EIGHTH ARMY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 June 1942, Page 3

EIGHTH ARMY

READY TO MEET ENEMY IN GREATEST BATTLE FOR EGYPT SOME PRECAUTIONS TAKEN IN ALEXANDRIA. LONDON PAPERS DEMANDING INQUIRY. (Bv Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) LONDON, June 22. With the Battle of Libya over and Axis troops in possession of . Tobruk, the fall of which was officially announced in London last ] night the Eighth Army is prepar- j ing to meet the enemy if need be , in the greater Battle of Egypt. . It is announced from Alexandria that evacuation which was decided upon some months ago has begun for people , in a defined danger area there. 1 The Imperial forces are now prepar- , ing in the Halfya-Sollum-Fort Capuzzo ( triangle to meet Rommel’s next blow. It is hoped that some members of Tob- j ruk’s garrison escaped by sea during j the darkness. The South African Pre- j mier, General Smuts, disclosed that the < fall of Tobruk involved the capture of substantial numbers of the South Af- i rican forces in Egypt. I A communique issued in Cairo today . states: “Our mobile forces were in con- < tact with an enemy column yesterday . near Sidi Azeiz (about 12 miles north- , west of Fort Capuzzo). There is no , further news from Tobruk.” The London newspapers all agree that the fall of Tobruk is a disaster which gravely affects the position in the Middle East and which calls for decisive action by the Government for a searching inquiry /and an urgent overhaul, even if it may bd painful. ORGANISED DEFENCES. The Cairo correspondent ,of the “Daily Mail” says that the Imperial line starts at Solium and runs down the Egyptian frontier, though the term “line” is over exact, because there are troops being reorganised miles back in Egypt and others operating miles forward in Libya. The line is fixed and definite only along the cliffs over Halfaya and Solium, Where there is an intricate system of minefields, gun positions and ravines in which the British are dug in. It is evident that the Eighth Army is still able to muster a formidable force, the correspondent adds. Bardia has not been mentioned in the British communiques. It is possible that a German claim to have occupied that town is correct. A correspondent says that when the Eighth Army took up new positions it went well beyond Bardia and no attempt was made to include it in the defence scheme. ATTACKS IN PROSPECT. The “Daily Mail’s” military correspondent says: “While Tobruk held out Rommel was incapable of making a blitz on Egypt. Now he will not wait a second longer than is necessary before striking his main blow. It looks as though we must fight a defensive frontier battle while the wearisome process of building up reserves begins all over again. “We must be ready lor an early fierce assault on Egypt. Paratroops and air-borne troops from Crete and the Greek islands may strike at Cyprus and direct at Alexandria, or m the immediate rear of our frontier forces. Reuter’s correspondent in Alexandria says that six Greeks who have escaped from their homeland state that many German planes are in Crete. Underground hangars are being built at Maleme, where the aerodrome is also being extended, they say. “The Times” describes the fall oi Tobruk as a costly defeat, and the “News Chronicle” says it is the “most serious knock since the fall of Singapore.” ■ ANGER IN BRITAIN. The “Daily Mail” says: “The fall of Tobruk completes the disaster to our arms in Libya and again gives stern warning of the enemy’s strength and resourcefulness. Tobruk last year resisted for nearly eight months; now it falls in days, with the loss of many thousands of our best soldiers, and stores and munitions which the remainder of the Eighth Army urgently need. The people of this country are bitterly hurt and not a little bewildered. The British are going to be very angry people.” 1 . Mr John Gordon, writing m the “Sunday Express,” says: “Egypt and our shaky hold on the Mediterranean are in peril, this is because in Libya we have experienced a disaster which we certainly never anticipated. It is a pretty dreadful story and it means that any hope we have had of passing to the offensive there has gone. At any moment now we may see clouds of paratroops who have been training in Greece and Crete come into the picture to increase our difficulties.” The “New York Times” states: “The battle now in progress is crucial and must be won at all costs. The ground lost is not vital to Egypt, but Egypt is vital to the Middle East.”