Desert Lull Expected To Be Shattered At Any Moment

Taranaki Daily News, 27 August 1942, Page 3

Desert Lull Expected To Be Shattered At Any Moment

Strong Axis reinforcements have arrived. Rec. 9.45 p.m. London, Aug. 25. As the August moon rises to the full, expectation increases that the desert lull will soon be shattered and the battle for Egypt resumed, says the Times correspondent in the Western Desert. It is impossible to say from which side the attack will come but that it is coming is obvious to all who have watched the j ebb and flow of the successive desert campaigns. Both sides are heavily reinforced. As far as can be gathered FieldMarshal Rommel has succeeded in getting to the front an entire new division —the 164th from Crete— plus a new Italian division, besides building up the 90th Light Division, which had been considerably reduced. In addition, there is evidence that one German and one Italian parachute regiments have taken_ up positions alongside the armoured units.

Features of special significance are reports of considerable movement from the southern end of th'e E1 Alamein iine. where it was mistakenly thought that the nature of the: ground would I'.ave precluded operations, but actually the | ground of the edge of the Quattar.i Depression is exceptionally good. The enemy air force has also been suspiciously inactive recently, suggesting tliat it is held back for some particular operation. With almost windless days and brilliant moonlight nights with a slight decrease of heat, dust and flies, conditions are ideal for the battle, which is likely to break out this week or else not until later next month. The Daily Telegraph's Cairo correspondent says there are good grounds for confidence. "We have profited from the defeat at Knightsbridge and the Acroma fighting and different tank tactics will be employed," he says. The Salonika representative of the Times reports that four trains each of 30 waggons carrying German troops and also some Italians from the north, arrived last week, presumably for Africa.