IN THE WESTERN DESERT

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 43, 14 November 1940, Page 10

IN THE WESTERN DESERT

Work Of New Zealanders (From the Official War Correspondent attached to the N.Z.E.F. in Egypt.) CAIRO, November 12. With something of the art of concealment instinctive in other creatures of the desert, the lighting troops of the first New Zealand contingent are ready to merge themselves into the dust-blown, rollingwaste the moment their present sector is threatened by enemy land action. The defensive positions on which they have tirelessly worked since they were moved as a complete formation into the Western Desert are their first real battle stations. The part played by New Zealand's first overseas draft in the war so far bus been more or less negative and no opportunities for spectacular achievement have yet come its way in the long months of preparing and awaiting action.

Behind the scenes, however, tlie contingent. has carried out a diversity of duties as valuable as they have been unostentatious, for example, guarding tlie lines of communication to aerodromes and similar vital points. Another major activity was assistance with tlie building of desert fortifications. This task, which is now only a memory of intense physical effort, took the fighting units into blue in relays and earned them the right to inherit the imine'of “diggers.” Infantry companies also helped to guard Italian and Libyan prisoners.

Relieved largely of these duties, the greater’part of the contingent took its place several weeks ago among Empire forces which await a further advance by the Italians. In line with the present general policy of active defence, tlie New Zealanders’ first bat,tie stations are defensive in nature, ready to be manned and held at the briefest notice. Their trenches, dug-outs and gun positions are cunningly blended into their surroundings and are an invisible monument to science of concealment and to sheer bard work. Yet it is impossible to say how much closer the contingent is to action today than it Ims ever been before. 'The situation is perhaps best compared with that which ruled for so long on France’s western front in the early days of the war. when land hostilities were confined to sporadic outpost raids and Allied troops even found time to help peasant farmers behind tlie Maginot Line. The chief point of difference is that New Zealanders have been too busy with such tasks as digging in to feel tlie flinch of real boredom in (his waiting phase. Moreover, Hie opportunity lias been seized lately for advanced training exercises by companies, regiments and (lie full brigade. Excursions dee]> into Hie wilderness of the desert have been imide by lhe troops. who go fully mechanized, armed anil equi|>[>ed, ready not only lo play realistic war games, bin also lo close in real battle.

It would be unnatural. however, if the New Zealanders failed to echo Hie plea heard among the waiting troops everywhere: "Give us action. Illis spirit is typified by the ease of one body of men who actually asked a senior oflieer to try to arrange some sort of war. Rumours which have arisen at home that tlie contingent has been in the thick of things are wistfully branded lit the men as wishful thinking. The small percentage of bailie casualties, of which all have been caused by aerial bomb splinters, is a complete enough answer lo these rumours.