HELD IN CHECK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 April 1941, Page 5

HELD IN CHECK

ENEMY FORCES IN LIBYA NO CAUSE FOR ANXIETY. PERCEIVED IN BRITAIN. In Libya the concentration of British Imperial troops is proceeding smoothly, the 8.8. C. reports. This statement follows a previous announcement that the German and Italian advance was being held. CAIRO REPORT SITUATION WELL IN HAND. CHOICE OF BATTLEFIELD. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, April 5. _ A Cairo headquarters communique states that in Libya the enemy columns advancing eastward from Benghazi have been successfully held and that.the situation is well in hand. It is now known that General Garibaldi commands the Italian and German forces in Libya. According to a military spokesman in Cairo, there is not the slightest cause for anxiety over Benghazi. "Let the Germans come as far as they like,’ he said. "We are choosing our own battlefields, as we did when Marshal Graziani advanced in the autumn. "It would have suited us better and caused less trouble if we had been able to defeat the Italian army on the Egyptian frontier instead of trekking to Benghazi. Cyrenaica, if anything, is a liability. We would have been happy to defeat the enemy at Solium instead of Benghazi.” The Middle East correspondent of the Press Association says that General Wave'll is quite confident of coping with the situation. A Berlin report says that the German army corps has begun a drive toward Dorna. Military circles in Berlin state that the offensive will be carried through at considerable speed.

The German force in North Africa is believed to complete four divisions of crack troops, fully mechanised and equipped with the latest weapons. Authorised spokesmen in London point out that any appreciation of the African position must take account of the operations in East Africa and the very great contrast existing between the loss of Benghazi and the progress on all sides in Eritrea and Abyssinia. The loss of Benghazi must be regarded as a setback, but not a serious one. It is not yet known whether Italy and Germany can keep up the momentum of the present advance. The short sea journey from Sicily to Africa facilitates the transport of the Germans.