A STRAIGHT LEFT AT ITALY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 11 December 1940, Page 4

A STRAIGHT LEFT AT ITALY

WHILE the Italian forces in the Eastern Mediterranean are being harried by land, air and sea a quick thrust is being made against Italy’s western front by British forces in the Western Desert. The news of it suggests that it was well conceived, secretly planned and boldly executed —a typical Wavell thrust. Already 4000 prisoners have been taken and more, it is believed, are being rounded up. High Italian officers, too, were also killed or captured.

General Wavell has said that the! extent of the operation will depend! on the amount of enemy resistance j encountered. It is the largest scale j activity of any in Africa since the war began. Preliminary preparations were made as early as last Saturday night, when mechanised units and infantry moved with great secrecy across no-man’s land to their advanced positions, without, apparently, arousing the suspicions of the Italians. The Navy and Air Force co-operated. British warships pasted Sidi Barrani, the Italian advanced post. The R.A.F., aloft from j dawn till dark, raided every enemy j aerodrome, making any Italian reply from the air difficult, machine-gun- ; ned enemy transport columns and j troops and generally dislocated the, Italians- They did terrific damage. ■ At dawn on Monday the advanced land troops, crouching ready in the desert, attacked the camp of Mabeya,! southward of Sidi Barrani, and “com- J pleted operations by 10 a.m.” This was quick work and it was probably here that most of the prisoners were taken. The latest news suggests that Sir Archibald Wavell is sending his men on. They are smashing through i the Italian lines and driving a for-! midable wedge between the enemy i troops on the Mediterranean coast' and those further inland. It is said' that two divisions may be cut off. Coming on top of other heavy blows against Italy, the action is perfectly timed. It is unlikely that it will expand into a general offensive against Italy’s army of 250,000 in Libya but these deftly-executed, large scale thrusts are most disturbing to an enemy whose morale is not high and who is more or less isolated from Italy itself. Surprise sorties of this kind are just the type of warfare to practise in the desert and there are few commanders who know how to arrange them under modern conditions better than Sir Archibald Wavell.