Page 17
Page 17
7
The Middle East.
Egypt, Sudan and East Africa.
26.
There has been no change in the operational situation during the week. 3rd New Zealand Brigade and 2,550 Australian reinforcements arrived at Suez on the 29th September. A Brigade Group less one battalion arrived at Port Sudan on the 24th September.
West Africa.
27. Approval has been given for the establishment of a Signal Training Centre at Accra. G.O.C. West Africa has requested approval in principle for the establishment of the following new corps to be incorporated with the Royal West African Frontier Force, and asked that the necessary steps to legalise and name them be gone into:
The Corps of West African Engineers. The West African Signal Corps.
The West African Army Service Corps. The West African Army Medical Corps. The West African Army Ordnance Corps.
General de Gaulle has proposed that a battalion of Senegalese troops should be raised in Sierra Leone under Major Allegret for operation in French Guinea.
General Review.
AIR SITUATION.
28. During the week our night-bombing attacks have been greatly increased against military, industrial, oil and communications targets in Germany. Enemy attacks have been on a heavy scale on two days only, and the intensity of his night bombing has been somewhat reduced. Both by day and night enemy attacks have been mainly against South-East England and, considering the operations as a whole, the damage caused to production and the general war effort has been very small in proportion to the effort expended.
29. Our operations in the Mediterranean and Middle East have continued on a similar scale to the previous week, but those of the Italians have been exceedingly light.
30. Operational aircraft casualties are recorded in Appendix VI, and Appendix VII contains further extracts from Raid Assessment Reports.
Great Britain.
31. During this period the scale of operations of the German Air Force was very similar to the preceding two weeks. Widespread night bombing in the London area was continued, but on a somewhat reduced scale, and was con- centrated more on the Western outskirts of the capital, the East End and the London Docks being almost neglected. Attacks have continued against the Mersey-side Docks and in the Liverpool area. There has been a marked decrease in operations against South Wales.
32. By day the heaviest attacks were made on the 27th and the 30th September, when approximately 850 and 650 enemy aircraft operated over this country; our fighters destroyed 133 enemy aircraft on the first occasion, and 46 on the second. During the remainder of the week enemy activity was on a comparatively small scale. Numerous aerodromes were attacked and several aircraft factories, the principal being the Supermarine Works at Southampton and the De Havilland Works at Hatfield, which was subjected to a severe dive- bombing attack on the morning of the 3rd October. This aircraft was shot down by light anti-aircraft fire and the crew captured.
33. The average scale of attack by night has been about 220 and that by day approximately 410, a very high proportion by day being fighters. By day there has been no penetration in strength in the London area, all raids have shown a
[21795]
Page 17
11
Page 17
Page 17