DEFENCE OF EGYPT

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 July 1942, Page 5

DEFENCE OF EGYPT

BRITISH MAINTAIN POSITIONS

4,000 PRISONERS TAKEN

ARTILLERY’S EFFECTIVE WORK

LONDON, July 20. “Yesterday our forces maintained their positions on all sectors of the front,” states to-day’s Cairo communique. “Four thousand Axis prisoners have been taken since July “The enemy concentration at Eel el Ester probably heralds yet another Italian-German attempt to nip oft the northern ‘tendril’ from the Bth Army s line',” says the British United Press correspondent. “Australians smashed the previous attempts. They badly mauled the Italian Sabratha Division, which has withdrawn from the Tel el Ester line after a succession of setbacks at the hands of the Australians, the last being a severe beating up when Australian infantry attacked on the night of July 17. There is no doubt that the Bth Army’s artillery has been the saving factor on the Alamein line. Every enemy attack has been thrust back, battered by barrages of shells, which have given mighty support to our armoured forces. All through the days and star-lit nights the guns have kept up a stream of lire, giving the enemy no rest, shooting up his transport, hammering his infantry, and turning back his tanks.” Reuter’s correspondent reports that the British are maintaining their positions on. the central sector, and in an attempt to counter-attack and regain their lost ground, the Axis , was repulsed by British, South African, and Australian artillery units before the attack had time to develop. In tne central sector infantry from Britain and India proved their worth by pusing forward slightly to the west of Ruweisat ridge. On Saturday evening the enemy counter-attacked with infantry supported by artillery and a few tanks, but the counter-attack failed. British troops broke up the advancing formation without requiring assistance from British, tanks. In the southern sector the Allied forces kept on the heels of the enemy, who has been withdrawing slightly for two or three days. Saturday’s fighting in the Western Desert is summed up by the British Broadcasting Corporation correspondent (Mr Richard Dimbleby) in these words: “No news of armoured forces, but good news of infantry.”

ENEMY’S HEAVY LOSSES

RUGBY, July 20.

The R.A.F. attack on the enemy landing grounds at El Daba yesterday was the strongest yet made on a desert aerodrome. More than one third of the enemy planes on the ground were destroyed, says an agency correspondent with the Eighth Army, and five were shot down, when about to land. Four of these were Junkers troop-carriers, and the other a Stuka dive-bomber.

, ~ QUIET DAY

RUGBY, July 20

There was a lull in the fighting in the Western Desert yesterday. One correspondent described it as the quietest day I'or a long time. Severe sand and dust storms were experienced. , . ~ The scale of fighting during the last ten days can be gauged by the fact that 6,000 prisoners, mostly Italians, have been taken. (Reed. 1.15 p.m.) LONDON, July 20. Yesterday was the quietest and dustiest day,—at least on the ground, —on the Egyptian front since the Axis forces first encountered the Eightn Army’s position in the Alamein area. The campaign has thus reverted to static warfare, but the lull is liable to be shattered at any moment. . The Australians in the north registered slight movements. Everything was completely calm in the centre and the only real activity in the south was where British mobile columns and artillery contacted with the enemy on Eltaqa and Jebelkalakh, where the enemy had established strong points.

HOMELAND TROOPS.

RUGBY. July 19

When the present battle began in North Africa nearly two-thirds of the Sth Army’s troops were men from the Home Country. This tact is stated by an observer in Egypt m a tribute to the soldiers of the Mother Country. “The work done by British units of the Bth Army h as certainly made me and. every other observer I have met feel full of pride in being British,” he writes. “Of course, we knew that New Zealanders. Canadians, South. Africans, and Indians share the British title, just as we know of their magnificent fighting, for which no praise is too high; but the people I write about now are the home Britons, fair-head-ed men from Sussex, great, . rough friendly Yorkshiremen, Irishmen with music in their voices, and that knobbly-kneed race of fighters, the Scots. Their praises are too often unsung. Tommy Atkins definitely prefers to let the limelight fall on others. . . , r “All the crews of our tank forces come from the United Kingdom. So do most of our gunners. Who can say our gunners and tank men have not fought like tigers—that is tne expression Marshal Rommel himself is reported to have used during tne last week’s bitter fighting. There are countless stories of the courage and endurance of our gunners and tank men.” . , _ , , Some of the Home regiments fighting with General Auchin leek’s army are: The 3rd, sth. 7th, Sth, 42nd,. and 44th Royal Tank Corps, the King s Dragoon Guards, the Coldstream Guards, the Scots Guards, the Queen s Bays, the Tst. Royal Dragoons, the Bth and the 19th Hussars, the 9th and 12th Lancers, the Durban Light Infantry, the Worcestershire, the Cheshire, and East Yorkshire Regiments, the Green Howards, the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, the Rifle Brigade, the Royal Horse Artillery, and the County of London Yeomanry. Fighting France is represented by two battalions of the Foreign Legion, two battalions of marines, and another battai ion. The South African army consists of 12 regiments, and there are at least four Indian regiments.

