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41. Egypt.-7 Armoured Division (less one Armoured Brigade in Cairo) has moved towards the Libyan frontier and now covers Sidi Barrani from the West. A minor encounter at Sidi Omar, an Italian fort on the border, resulted in the capture of two Italian Officers.
42. Somaliland.-Air reconnaissance discovered no enemy in the north-west corner of the Protectorate. Demolitions have been effected by the Allies on the Jibuti Railway, and on roads leading towards Jibuti and Zeilah.
The Balkan States.
43. In Greece it is officially stated that the strength of the army exceeds 130,000 and that arrangements have been made to increase the garrison of Crete (one infantry division) to war strength at a few hours' notice. Measures are also being taken to speed up mobilisation so that the army can be placed on a war footing in two days.
44. In view of her weakness in equipment and her position with potential enemies on most of her frontiers, Yugoslavia has not taken any spectacular steps as a result of Italy's entry into the war. Her sympathy for the Allied cause has, however, been officially confirmed, and it is believed that her army, which has been strengthened recently, may serve to contain a number of Italian divisions.
Far East.
45. The capture of Ichang and Shasi by Japanese forces marks the first material extension of their sphere of influence in China since the capture of Nanning in November 1939.
Ichang is of considerable economic importance; it lies at the entrance to the Yangtze gorges and is, therefore, the point from which the whole of the Lower Yangtze shipping can be controlled.
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General Review.
46.
AIR SITUATION,
The air operations of both sides have been very largely confined to the support of land operations, and bombing has, consequently, been mainly on communications. The enemy continues to employ large quantities of aircraft for close support, and our medium bombers have also been used extensively, and with considerable effect, against targets in the battle area. Weather has, on the whole, been bad, and air fighting has been restricted. Attacks on Germany have, however, been continued. Two extensive raids were made on this country, though with little effect, and enemy mine-laying has been intensified. German warships have been attacked at Trondheim. The entry of Italy into the war was marked by air attacks on Northern Italy (which were hampered by bad weather), by most successful Royal Air Force operations in the Middle East and by Italian attacks on Malta, Aden and Bizerta.
Air Defence of Great Britain.
47. Wide-spread enemy raids were carried out over the Eastern Counties on the nights of the 6th/7th and 7th/8th June by about fifty aircraft on each night. On the 6th/7th June bombs were dropped near Cranwell, Driffield, Upwood and other eastern aerodromes, and near steel works at Scunthorpe and Frodingham, though this was probably not by design. On the following night bombs fell near Mildenhall, Bircham Newton, Raynham and Cottesmore aerodromes. Practically no harm was done to the aerodromes attacked, and the damage at Scunthorpe and Frodingham was not serious. There have been no further raids on land targets, although mine-laying aircraft have been active on most nights, and there were reports of a ship being bombed off the East Coast on the 10th/11th June. One of these mine-laying aircraft, a Heinkel seaplane, crashed in Suffolk on the night of the 7th/8th June, and the crew were killed. Guns and searchlights have been in action on several occasions, and searchlight positions were machine-gunned without effect at Dover on the 8th/9th June. In
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