SCENE OF DESOLATION
WHAT IS LEFT OF MERSA MATRUH (Rec. 10.10 a.m.) Rugby, Nov. 10. The Buffs were the first to enter Mersa Matruh at dawn on Monday says a correspondent with the Eighth Army. Before leavnig the town the Germans set fire to all supplies, but left behind an Important stock of electrical implements. Mersa Matruh had evidently been used as a main forward electricity station. When our tanks arrived they simply passed through the devastated town. Hardly a house was left standing after the heavy bombing and shelling. Along the road out of Mersa Matruh one saw the work done by our bombers. Every few yards were burnt vehicles of all kinds —lorries, petrol tankers, gun carriers, guns and tanks.
In Mersa Matruh harbour a large tanker was lying on its side with a 20-foot hole under the waterline, while other ships had been sunk and a small dock hangar was a mass of debris. Nothing worth destroying seemed to have escaped the reach of our bombers and gunners.—B.O.W.
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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 11 November 1942, Page 5
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171SCENE OF DESOLATION Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 11 November 1942, Page 5
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