THE DOGGED HUN

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 67, 27 April 1943, Page 4

THE DOGGED HUN

WHATEVER our opinion of the: German soldier, as a man. we must feel compelled to concede the fact that his fighting qualities time and again arouse our admiration. The most pressing instance at. the present time is the tenacious manner in which Rommel's Afrika Corps, is clinging stubbornly to that tiny corner Tunisia, which constitutes* the-final Axis foothold on the great continent of Africa.Let us briefly studji the position from the enemy's point of view, for a change. On the face of it the position of the * German-Italian force appears to be positively and utterly hopeless. outnumbered, attacked on two sides and with their backs to the sea, outclassed, in air by a wide Allied margin of superiority and with th« might of the British Mediterranean fleet behind them to cut off any seaborne retreat that they may contemplate. Thus we have a thumb nail picture of the desperate plight of the one-time proud invasion army which came so closei to reaching the all important Nile and subduring the strategic land of Egypt the national guardian of that, life-line of Empire the. vital Suez Canal. With the courage of fanaticism Rommel's army strongly entrenched on the rugged land south of Tunis and Bizerta is fighting a bitter battle against odds which must inevitably overwhelm. Slowly under the continued pressure of the Allied armies the rugged mountain escarpment is yielded bit by bit, yard by yard, yet we are assured by our commentators that we are paying a heavy price for our tortuous advance. The casualty lists will tell their own bitter tale in time to ißbfc what will be the final outcome of this three year cam-, paign? Obviously only catastrophe lies in store for the German Commander, who in spite of his well known prown ess in other campaigns must see for himself the disaster which lies ahead. Continual retreat, however gradual can' lead to but one of three courses when retreat becomes no longer possible, and they are annihilation, complete surrender or the hazardous alternative of withdrawal by sea. a venture which would be accompanied by all the horrors of an Allied aerial blitz coupled with the counter activities of the fleet. Whatever Rommel may have in mind we cannot but concede him our admiration in the magnificent fight he is continuing to put up in the face of inevitable defeat.