1940-11-28 — Page 22

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THE CHINA MAIL, NOVEMBER 28, 1940.

ITALIAN ADVANCE FROM LIBYA

WHY BRITAIN EVACUATED SOLLUM

THOSE WHO have shown impatience with the

British withdrawal from Sollum in face of the Ital-

ian advance from the Libyan frontier are probably

unaware of what took place in those parts in the last War.

At the end of 1915 the great religious leader who had become temporal chieftain of the tribes of Eastern Libya and the Western Desert of Egypt, the Grand. Senussij was jockeyed by Enver Pasha and his. German associates into an attack on Egypt.

-

The total military man-power at his disposal did. not exceed a few thousand, of which about half was occupied penning the Italians into their coast fortresses. whence, it may be added, they rarely emerged until long afterwards, when we had done their work for them by breaking the Senussi's power and driving him out of the country.

His regular forces, or Muha- strategic variation. The main ad fizia, consisted of only five or six vance must be carried out along battalions roughly licked into shape the coast belt and the main opera- by that remarkable Iraqi soldier, 'tion must take the form of a fron- Ta'tar Pasha el Askeri. Yet in tal attack. The British right flank Mediterranean face of this very limited concen- is safe while the iration of force the commander Fleet is in being and, conversely, in Egypt withdrew his outposts the situation of the Italian left from Sollum and even from Sidi flank must always create a cer- Barrani, and only stood to dispute tain amount of anxiety in the mind i the enemy's advance at Matruh, of Matshal Graziani. Inland the which is precisely where the Italians might attempt a turning forces defending Egypt have esta- movement by the track from Siwa blished a main line of resistance to the coast just east of Matruh to-day.

or even by that which leads, in It is true that at the outset wards Alexandrin, but it would small General Sir John Maxwell could almost certainly be on a oppose the forces of the Senussi scale and might have no more only with odd battalions of vary- than a nuisanco value.

economical.

GERMANS TOLD

KEEP YOUR SOAP ON A STRING"

Keep your soap on a. string, it's more: economical-that is. the latest advice given by German

newspapers.

Soap is strictly ra tioned in Germany- each person gets only one small piece of toilet.soap a month.

Explaining the economy advice, the paper said that piece of soap hung on a string always mained dry, lasting much longer.

re-

To use the soap, it was only necessary to touch it with wetted hands. Associated Press.

"MISSING",

ESCAPED -KILLED

ing experience and quality and Possibly the camel may prove | L with extemporised cavalry re-that on caravan routes giments and squadrons formed these it has maintained its mili- from the base depots. of tary value. Because desert roads units taking part in the Gallipoli arė practicable for mechanical campaign: The fact remains that transport it does not necessarily the Middle East Command is now follow that lorries are always There maintenance faced by a big and highly equip- ped modern army backed by a may indeed be an expensive and powerful air force rather than by difficult business, and, of course, the handful of ill-equipped though maintenance implies more trans- stouthearted partisans who gave port of a heavy type. A Special us so much trouble 25 years ago. Correspondent speaks of his satis-

After being posted If justification were needed for faction in watching from the the strategy of General Wavell escarpment mentioned above the "missing, believed killed,' this historical parallel would sure- Italian "heavy lorries brune

S

ly provide it: Such situations their way precariously over the escaping from Nazi capti- often recur in military history be- rough desert tracks." And these vity in occupied French cause, despite changes in arms, were tracks of the coast belt, pro- transport, and methods of war, hably very much superior to those territory, and being in- certain types of country always further inland by which a turn- terned in unoccupied tend to dictate the course of cam- ing movement might be effected, Trance, a British Army paigns waged in them.

