGER. "LONDON, July 1. it is reported, in a Cairo message, that special units of experienced South African troops are at present standing ready to participate in the battle when called on. Hitherto South Africans, apart from the Air Force have not been involved m this battle, but they are grimly dedetermined to avenge Tobruk. AUSTRALIAN TROOPS. CANBERRA, July 2. Asked whether the A.I.F. Ninth Division in Syria had been transferred to stations in the battle for Egypt, the Army Minister (Mr. Forde) said: “I am not at liberty to make any statement on that at all.” It is understood that the formal consent of the Australian Government would be necessary to move the Ninth Division to the active fighting front. EGYPTIAN CABINET. LONDON, July 1. The Egyptian Cabinet met last night and sat till 1 a.m. Earlier today the Prime Minister (Nahas Pasha) had an audience with King Farouk. There has been no meeting of the Egyptian Parliament yet. MEDITERRANEAN FLEET WASHINGTON, June 30. Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, head of the British Admiralty delegation in-Washington, and until recently Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, said in a statement to the Press: “Even if Alexandria falls British naval operations could continue in the Mediterranean. Should Marshal Rommel’s forces drive on to Alexandria, the British Fleet could operate from Port Said, Haifa and Malta.” He admitted, however, that this would be very awkward, and that the loss of Alexandria would create risks for the British Fleet, which he assumed had been guarded against. Admiral Cunningham said that until October and November last year, the British Fleet had been able to sink 50 per cent, of the supplies flowing to Marshal Rommel. Axis air attacks on Malta had reduced its effectiveness as a base. “Consequently. Marshal Rommel apparently got all he wanted, and considerably more than we thought,” he said. RAIDERS OVER HAIFA.

JERUSALEM, July 1. Several hostile aircraft approached Haifa on Tuesday for the first time for many weeks. They were driven off by anti-aircraft defences. No incidents are reported. RAID ON MALTA. "RUGBY, June 30. During an enemy raid on Malta on the night of June 29-30, night fighters destroyed a Junkers 88. AMERICAN REINFORCEMENTS “rugby, July 1. The air reinforcement of Malta by means of an American aircraft-car-rier is reported in the first communique issued by the Commander of the United States Naval Forces in Europe, Admiral Stark. “The Wasp recently accomplished ferry trios to the Mediterranean carrying aeroplane reinforcements for beleaguered Malta. The missions were highly successful from every standpoint and without incident to the Wasp or her escorts. On one of these operations, when British planes, which had taken off from the Wasp’s flight deck, were over the island, an enemy air attack developed. The Wasp Air Force men and a group of R.A.F. planes repelled the air attack with considerable losses to the enemy, who was surprised by the unexpected fighter strength he encountered. After taking off from the Wasp, the R.A.F. fighters went straight into action with the enemy over Malta, subsequently landing in Malta. They refuelled immediately, and became engaged in an almost continuous air battle over the island. The operations carried out by the Wasp, not only inflicted heavy defeat in the air upon the enemy, but brought timely reinforcements to the heroic garrison and inhabitants of Malta.” MR. WILLKIE’S REMINDER. (Rec. 12.15) NEW YORK, July 1. “It is the plain duty of every loyal United States citizen to scotch all unjust criticism of the British war effort, which invariably crops up whenever the British arms suffer reverses,” said Mr. Wendell Willkie. Citing his personal experiences in London during the air-raids, Mr. Willkie told a group of business and financial leaders: “The English are a brave, self-sustaining people. Reverses such as Singapore and Crete only made the British more determined than ever to see the war through to victory. We must remembers that we have not done wonders ourselves yet. We came in late, and thus far there is comparatively little disturbance in life here.