8TH ARMY STRONGER

Southland Times, Issue 24830, 24 August 1942, Page 5

8TH ARMY STRONGER

Assistance From America

(Rec. 9.30 p.m.) LONDON, August 22. The Bth Army’s losses since June have now amply been made up, says the Cairo correspondent of The Times, and it is again possible to contemplate more than the mere defence of Egypt. In considering the striking power of the Bth Army, also the 'loth Army, which guards the Persian and Iraqi oilfields, it must be remembered that United States assistance is daily coming more and more into the picture.

AIR CO-OPERATION IN SILENCING GUNS (Official War Correspondent)

WESTERN DESERT, August 20.

Air co-operation in silencing opposing batteries, a new experience for the New Zealand artillery, has been used with success during the present phase of this desert campaign. It is a phase of comparatively stationary warfare when the guns on both sides are dug-in and carefully concealed. When an enemy battery has been located it is difficult from the ground to observe the results of the counterfire, but with a plane to act as spotter the greatest accuracy is now possible. The smoke from the shells gives a hovering plane an indication of the enemy battery’s position and the range for our guns. The spotter plane has strong fighter escort during the operation which, when all the guns available in that- position are brought to bear, usually takes about 15 minutes.