BRITISH FORCES CAPTURE SIDI BARRANI

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21836, 13 December 1940, Page 7

BRITISH FORCES CAPTURE SIDI BARRANI

RAPID ADVANCE ACROSS WESTERN DESERT NAVY AND AIR FORCE PLAY GREAT PART United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright (Received December 12, 9 p.m.) LONDON, December 11. THE CAPTURE of Sidi Barrani and a large number of prisoners, including three 4 generals, is announced in a communique issued by General Headquarters in Cairo. Later messages state that British armoured forces are sweeping miles beyond Sidi Barrani to Libya. British naval forces are harassing the enemy retreating along the coast and they are also bombarding enemy columns round Solium. The advance of the British forces is being carried out according to plan, and, although Sidi Barrani has been taken, no further frontal attack will be made until mopping up movements on the flanks have been completed. The count of prisoners has not yet been completed nor a full account taken of the material captured. This is considerable, however, and should greatly assist the British forces in future operations. “Advanced units of our mechanised forces, pushing westwards, made considerable additional captures,” states the Cairo communique. “As our troops move over the desert they are continually coming against pockets of Italians holding out stoutly. These are being systematically mopped up by fast, light tanks.” The desert resounded to the roar of gunfire and ’plane engines as the British advance continued without respite. The sky over the battlefield is described as being filled with British ’planes. Italian aircraft were often seen, but hesitated to give battle. The Royal Air Force has been master of the air since the operations began, and is relentlessly hammering enemy bases and transport concentrations. Waves of bombers, with powerful escorts, are being used. Every Italian aerodrome is now fair game for the Royal Air Force. Air Commodore Raymond Collishaw, a Canadian ace of the last war, commands the Royal Air Force squadrons engaged. Free French Forces co-operated in the operations. It is thought in some quarters that the Italians are already withdrawing inside the Libyan frontier. From Solium to Libya the Italian supply road runs along a narrow escarpment which emphasises the difficulty of transport and makes it easy for the British to bomb or shell the road.

SIX THOUSAND PRISONERS Quantities Of War Material An official communique issued at Cairo states: Operations are progressing satisfactorily over the Western Desert, where over 6000 Italian prisoners are now reported to have been captured, with quantities of war material not yet sorted. Active patrolling continues on the Sudan frontier. There is no change on the other fronts. It is authoritatively stated that while there is every reason to believe the operations in the Western Desert are proceeding most satisfactorily it should be emphasised that regard should be given to the vast area concerned. It is not a matter of breaking the Italian lines because these do not exist in the usually accepted sense of the term. However, a large force of Italians is in danger of being cut oft if the British hold their ground at Bugbug. The fighting is stUl in the preliminary stage. Military experts in London do not expect the British attack to develop as quickly as the Greek attack in Albania. The Italians have many tanks and large supplies of arms in the Western Desert. They have had three months to build desert fortresses which stud an area 80 miles long and 30 miles deep. These will probably have to be taken one by one. The Associated Press* understands that despatches from General Wavell’s now world-famous press conference at Cairo on Monday were the first Whitehall knew of the actual opening of the British offensive In North Africa. Staff preparations for the offensive had been In progress for weeks both in London and in Cairo, but authority for setting the British war machine in action was left in General Wavell’s hands. The War Cabinet has given both General Wavell and Admiral Cunningham wide latitude for decisions in their respective spheres. GREAT VICTORY Italians Demoralised By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received December 12, 10.5 p.m.) LONDON, December 11. The importance of the capture of Sidi Barrani lies in the fact that we have taken large quantities of equipment and stores, facilitating a further advance. The British success is the outcome of a wellplanned strategy in which British armoured units first attacked the enemy’s right flank, then forced their way to the rear while a fierce British frontal attack was launched against the enemy’s position at Maktila, 15 miles eastward. This frontal attack was completely successful. The Italians, finding themselves cut off from the rear and attacked from all sides, became demoralised. Sidi Barrani’s capture can rightly be claimed as a great victory in the early stages of the British offensive. The further weakening of the Italian morale will also tremendously affect both Arab opinion, which Mussolini has assiduously striven to cultivate, and political developments in the Balkans.

