DESERT BLAZE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 May 1941, Page 5

DESERT BLAZE

FOUND VERY TRYING BY GERMANS IN THE TOBRUK AREA. AUSTRALIANS TAKING VIGOROUS INITIATIVE. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, May 7. The Germans are preparing their next assault on Tobruk in a record heat wave with the temperature well over 100 degrees and a sand-laden.' wind like a blast from a furnace. Metals are so hot that they blister the men’s hands. The British garrison has cool bungalows and the Italian-built underground raid shelters, but the Germans, who are hot acclimatised, are exposed to the full blazing fury of the desert. There is not a tree for 50 miles; their tents have become hothouses, and their tanks are not airconditioned, causing men to faint in them. An officer who has returned to Cairo from Tobruk said that the way the defenders hurled back the last two enemy attacks has given the troops additional confidence, and they are taking the initiative in whirlwind night patrol actions in which they rob the Germans of machine-guns, rifles, and all sorts of equipment. The Germans learned to be cautious after the Australians allowed entire motorised machine-gun units behind a spearhead of tanks to get inside the defence, and then blew them to pieces from both sides, from the front, and from behind. HAMMERING EASES OFF. The hammering of Tobruk has eased off partly owing to the stifling sandstorm and partly through temporary exhaustion after last week’s attacks. Dive-bombing has also slackened, though the Germans are still attacking shipping in the port and its approaches. The garrison, which is under the command of the Australian General, L. J. Moorshead, consists chiefly of Australians, with some English and Indian troops. They are constantly counter-attacking the Germans with shelling and bombing, inflicting considerable losses on the enemy. The Germans bring up artillery and mortars at night, but their accuracy is not impressive. The garrison includes some of the hardiest troops in the Army of the Nile, notably some Australian sappers who walked 300 miles in 16 days after escaping from the enemy and passing through his lines. Life in Tobruk is normal, there is no shortage of food or water, and police are still busy controlling traffic in the

streets. The enemy’s attempts to close the harbour have proved ineffective. The British patrol activity in the Solium region has forced the' Germans to send out patrols to protect the coastal forces. The Germans have found trackdriven armoured vehicles unsuitable for prolonged, operations in the desert, and are gradually discarding some types of tanks in favour of heavy eight-wheeled armoured cars, mounting a gun.