Air Support

The Coast Belt.

received: 'a: letter from him.

heard the news of his death.

captain was killed in the The Correspondent also spoke French 'planes' raid on In Cyrenaica the land drops of the lavish expenditure of artil- Gibraltar. steeply to the Miditerranean until lery ammunition by the Italians. The experiences of the dead the centre of the Gulf of Sollum Is It remains to be seen whether they officer, Captain_H. L. Trythall, reached. Eastward this line of will be able to keep this up after while crossing France and Spain cliff diverges from the shore, so they have covered. another 60 to Gibraltar with another officer, that we have a high plateau, which miles of the stony waste between were related by his wife, who had gradually merges into the Taret. Sidi. Barrani and Matruh. Mountains, overlooking a wide Whether or not they succeed Mrs. Trythall, who lives at Rich- coast belt, that must, at some re- in doing so, it can be taken for mond Avenue, Bognor Regle, mote period have been covered granted that the attack when

launched by the waters of the Mediterran-

witi depend; very Gan. Sollum itself, is rendered

largely upon air support. Nor untenable by the proximity of the can it be doubted that air attack high ground, though Fort Abbas will'severely try the défénce. was hopefully built on top of the It seems likely that the Western cliff: for the purpose of defend- Desert will afford opportunities ing it: Various possible defensive for the dropping of parachutists. positions: appear between. Sidi but our Command must-have at Barrand and Matruh; but none of its disposal exceptionally good them could be expected to hold and keen-eyed scouts for dealing up a strong attack. Matruh itself, with this form of tactics. is another matter. A force which: A more serious menace is that reaches its neighbourhood from of the bombing of civilians, a the Italian frontier will already method which the Italians have covered some 150. miles as the first to elevate to the realm the crow flies and will be well of established tactics and have strung out along the semi-desert | indeed declared capable of win- of the const zone:

ning, wars. by itself.

The defence will have well-de- veloped water supplies and a rail- way to the main base at Alexan- dria. behind it.

as

During the operations on the Western Front last May, Cap- talh Trythall, was posted missing, but was later found to have been in a: French 'hospital wounded, and was interned when the Germans +

occupied the territory.

Disappointment.

He escaped with Captain Johnson, and together they made. were their way towards unoccupied France to some friends of Cap- tain Trythall.

After travelling many miles on foot and on bicycles, which they had bought with the little money, they had, they found that the people had gone-away. In August Mrs. Trythall heard. that her husband had been in-

Another risk is that German aircraft will be employed, while the use of German ground troops is not impossible. It may well be, Moreover, west of Matruh ile however, that for the sake of several miles, of soft, white Fascist prestige the Italians will terned. sandhills, and farther inland, make an attempt to do the work: Later she received a letter from series of deep-cut wadis carry the rare but heavy rains of the

·Taref: Mountana, to: seep: away Into the sand. before they can: -reachi-thay-zaagteke

for themselves. They are certain ly no novices in the arts of desert warfare:

· Graziani's Attacks -

her husband telling of his experi- ences. For some time she heard no more of him, but then she received a telegram signed "Daddy.": In it he said he The route once; and, perhaps However urgently Marshal was in good luck, and hoped to still grandiloquently Itnown as the Graziani may be pressed to quick- be home soon. Khedivial Motor Road twists and

of one considérationi. Good as

turns to find a way through these en his puce, he will not lose sight watercourses. The tangle of wadis, his administrative staff work may possessing superior Intent strilt- with rough hillocks intervening be, frugal.as are the troops under ing power. The extent to which and the belt of sandhills, combine his command, the strength of the he can support an advance or rem to provide Matruh with strang na-force which he can maintain in pol a counter-offensive depends tural defences. Doubtless military the desort must be limited by the largely upon our ability to coun art has reinforced-nature.,

Small Scope

In country of this type all sorts of tactical devices may be employ- ed, but there is small scope for

factor of supply. His force in the ter his afr arm. We should have coast" belt,' should it roach, the sinall chuse for anxiety, were we neighbourhood of Matruh, {may | absolutely pssured on the point: be likened to a spiral steel spring but then there is always in wor fairly, extended; ours wi

'fare some factor which cannot be spring compressed and therefore estimated with certainty.