MERSA-MATRUH WELLS

Evening Star, Issue 23689, 24 September 1940, Page 4

MERSA-MATRUH WELLS

EGYPT'S WESTERN DEFENCE Should tho Italians attack Egypt they will have to come to this place—and take it. For this is the key to Egypt’s defences in tho western desert (writes Richard Mowrer, in the London ‘Daily Telegraph,’ from MersaMatruh). In peace time Mersa-Matruh is a small seaside village with two hotels. Now it is a forbidden zone with fortifications for a radius of 60 miles, manned by British and Egyptian forces. And here there is water, the only drinking water for hundreds of miles around. If the Italians come, they will want to capture this place partly because it is the railhead of the coastline railroad to Alexandria, but, above all, because of the water to drink. From what the military authorities have courteously permitted me to see I have a distinct feeling that it would be a bad thing to bo an Italian attacking Mersa-Matruh. It is an all-day ride from Cairo to here. General headquarters generously provided mo with a special military pass, an army car, camouflaged, desert style, and a former Liverpool bus driver to drive it. The car had the extra large balloon tyres that do not sink into tbe sand too much. But to Mersa-Matruh we took the coast road.

On tho right lay the Mediterranean, occasionally blocked from view by great sand dunes and crusty ridges. On either sido of the road tar drums were scattered around. Tho desert for the first hour is a flat hard surface. Beyond the simmering ridges to the south the great soft “ sand sea ” begins, where only camels can tread. Somewhere in that vast expanse, in 525 n.c., the Persian conqueror, Cambyscs, and his army of 50,000 men disappeared, and no trace of them has ever been found. The Western Desert within the confines of Egyptian territory extends over a 200,000 square mile area—formidable natural barrier to invasion. If the Italians attack they will have to start from where there is water, and that is miles west of Libya’s eastern frontier. Two hundred miles from the sea coast and only 50 miles from the Libyan border there is Siwa Oasis, in Egypt; but from the Libyan border nearest Siwa Oasis to the nearest Italian oasis it is 260 miles. Farther south the oases in Egypt are fewer and farther between, there is less water, and there is the great “ sand sea.”

On the coast tho distances between drinkable water are not so great, comparatively—about 80 miles from Italian Tobruk to Egyptian Solium. But at Solium tbe quantities of available water are insufficient to satisfy the wants of an expeditionary force. The importance of Mersa-Matruh, 150 miles from the Libyan border, is its water. For this reason it is fortified. Military experts estimate that to attack Mersa-Matruh with some chance of success the Italians would have to use 15,000 men and be prepared to sustain heavy casualties. But before they could attack they would have to get their force here, and to do that would have to transport for at least 200 miles enough water for 15,000 men and the radiators of their mechanised units.

Once they had done that they would have to tackle a series of tough fortifications. WEEK-END RESORT.

Mersa-Matruh is famous as the sum-mer-time week-end resort of Cleopatra and Antony. It is also famous for its sandstorms. As we approached it swirls of sand swept across the road ahead of us—tall funnel-shaped swirls sucked up by the.hot south wind and carried out to sea.” By the time we had entered the shabby village a gale was blowing, and the air was like steamy yellow fog. The fine sand filtered through the cracks in the car. It got into our - eyes, ears, and noses, and stuck to our damp skins. When we closed the ventilator to keep out the sand we stifled. When wo opened it a crack the sand swished in. Here in this place British and Egyptian troops eat and breathe sand and prepare for the Italians. At first glance Mersa-Matruh looks vulnerable from the sea. Perhaps it is. But permanent lookouts are posted on the points outside the bay, and coastal batteries cover the approach to the lagoon. Submerged coral reefs complicate navigation here. Enemy ships could shell Mersa-Matruh to smithereens, perhaps, but the destruction of the town would not affect the defences. The men would be out of barracks and at their posts, variously distributed in that 60-mile radius of fortifications. The Mersa-Matruh defences are a perfect example of war-time exterior decorating. Pillboxes, trenches, dugouts, depots blend with the desert, and are hard to make out. Pillboxes are so placed as to make cross-fire effective. They are like chessmen—each piece covers another. There are barbed wire entanglements. There are tank traps and trenches. And at various places the white concrete anti-tank “ little pyramids ” stand up in rows The Army men here have thought out a lot of nasty situations for an attacking enemy. Supposing enemy infantry succeeded in reaching an antitank trench and flopped down into it for shelter. Well, the men in there would find themselves under fire from both extremities of that long, straight, broad ditch with no bends in it. “ LINES OF FIRE.” Supposing the enemy attacked at night and visibility was bad. Well, the machine gunners in the casemates would only have to sight their weapons on any of the small wooden or metal pegs sticking out from tho ground just a few feet outside the loopholes, and open fire. For the pegs indicate the line of fire necessary to cover various stretches of open terrain several hundred yards away and invisible in the dark. Normally loopholes would be visible to tho enemy. Tho black slits would stand out against the light-coloured soil and sand. But here, at Mersa-Matruh, ribbons of gunnysack cloth bang like curtains over tho loopholes so they cannot bo seen. In the sand by the sea yon flounder, it is so fine and thick. Here the dunes shift continually, complicating the establishment of fortified outposts. A part-time job for any soldier in this sector is to shovel tho sand away from tho loopholes of various casemates. In tho process of digging, tho men have discovered old tombs, some of them dating back several centuries. In the desert water is always a problem—even at Mersa-Matruh. When the war started water had to be rationed at the rate of one gallon per man per day for all purposes. Certain regiments connected with mechanised water-absorbing units got more. In November the ration was increased to two gallons, later to three and ahalf gallons per man. Gradually the water situation has been improved, so that now there is no rationing here, although the water consumption is always subject to regulation. The proximity of the son at times complicates the water system. Water must

not be pumped from the wells without interruption, otherwise it reaches salt level and is undrinkable.

Mersa-Matruh can be a lovely place, they tell me. But this time of year the sand stings your face and hands tnd gets in behind your goggles. In the officers’ mess tho violent hot wind grabs the door handle and rattles it frantically. At the hospital an acute case of appendicitis is being kept waiting in the hopes that by nightfall the storm will stop and the sand settle down, so that they can operate.