ENDS IN DRAW

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23997, 21 June 1941, Page 11

ENDS IN DRAW

BATTLE OF SOLLUM

VIVID DESCRIPTION

FIGHT AT HELOTKE TASS (Reed. 10 p.m.) LONDON, June 20

The Battle of Solium ended in a draw, says the Times' special correspondent in a despatch from Cairo. "I can speak only of the Solium battlefield —the coastal plain and the slopes of the escarpment—because owing to casualties among the war correspondents' transport we were unable to follow the battle of the tanks on the plateau, where enemy dive-bombers joined in at heavy cost in men and machines, savs the correspondent.

The first day's fighting, before Solium ended with our men disputing possession of Hell fire Pass. At dawn next day, under cover of a heavy ground mist, our attack was renewed. Both the weather and the terrain suited the Highlanders, who formed the left flank. Within two hours the enemy were driven from their fortified positions at the head of the pass. Murderous Fire Indian troops on the right encountered stronger opposition, and nevei did the pass so well deserve its lurid nickname as it did that day, when il echoed incessantly to the murderoui challenge of machine-gun fire. Meanwhile, with the Highlander! holding the head of the pass, anothei column of our infantry, supported bj a squadron of tanks advanced, along the ridge of the escarpment where il sweeps in a vast semi-circle to tin headland behind Solium. On this head* land stands an old Egyptian barracks, gleaming white against the brown sand, Germans' Predicament The German garrison there waj about a battalion strong. They ahan< doned the position, and, with the towt below no longer tenable, made theij way along the shores of Solium Baj to the mouth of Hellfire Pass. Bui there was no escape through the pass, and the only hope was to- withdraw t< the beach and make a stand with theii backs to the sea. There was a certaii grim, if short-lived, satisfaction in tin knowledge that for once was the enem] called on to defend himself on a beach, Meanwhile, the Indians at Hellfiri Pass, fighting tirelessly, made good progress, and the few Germans wh< escaped death or capture manned iso lated machine-guns on the westeri slopes. Prom these posts they kept uj a harassing fire which took a fairlj heavy toll of the Indians. Enemy Counter-attack The front remained quiet all n:ght From time to time the Germans 01 the beach below Solium sent up Yercj lights. The next enemy counter-attack da veloped far to the south, beyond Sid Omar, where a formidable Panzer forQ was sighted from the air. It was toi good a chance for the Royal Air Foro to miss, and nine Blenheims, flying il a tight formation at a height o 3000 ft.. scattered the tanks and arm oured cars in all directions. Ten tank were among the wreckage strewn oi the desert. Germans Too Late But the threat of an encircling move ment was too serious to he ignore) and the order was given for a genera withdrawal to our original positions. As our troops pulled back from Hell fire Pass along the : 'Via Mussolini,' Panzer squadrons loomed over the coag escarpment, remained poised there i moment, then poured down the slope like dark torrents and raced across th coastal plain—just too late. The Battl of Solium had ended in a draw.

AIR SUPERIORITY

BRITISH FIGHTER SUPPORI

LONDON, June 2

One of the most striking features 0 the battle in tin* Western Deseri states Router's correspondent, was tb British superiority in the air from tb outset; and they never lost it. A senia Royal Air Force officer, when asked ti explain it. replied: "By shooting a the sitting bird. We never let then get off the ground." The correspondent states that on on occasion he saw eight Hurricanes shoo down 11 enemy divq-bombcrs out of i much larger formation. One Hi! Tricars was lost. From dawn to dusk Britis! bombers escorted by fighters raida every enemy aerodrome, going as fa west as 200 miles beyond Benghazi "You never saw a German dive-bombe cross the escarpment without being sho up," adds the correspondent.

WRONGLY INTERNED

200 PERSONS RELEASED ■ Rood. 3 0.45 p.m.) CANBERRA, June 2 Approximately 200 internees sent t Australia by the British Governmen since the outbreak of war have beei released and returned to England Announcing this to-day, the Ministe of the Army, Mr. P. C. Spender, sail it had been found that these person had been wrongly interned, and the! release followed the visit of Maja I jay ton. It was quite likely, added Mi Spender, that a further batch wouli soon bo released.

PAINT SHOP EXPLOSION

DISASTER IN SYDNEY ONE KILLED. 10 INJURED (Reed. 10.15 p.m.) SYDNEY, June 3 An explosion which was heard a mil away demolished the paint factory a Metiers. Limited, in the suburb o Alexandria, to-day. One employee, Mi Ernest Edwards, aged SS, was killc when he was hurled into a large pain container. Ten others were injured two ot them critically. It is believed the. explosion origin ated in a inutHer leading to a dryiii] oven from which (lames were observet and were followed by a terrific blast Two walls and the roof of the pain shop were blown out. The oven iva wrecked and debris was spread over a; area of 100 yards Several employee who were drenched with paint are sul fering from severe shock.