NEED FOR COTTON. (Recd. 1 p.m. LONDON, July 20. Apart from the strategical considerations, Rommel's drive in Egypt is, aimed against the Egyptian cotton! crop, possession of. which would help to solve the German textile problem embracing a severe wool shortage, says the “Telegraph.” All sources of wool, with the possible exception of small quantities from Turkey, are now denied to Germany, who is ob- j liged to rely on substitutes, the production of which is costly, from the point of view of labour. Unless Germany quickly obtains fresh supplies, civilian clothing will be her most pressing need. An entire year’s coupons must already be surrenderedi for an overcoat made of inferior] cloth. I N.Z. COMMANDER’S ESCAPE. I ALAMEIN, July 16. I Twice between 7 o’clock and sundown the commander of the New Zealand force left the sector on Ru-

weisat ridge. He was twice captured and twice escaped. He was with a group of his commanding officers at the formation’s headquarters when a German armoured force over-ran our infantry and anti-tank defences. As the tanks passed through headquarters four grenades were thrown at tne trenches where the officers were sheltering. . , The commander of the Auckland group, who had been placing the over-run infantrymen was wounded by one grenade, but the others exploded harmlessly on the edge of the trenches. The > German armoured cars had collected the whole of heauquarters when our tanks opened fire. They were forced to withdraw, leaving their prisoners between the opposing tanks. The commander of the force and the commander of the Wellington infantrymen had started up a truck and were gathering up wounded when they were again captured, this time by German tanks. As they were being marched away both selected an opportunity, dropped to the ground, and escaped back to the British lines. AERIAL OPERATIONS LONDON, July 20. In an attack on an enemy-occupied aerodrome west of the battle area Allied aircraft, including light bombers, fighter-bombers, and fighters, destroyed many enemy aircraft on the ground and shot down five that were about to land. Dust storms interfered with other air operations. On the southern part of the front in attacks on enemy land forces direct hits were secured on six tanks, and fires were caused. Heavy bombers made a daylight attack on Tobruk. From all these operations one Allied aircraft is missing. Enemy air losses in the Middle East for the week ending /uly 19 totalled 67.

NEW ZEALANDER’S EXPERIENCE

(N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent)

(Recd. 12.45 p.m.) LONDON, July 20. To wait two days with a wireless operator in a crashed Wellington bomber, 12 miles south of Tobruk, while the remainder of the crew walked to El Adem lor help, was among the experiences of Sergeant Athol James, D.F.M., of Wadestown, one of the few New Zealand airgunners to complete two hours’ operations, carrying out 57 raids. James said: “We were on the way to Tripoli when the engines packed up. We crash-landed safely. I and the wireless operator were left to guard the aircraft. It was a lonely spell, including a severe sandstorm lasting six hours. We lay in the bunks inside, Wimpey trying to sleep while tne wind and sand howled round. We read and slept most of the time until other members of the crew returned, after which we abandoned the aircraft after removing the valuables. James had the distinction of being one of the originals of No. 75 Bomber Squadron, which he joined when it was flight-commanded by Group Captain M. W. Buckley. James carried out 32 raids with No. 75 Squadron, twenty-one of which were with Squadron Leader J. F .Lucas, D.F.C. and Bar, of Balclutha, who is now in New Zealand. James carried out two raids in Mid-East and several from Malta. His experiences include flying though the Hamburg balloon barrage, the bombing of Palermo twice, one night from Malta, and being hit by flak over Berlin. “We had two months at Malta at the end of last year, when the Germans frequently interrupted our take-offs. Their bombing caused us to run for shelter several times. I have the greatest admiration for tne ground staff at Malta. They are doing on excellent job.” James is on leave in London. NAVAL ACTIVITY

RUGBY, July 20. The Admiralty states: Light naval forces in the Eastern Mediterranean continue to harass the supply lines of Rommel’s Army in Egypt. On the night of July 17 Mersa Matruh was bombarded from the sea. Enemy batteries ashore replied ineffectively to the fire from our ships. On the following night, Mersa Matruh was again bombarded by light naval forces. One E-boat which attempted to interfere, was engaged and chased, but it succeeded in making good its escape. We suffered neither casualties nor damage during the two engagements.

RAILWAY SALVAGE ‘ LONDON, July 20. A Cairo message states: A handful of Egyptian engineers operating a State railway line to Mersa Matruh, saved all rolling-stock, locomotives, and even coal dumps at El Daba and Mersa Matruh before the Germans arrived. TOBRUK RENAMED ROMMEL 'LONDON, July 20. The Associated Press of Great Britain correspondent with the Eighth Army says: “According to a personal letter from Marshal Goering to a captured German staff officer, the Germans have renamed Tobruk as Rommel.