Armoured Forces Clash In Libya

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 124, 28 May 1942, Page 7

Armoured Forces Clash In Libya

LONG LULL ENDED

Tobruk The Objective Of Rommel's New Offensive

'British Official Wlre ,e S ,-R ec . L3O pm ) The latest news from Lib k RUGBY ' Ma y 27. reported this morning, i s ei ' a ' ; where increased activity was communique received i n London" a ec,al Middle East war ''Dunns the night a large enemv , f comm "nique states: the west to the south of our pos^tio^ 0 "' 6 'j advance d from this morning the enemy was beinc " ?'? Hacheim - Early force. No di.ails of .hi fighting are ITZLll.™' activiiy, but are the TnetT"!? * n °' mere pi ' tro, correspondent, cabling from Cairr, t °. ff ensive, says The Times force mentioned in the Headou* J °" 1 ? lght " . add s that the probably the largest of the e-emv Bpe f'. al , com munique is yesterday. The fact that they I * Se . l ° Ut at daw " how well General Ritchie had disnr. ? n . gaged at nightfall shows Reuters military write, c 2 f ° r " S ' •ays uis known that °" i cnclny advance, sufficient strength, not merely to renl t Rommel in give him a small margin over hi, normaTstrength!"' bl " aU ° '° Rommel's Exposed Flan?; believe Ih»Vln"uaekinß 'The 'EHhA'T'•" London southern flank he i, striking fo, Tnh s D Ga2a,s ! «"<= on the Tobruk this time must be tal'en -it M R ° pr J rnel knows that Egypt is not to be held up by the threa toT against choice of battlefield now suggests according fT"* that he hopes to reach Tobmlc fk these authorities, perimeter by driving over the EI Ak south of its 25-mile Hacheim, which is 45 miles south of Tnb * J? e between Bir recalled that the rough country " fighting, when General Sir Claude A.irKlnl 1, t J} e of fi erce miles across the desert last wmtr R ° mmel 300

Rommel s forces yesterday began ihe advance with Stukas Mastmg the British, but nightfall f ound lhe ormi iU d * k. C k l. uN ° Man s , Und - Rommel's advance during Va I°T headquarters report, w.thin striking stance of General Auchinleck s armoured forces southwards of U W :-n here ' the b ?" le WaS joined ear 'y this coming. It is probably still gomg on, but no further news had been received up to late to-night. start t m Cairo gives a vivid description of the tart of the attack. The Germans began in their usual way," he says, by bombing our back areas during the previous night, v i* a ® ° Ur fr ? nt , tro °PS moved into action, they sent dive bombers to attack the forward positions. Our tanks were ready and waiting for them. Actually, we were well aware that the Germans might launch an attack. 1 can tell you that the enemy k- L t strong and' eager army waiting for him, an army which has learnt lessons from the last campaign.'' m. . The enemy has been helped by the Luftwaffe's blitz on »k r sides have been building up their strength, and the Germans are probably as strong as the army General Auchinleck smashed last winter.