Wairarapa Times-Age WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1942. THE BATTLE OF AFRICA.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 September 1942, Page 2

Wairarapa Times-Age WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1942. THE BATTLE OF AFRICA.

ALTHOUGH much that is calculated to hold attention has been happening of late in other theatres of war, the people of this country, if only on account of the part assigned to their own Expeditionary Force, are in no danger of forgetting that great issues remain in the balance in Egypt. At time of writing news of the battle which opened xvith an. attack by Axis armoured and other forces at a point 25 miles south of El Alemein and on the edge of the Quattara Depression, is not very informative. According to a War Office statement: It is not yet certain whether the enemy’s offensive is on a major scale.” For a number of reasons, however, an early break in the comparative lull that has ruled in Egypt for some weeks past, so far at all events as land fighting is concerned, was to be expected. Whatever the plans of the British Command may be, Marshal Rommel evidently cannot afford to remain indefinitely at a standstill on the line on which he- was halted two months ago. In view of his record and reputation it seems probable that he may prefer the risks of attacking with all the forces at his disposal to the undoubted dangers of a retreat through the Western Desert. Little has been made known about the relative strength of the opposing armies in Egypt, though both have been reinforced since the Axis invaders were- halted early in July. One of the most disturbing features of the situation is that the Vichy Government is credibly reported to be facilitating increasingly the flow of supplies to Rommel’s invading armies. British and Allied air forces in North Africa are in any case much less advantageously placed than when they were able to operate from Libyan airfields to attack the enemy’s Mediterranean supply routes. Available information goes to show, however, that through their henchman, Laval, the Nazis are gaining an -increasing control over French North Africa, and therefore over supply routes little exposed to attack by Allied aircraft or submarines. Apart from this highly important question of supply, Rommel’s attack on Egypt has its obvious bearing on developments in African areas as far west as Dakar, as well as in more active war areas which have figured of late much more prominently in the. news. The Axis invasion of Egypt has been described and regarded very commonly as part of a co-ordinated movement of which another part is intended to be a German drive south through the Caucasus, opening the way to the Middle East and areas beyond. In spite of the menacing progress the Nazis have made towards Stalingrad and the Caspian, their prospects of breaking through the barrier of the Caucasus are hardly improving. Even with that hope fading, or abandoned, however, the Nazis have excellent reasons for making every effort in their power to gain the upper hand in Egypt and thereby over a great part of Africa. Not long ago the Fighting French leader, General de Gaulle made a statement in which he described the Battle of Africa as one of the war’s most vital phases. The Germans will throw everything they have into the struggle (he declared). They know that if they lose Africa the European continent becomes wide open to Allied attacks. Africa, is a natural bombing base against Europe. If the Allies win Africa and air superiority, the chances for a successful invasion of Europe will be immense. At the same time General de Gaulle pointed out that Africa was naturally the key also to Nazi South American adventures. The outcome of the conflict which may now be entering upon a decisive phase in Egypt will not only determine the fate in the immediate future of the Nile Delta and the Suez Canal, but probably also that of the whole of the extensive North and West African territories now held by the Axis directly or through the agency of their Vichy hirelings. An increasing Nazi penetration of French North and West Africa, , connived at and cloaked by Vichy, is at present an unpleasant 'fact of the war and one that accentuates Allied problems. A British and Allied victory in Egypt would do much to open the way io a more promising state of affairs.