BRITISH TROOPS PROMINENT

Southland Times, Issue 24598, 21 November 1941, Page 5

BRITISH TROOPS PROMINENT

SMALLER PROPORTION OF DOMINION MEN

(Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, November 19. Troops from the British Isles are playing a predominant part in the Libyan advance. The proportion of Dominion troops is smaller than previously, says Reuters correspondent with the Imperial forces. Our troops are seeking out and engaging the Germans in preference to the Italians on the sound principle that one German destroyed is worth six Italians captured. For a week or two before the attack began the coastal road and railway to Mersa Matruh were carrying an immense one-way volume of traffic, including train-loads of tanks. There were also 30-mile long motor convoys. Everybody knew something was going to happen, but few realized the extent and thoroughness of the preparations. Great dumps of petrol, munitions, food and water were formed at various points throughout the desert. Nothing has been left to chance. The men know this and are advancing full of confidence.

The British United Press Cairo correspondent says the first reports from the Western Desert state that the offensive surprised the enemy, two German armoured divisions spread along the coast between Tobruk and Bardia and Italians in position southward of Tobruk. The Italians are already retiring. The enemy were caught in dispersed areas with their formations scattered. Pressure is being exerted on the enemy’s defence lines southward of the strategic Halfaya Pass. RAINS FALL IN SHEETS A violent sandstorm swirled across the desert as the British tanks began to advance, smothering them from sight. Even the gun flashes could not be seen. This was followed by cloudbursts, which brought the rain down in sheets and turned the desert into a quagmire, knee-deep in places. A large section of an enemy armoured division spotted from the air was badly bogged. Marylands bombed it and caused widespread damage. The weather is now reported to be clearing. Mass flights of Royal Air Force bombers and fighters have inflicted tremendous damage on the enemy in continuous assaults since the opening of the offensive, reports the Cairo correspondent of the Associated Press of Great Britain. Australian and South African airmen participated in raids on enemy positions for days before the advance. The Navy co-operated by bombing Halfaya Pass and Solium. An unrevealed number of German prisoners was taken. A powerful British armoured force is seeking battle with a German panzer divi-

sion in an unrevealed locality in Cyrenaica. Military observers in Cairo say the secrecy of the drive caught the enemy unawares. The depth of the thrust surprised even the most optimistic and raised hopes that the siege of Tobruk may be lifted before the week-end. AMERICAN MATERIAL Well-informed quarters say the Com-mander-in-Chief, General Sir Claude Auchinleck, would never have launched the offensive unless he was confident of the Russian ability to hold out against the Germans in the Caucasus unaided. Masses of American material are being used. The correspondent of The Times with the Bth Army says it is too early to speak of British objectives, because the direction of some of the British movements must depend on how the German armoured forces react to the offensive. The early stages of the campaign are likely to consist of manoeuvring by both sides for a suitable firing position. It is believed that sufficient forces and material have been assembled to dispose of the Axis frmies in Libya. The maintenance of a definite British air superiority depends on whether Hitler diverts a portion of the Luftwaffe from Russia.