"FULL OF FIGHT"

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23851, 30 December 1940, Page 6

"FULL OF FIGHT"

TROOPS' GREETINGS

SIR J, DUIGAN RETURNS

SUCCESSES OF THE GREEKS "I bring back with me from the Middle East, Now Tear greetings to the Prime Minister and people of New Zealand from Ma jor-General B. C. Freyberg and all officers and other ranks serving under him in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force." said Major - General Sir John Duigan K.8.E., C.8., D.5.0., Chief of "the i General Staff, after lie arrived yester- ; day by the flying-boat Aotearoa. MajorGeneral Duigan led the New Zealand delegation to the recent Eastern Group Conference at Delhi and later paid a visit to Egypt, following it with a flying | visit to Greece. j "When I left the Middle East on ■ December 8," continued Sir John, "our j troops were in great heart and ful! of | fight. They had been working hard night and day to make themselves effij cient, and there was a wonderful spirit j of comradeship and teamwork apparent) I among them all. Anti-Tank Training "The amenities in their training j camps are excellent and the organisation for the caring of the sick and i wounded is second to none in the ! Middle East. From my observations, the base hospital at Helwan, formerly a hotel, is fullv capable of giving the troops everything they need." One aspect of the Now Zealanders' j training which Major-General Duigan \ mentioned is designed to meet enemy \ tanks. "In modern warfare." he - said,? i "every soldier must bo a potent tanki hunter, for armoured fighting vehicles ' are difficult to stop. Our troops are i busy devising all sorts of ingenious ! methods of dealing with the enemy i tanks." Speaking of his visit to Greece, made j while the Greek Army was scoring re- ' peated successes against the Italians in ; Albania, Major-General Duigan said ho had seen a large number of Italian i prisoners. Tame Italians I "All that I saw," he said, "were so tame that they would feed out of your ; hand. The Greeks have a new riddle, i They say: 'What is it that wears feathers which is not a bird? What is it that , wears feathers which is not a man? i What is it that wears feathers which I runs faster than a hare?' The answer l is the Bersaglieri, who are crack : Italian troops with a distinguishing ; feather in their hats." Major-General Duigan also referred to Mussolini's boast that the Mediterranean was controlled by Italy. Throughout his flight from Egypt to Greece lie saw no signs of any Italian ships or aircraft. Britain ruled the ocean without difficulty. "The Navy and Fleet Air Arm," concluded Major-General Duigan, "have i had a wonderful success at Taranto; ! the Greek Army has given the Italians a hiding in mountainous Albania; and 1 the British Army has had an astound- ; ins: victory at Sidi Barrani. All these : must affect the morale of the Italian ' forces on the sea, in the air, and on : the land, and they have yet to meet the flower of the manhood of Australia and New Zealand. They will want another pair of running shoes then; the ones they already have are worn out." CAMP CHRISTMAS SECOND ECHELON MEN MANY AT ENGLISH HOMES MIDDLE EAST ARMY ENVIED From the Official "War Correspondent with the Xew Zealand Forres in England LONDON, Dec. 27 Neither the novelty of a winter Christmas, nor the limitless hospitality of English homes in which many o? Ihom were guests, can displace envy from a foremost place in the thoughts of our troops hero this season. The boys arcvlmving a wonderful time here, but ever since the battle for Libya began they have been openly envious of their comrades. If they could themselves elect where they would hj« to-day, nine out of ton would choose the Western Desert. Nevertheless, this has been a Christmas to remember. Two hundred and fifty men travelled to London to be guests at dinner at the New Zealand Forces' Club, where the home atmosphere was particularly strong. No New Zealand Lamb In every camp messroom, however, there was something marking the connection with New Zealand. Often it was pudding, pooled from Patriotic Fund parcels. The expected ration of New Zealand lamb failed to materialise. The army's only official contribution to the festivities was an issue of pork' in lieu of beef, which was compensated by issuing bully beet and biscuits on Boxing Day. Most of the units used the Patriotic Fund's cash contribution of Is 6d per man to provide extras of food, sweets and drinks. The whole Maori Battalion dined in camp. Special preparations were made, including the cooking of a number of gift pigs in native fashion. Many men of other units dined out privately. Many more could have done so, as invitations continued to flow in until the last moment. Welcome Mail from Home The grey coldness of the Christmas forenoon was relieved by a general rum ration. But with.it all the troops felt they were unfairly favoured compared with their comrades in the East, .with whom they would gladly have changed places.

Letters posted in Xew Zealand bev tween October 17 and 25 were delivered to the troops on Christmas Eve, parcels being distributed to-dav. This was an outstanding mail. Letter postings to November 5 have arrived earlier than expected, troops having now received every mail despatched before and including Xovember 5.