CHRISTMAS DINNER

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 307, 30 December 1942, Page 3

CHRISTMAS DINNER

NEW ZEALAND TROOPS IN DESERT (Official War Correspondent N.Z.E.F.) Tripolitania, Dec. 25. Along the sandy ridges of the Gulf of Sirte New Zealand troops, still among the foremost in the Eighth Army's advance towards celebrated to-day, their third Christmas in the Middle East. New Zealand pork. Canadian beer, vegetables and cigarettes, were carried 1200 miles from the Nile Delta for the Christmas dinner, which General Freyberg described as “most memorable.” “I think we can say our advance is going well,” he said. “Our high spirits this Christmas must be in direct contrast to those of the Axis. The Fuhrer and Mussolini must have very wistful thoughts about their African adventure. As our pincer closes they must be wondering from which port they can evacuate their force.” Of the New Zealanders’ recent outflanking movement the General said he thought it the most important action which would be written in every history of desert campaigns. At all the many troops’ celebrations the General attended during the day he spoke of the tremendous efforts which had been made to make Christmas enjoyable for the men forward in the areas. Every one ton of food that had come from the Delta had taken two tons of petrol, he said. With Colonel Ardagh, of Christchurch, A.D.M.S., General Freyberg visited wounded and sick New Zealanders in the tents of the main dressing station. To each patient he gave his personal greetings. The highlight of his visit was a conversation with a soldier whose leg was in plaster. “Was it a mine?" Freyberg asked. “No sir, football!’’ Several ot the wounded with whom the General spoke were sappers injured while clearing the treacherous minefields and booby traps left by the German rearguard. Although the dinner was cooked in improvised field ovens of mud and petrol tins and the men just sat, about in groups on sandhills to eat it, the old Army custom of officers serving the meal was observed at every cookhouse. All the way along the thousands of miles we came from the Alamein line the question has been: Where will we be for Christmas? A lew days ago we halted near the coast, and while the forward patrols remained active every possible effort has been directed towards making today the troops' day of the year. Special convoy trucks drove to El Agheila to connect with the transport bringing from Benghazi hundreds of bags of Christmas parcels and mail from New Zealand. Thousands ol loaves of bread were delivered from lhe New Zealand field bakery—a new section of the Army Service Corps and the most forward organisation of its kind in the desert. With his greetings to every section of our lighting force General Freyberg congratulated the troops on their effort in this campaign. The fighting had been hard, he said, and there was still harder lighting ahead of them. If victory didn’t come in 1943 wc would at least be well in the right direction.