FEARS FOR TRIPOLI

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 May 1942, Page 3

FEARS FOR TRIPOLI

ENTERTAINED IN ROME RUMOURS OF PREPARATION BY ALLIES. ITALIANS DISTURBED. , (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) NEW YORK, May 16. According to private advices reaching New York, the Italians are evincing considerable nervousness regarding the possibility of a forthcoming British and American offensive against the Axis positions in Libyaf It is rumoured in Rome that such an offensive has already begun with intensified activity by the Royal Air Force. The crews of some planes which have been shot down are reported to have contained high-ranking American pilot officers, and the planes have been identified as made in America. The "Giornale d’ltalia” reported that British and American air and naval concentrations have been observed by reconnaissance planes. The newspaper added that the British and Americans had succeeded recently in transporting strong reinforcements to bases in Egypt. It is likewise rumoured that British and American naval forces are concentrating in the neighbourhood of Tripoli, the Axis base in western Libya. The Italians are disturbed over news of a withdrawal of formations of the Luftwaffe from Libya for service on the Eastern Front, and also the reported recall of General Rommel for a similar reason. Intelligence reports from Italy indicate intensified troop movements to the south. TENTH ARMY ALERT WAITING FOR POSSIBLE GERMAN MOVE. LONDON, May 16. Strategists in Cairo are taking into account the possibility that -should the Germans succeed in their present thrust they will use the ports of the Caucasus and Black Sea as bases for building up armies for a drive to the south, says the “Sunday Times.” The Tenth Army for long months has been on guard and the present events have increased its vigilance. The men realise as the battle sways in the north that their importance increases daily, both as guardians of vital oil supplies of the United Nations and as protectors of Russia’s lifeline with the Persian Gulf.