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d

Sudan.

y

f

3

1

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East Africa.

26. Our patrols continue to be active.

West Africa.

27. (a) Reinforcement of Freetown.-The 161st Brigade Headquarters, 2/5 Essex Regiment, Brigade Signal Section and L.A.D. have been despatched to Freetown. With the 1/4 Essex Regiment, Field Company R.E. and Field Ambulance which are already out there, there will be in Freetown 1 Brigade Group of 2 Battalions. In addition, approval has been given for the formation of a Royal West African Frontier Force Brigade in Sierra Leone. This will consist of 2 battalions which are at present at Sierra Leone, and 2 which are forming in Nigeria.

The expansion of the Royal West African Frontier Force is continuing and further reinforcements and ancillary units have been despatched. Approval has been given for the formation of the following Corps :-

Corps of West African Engineers. West African Signal Corps. West African Army Service Corps. West African Army Medical Corps.

West African Army Ordnance Corps.

(b) West African Governors' Conference. At a conference of three of the West African Governors and the G.O.C., West Africa, it was decided that a permanent Governors' Conference Secretariat should be established. Its main object will be the co-ordination of war effort in West Africa.

Japan.

28. During the last three months there has been an increasingly large number of reports on parachute training by Japanese, both in Japan and in occupied China. Whilst the numbers mentioned, about 25,000 in Japan and 1,500 elsewhere, may well be exaggerated, there would appear to be little doubt that intensive training is in fact taking place.

General Review.

AIR SITUATION.

29. Unfavourable wintry weather conditions considerably reduced our operations, but a heavy concentrated attack was made on Bremen.

Enemy night attacks on this country were on a reduced scale and on three nights no operations took place. London was attacked twice on a moderate scale, but one attack was successful in raising the most serious fires.

Our bombing operations in Greece and Libya have continued at considerable intensity.

Operational aircraft battle casualties and extracts from recent Raid Assess- ment Reports are given in Appendices VI and VII.

Germany and Occupied Territory.

30. Bomber Command flew 31 day and 328 night sorties during the period and a number of additional attacks were made by Coastal Command aircraft.

31. Weather conditions by day were so unfavourable that on only one day during the period were Bomber Command medium bombers successful. Direct hits were registered on a factory at Cologne, on an anti-aircraft ship at Flushing and on an administrative building at Haamstede aerodrome. Coastal Command aircraft made some good day attacks on aerodromes in Northern France and on railway sidings at Dieppe and Le Treport. During one of these raids a Blenheim shot down a Me. 109. On three days small fighter patrols carried out low flying attacks on ground targets in Northern France, in the course of which aerodromes, anti-aircraft posts and other military targets were machine-gunned.

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