EARLY SUCCESSES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20824, 1 July 1942, Page 3

EARLY SUCCESSES

NEW ZEALANDERS IN EGYPT GERMAN ATTACKS BEATEN OFF WITHDRAWAL FROM MERSA MATRUH THROUGH ENEMY LINES WITH BAYONETS (By Telegraph-Press Assn.-Copyright) Units of the New Zealand Division which was recently transferred back to Egypt from Syria have already been m action with a conspicuous measure of success, according to reports from Cairo. . , , In reporting that the reinforcements which have alieady reached the Eighth Army include units of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, the British United Press correspondent in the Western Desert states that these men, who are under the command of General Sir Bernard Freyberg, are all seasoned desert fighters. He adds that in ;their first engagements during the fighting around Mersa Matruh they repulsed three Panzer and two infantry attacks, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. Other reports state that the New Zealanders reached the front line on Friday and went into action on Saturday night. Holding a ridge outside of Mersa Matruh, they beat off one enemy attack after another while the withdrawal of other units proceeded. When they found that they had been., encircled by the enemy, the New Zealanders, including Maori troops, launched a vigorous attack with the bayonet and forced their way through the enemy lines and along the coast,, where they took up new positions. The official communique issued in Cairo, referring to the New Zealanders’ action,’ states: “On Sunday night, New Zealand battle groups had a successful engagement with enemy armoured forces and infantry. A number of enemy tanks were destroyed and heavy casualties were inflicted on the enemy in a bayonet attack.”