JOY IN EGYPT Lone Fights Develop Cairo newspapers feature the capture of Sidi Barrani which sent Egyptians wild with joy. The newspaper “El Ahram" uses as a headline a verse from the Koran: “Our Possession is Returned to Us.” British headquarters in Cairo point out, however, that fierce confused fighting is still proceeding in the Sidi Barrani area. Meanwhile London is still in the dark about actual details of the capture owing to the difficulty of communications. The British spokesman in Cairo said that the battle has developed at some points into lone fights between comparatively small bodies of British and Italian troops. Dispatches from Benghazi received in Rome at 9.30 p.m. estimate that about 50,000 Allied troops were engaged in the attack on Sidi Barrani. The Italians claimed to have stiffened resistance and were fiercely defending the outpost half an hour after its fall had been announced. Authoritative circles in London say that although the capture of Sidi Barrani is excellent news, the whole situation is still somewhat fluid. Since December 6 three Italian generals have resigned, three have been captured and three killed. Two admirals have also resigned. British ’planes continue to support intensively the infantry thrust in the Western Desert theatre. “Throughout the whole of Tuesday and the previous night,” states a communique, “Royal Air Force aircraft continued the bombardment of all Italian aerodromes in the Libyan desert. In addition to enemy camps, troop concentrations and motor transport were repeatedly attacked in support of the Army operations. “During yesterday five CR 42’s and one RO 37 were definitely shot down while three other CR 42’s were seen to go down out of control. Four confirmed and two unconfirmed of these enemy aircraft went to the credit of a squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force. “In addition a number of enemy aircraft was destroyed at El Aden aerodrome, as the result of a particularly heavy raid last night. High-explosives set fire to severe! hangars and smaller buildings and direct hits were also registered on dispersed aircraft, a number of which was seen to explode. The fires started were visible at a distance of 60 miles as the last aircraft approached the target. “In the Bardla-Sollum area last night many bombs were dropped on motor transport concentrations and retreating enemy troops. At Sofia during the day an enemy camp was heavily bombed. “Aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm, cooperating with the R.A.F., attacked barracks at Bardia and an escarpment toad at Bollum, while other aircraft bombed the landing ground. “One enemy aircraft on the ground at Gazala was destroyed, bringing the total to 10. without reckoning an unknown number destroyed or badly damaged. “During these continuous air operations only one of our aircraft failed to return.” An Air Ministry communique states that in the course of operations last night one of our bombers shot down an enemy twin-engined fighter.

FREE FRENCH FORCES Menacing From South While the Allied forces are attacking the Italians in the north of the Libyan frontier, Free French forces are menacing II Duce.’s troops in the south, according to a communique issued from the Free French headquarters. During the recent advance the Free French forces took a number of Italian prisoners and captured war material. They are occupying the whole of the French territory which was to have been evacuated under the so-called Armistice. More French colonial troops are going to the Western Desert where they will fight side by side with the British. General de Gaulle has taken over the whole of French Equatorial Africa and the Caineroons where there is a considerable number of Free French troops well trained in desert warfare. It is pointed out In Ankara that with the launching of the attack against the Italians in Egypt, the initiative in the Mediterranean has now passed from the Italians to the British. Italy, who was making a drive to the Suez Canal, is now on the defensive. In Abyssinia the Royal Air Force is hampering the Italians. British bombers did serious damage to the Addis Ababa-Djibuti railway at a point near the French Somaliland frontier. Direct hits were made on the station buildings as well as on railway trucks. Further in Eritrea, raids were made on Assab, the Italian Red Sea port, where damage previously done was considerably added to. Photographs taken of the raid show that the port has suffered heavy damage. An Italian communique claims that a Blackshirt division brought to a standstill the British advance in Libya, inflicting the severest casualties. Bitter fighting is still raging.