EARLIER NEWS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 December 1941, Page 3

EARLIER NEWS

OCCUPATION OF BENINA AERODROME INDICATION OF BRITISH TACTICS. CUTTING OFF ENEMY FORCES. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, December 24. The British tactics in Libya are to cut the coastline of the Gulf of Sirte into small strips and sandwich the enemy between strong units of Imperial forces, says the “Daily Mail’s” correspondent with the Eighth Army. This means that General Rommel will be obliged to fight even to maintain his retreat to Tripoli. Our forces are rapidly completing their occupation of Cyrenaica, a Cairo headquarters’ communique states. In the north an Indian force occupied Barce, and Indian and British troops are pressing on in this area toward Benghazi. The important airport of Benina, 12 miles east of Benghazi has been occupied by one of our mobile columns which includes a rifle brigade and the Royal Horse Artillery. Fur-

(her south columns of the Coldstream Guards, Royal Armoured Corps and South African Armoured Corps are attacking the retreating enemy between Antelat and Jedabaya. The columns appeal' to have interposed themselves between the retreating Germans in this area and the Italian forces remaining in the Benghazi area. It is still impossible to give any accurate estimate of the captured material and prisoners, but one small mobile column alone yesterday took 500 prisoners, and among the masses of enemy material abandoned yesterday were found 17 more enemy tanks. Our air forces continue their increasing attacks against the retreating enemy columns, in particular on the road from Jedabaya to El Agheila. They destroyed and burnt out many motor-vehicles, including a number of petrol tank wagons, causing a number of casualties to the enemy personnel. Another of our mobile columns contributed by destroying a number, of enemy aircraft on the Magrun lahding ground, while a patrol of the Twelfth Lancers when attacked by enemy aircraft- near Antelat shot one down.