BUSY IN DESERT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 August 1942, Page 4

BUSY IN DESERT

NEW COMMANDER OF EIGHTH ARMY GENERAL AUCHINLECK’S FAREWELL. * 1 10,000 AXIS PRISONERS TAKEN IN TWO MONTHS. . (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 11.20 p.m.) LONDON, August 19. The new commander of the Eighth Army, General Montgomery, has wasted no time in getting down to work, says a Cairo message. Attired in desert shorts and bush jacket, he spent his first day in the field, where he held a conference of all staff officers. One of his first calls was at the headquarters of the Armoured Corps, where he discussed the Eighth Army’s improved tank figures with General Freyberg, who has now fully recovered from his wounds. General Montgomery then visited the Australian troops in the front line. He knows the desert and was stationed in Egypt and Palestine before the war. General Auchinleck, in a farewell message to the Eighth Army, revealed that Marshal Rommel, in the last two months in Egypt had lost ten thousand men in prisoners alone. It is confirmed that a record contingent of United States Army Air Force personnel has arrived in the Middle East, consisting mostly of ground crews., Official lists issued in Pretoria show that South African casualties at Tobruk totalled 10,000, a majority of whom are classified as missing, or missing, believed prisoners of war. CHIEF OF STAFF APPOINTMENT OF GENERAL McCREERY. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 12.5 p.m.) RUGBY. August 19. The War Office announces that Ma-jor-General R. L. McCreery has been appointed Chief of the General Staff in the Middle East, succeeding Lieu-tenant-General T. W. Ccrbett. General McCreery is 44 years of age. He is a cavalryman, who has hgd prolonged experience of armoured warfare. He fought through the Dunkirk campaign and was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the D.S.O. He is one of the younger progressive generals entrusted with the formation and training of new armoured divisions and armoured brigade groups. Since last spring he has been adviser on armoured fighting vehicles in the Middle East. ACTIVE PATROLLING BY NEW ZEALAND TROOPS. MEN LOOKING FIT AND WELL. (Received ThisFDay, 11.45 a.m.) (Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) NEW ZEALAND HEADQUARTERS, August 18. Although they have had no major clash with the enemy since their second attack on the Ruweisat Ridge, the fifewjZealanders had been in close contact, with nightly patrols which seek out his positions and sometimes capture • a few prisoners. Anti-aircraft guns and artillery have been far from idle. The quiet of the night is frequently broken by exchanges of shells, btu the daytime is comparatively peaceful, though air raids continue on a reduced scale. Behind the lines there is a scene of constant activity as resources are built up and positions improved. Despite the unavoidable discomfort of living conditions, the troops are looking fit and we]l.