AMBUSH DANGER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 20 October 1942, Page 3

AMBUSH DANGER

CARE NEEDED AROUND CAIRO

WARNING SIGNS FOR DRIVERS Cairo, Aug. 17. Big lettered signs along the desert road all the way from the outskirts of Alexandra to Alamein warn the unwary to beware of ambushes, reports a correspondent of "The Christian Science Monitor.” The risk naturally is greatest in the forward area directly behind the lines

where in the past enemy patrols sometimes have filtered through the lines and fatten upon poorly defended "softskinned” supply echelons. But farther back, since the road closely parallels the coast, there is always the theoretical possibility of marauding parties landing from boats. The third danger is from saboteurs landing individually or in small groups by parachute or ingenious Friedler Storch monoplanes which can make i almost vertical landings or take off in a space no bigger than the average j householder's back yard. FRONT MORE COMPACT The actual present front being shorti er and more compact and the rear area : easier to police, the danger from such surprise parties is considerably less j than in the days of the long straggling ! Gazala line with many gaps and uni guarded areas. j The greatest danger of ambush was during retreat In the period when the j battle was fluid, there would be no sysI tematic check-up on the road traffic. | and several parties of Germans drove j captured British vehicles and mingled i with British motor transport convoys, j At night they would attack lone vehides. Nevertheless the danger of being ambushed is considerably less than the danger of being bombed or machinegunned from the air or for that matter meeting with an accident on a congested highway with a fairly large percentage of reckless drivers. Machinegunning from the air occurs rather seldom in all except front-line areas, but occasional charred frames of burnedout trucks and other vehicles by the roadside testify to such incursions, i Enemy fighters show a marked preference for motor fuel and ammunitions I trucks. ARMS FOR VEHICLES Practically every Army motor vehicle on the road carries some armament against the possibility of attack—Army [ rifles and revolvers, sometimes even Bren guns and machine guns just in I must admit that upon us newspaper correspondents, noncombatants that we are. these ambush warnings have a rather disturbing effect since with one or two exceptions we are totally unarmed and we are not supposed to be according to International Red Cross rules. I for one doubt if any German parachutist or marauder would stop to ascertain our identity before shooting. Under the circjmstances one simply assumes that the contingency will not