FRONTIER REGION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 November 1942, Page 4

FRONTIER REGION

NOW CENTRE OF INTEREST IN EGYPT MUCH ENEMY TRANSPORT STILL EAST OF HALFAYA PASS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.25 a.m.) RUGBY 7 , November 9. A correspondent in Egypt today says: “The enemy is running right out of Egypt and our forces are still pushing cn after nim. Interest now centres in the frontier region and its possible points of enemy resistance. Whether the road at Halfaya Pass has been badly smashed up by bombs or not, the latest reports from the Air Force show that there still is, or was, a lot of enemy motor transport well on this side of it, particularly around Bugbug and concentrations _of these “soft” vehicles are being mercilessly bombed and machinegunned. “This is creating havoc among lorries and trucks. Our airmen seem to be doing almost what they like. enemy transport seems to be getting almost no protection at all. Our own advancing columns are getting good protection from the air all the time, for we are moving up constantly from landing ground to landing ground. “There was not any considerable fighting yesterday, which does not mean that it is all over. There aie battles still to come. The chase continues and the bulk of what is left ot the Axis army must now be over the I border. It will not improve the spirits of the German soldiers to know that away to the west—the way they are retreating —another strong force of the United Nations is progressing fast, also bent upon the business of kicking the Axis out of Africa.” Throughout yesterday afternoon, a party of enemy gunners made a suicidal attempt to check our advance at Mersa Matruh, states a correspondent with the Eighth Army. Our armoured elements were soon on the scene ana when the sun was low they had taken up their position on a ridge overlooking the enemy. The German fire was spasmodic and orders to the gunners evidently were to hold up the advance as long as possible. Then file was just strong enough to prevent a car containing newspaper men from getting through and three cars ana their occupants were slightly scratched. VALIANT PART PLAYED BY NEW ZEALAND DIVISION. RECORDS BROKEN IN DESERT DASH. (Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) (Received This Day, 11.30 a.m.) CAIRO, November 8. All records for a fighting advance in desert warfare have been broken in this campaign by the New Zealanders, who tore through the German and Italian defences at El Alamein last Friday night, and, in face of heavy opposition, advanced 45 miles before dawn on the following day. Since then the New Zealanders, who are being used in the role of a fast, hard-hitting motorised units, have been hard on the heels of the retreating Germans, following them up relentlessly and leaving the job of mopping up tired Italians to other units. The initial New Zealand dash through the El Alamein strongpoint and minefields was their greatest success in the desert, and .a large part of the credit for the enemy panic which followed when the Germans withdrew from the El Daba area, must go to the New Zealanders. So fast was their advance that the Germans left food uneaten in messes, and mugs half-filled with tea. The. New Zealanders formed part of the spearhead of General Montgomery’s drive through, and at this moment their trucks and Bren-gun. carriers are rolling westward at a terrific pace across the desert. It is impossible at this stage to state the whereabouts of our men, except that they are pushing the Germans very hard indeed far out in the desert. The New Zealanders are carrying out a job which is new to this campaign, and carrying it out in a manner which has won them the highest praise on all sides. MOUNTING TALLY 60,000 TO 70,000 AXIS PRISONERS. PLUS 40,000 ENEMY CASUALTIES. (Received This Day. 12.15 p.m.) LONDON, November 9. The Eighth Army is continuing its pursuit of Rommel’s broken force into Libya. The Associated Press of Great Britain’s correspondent at Cairo says British advanced forces plunged into Libya only ?. few hours after the ItalianGerman rearguard. The situation at Halfaya Pass is confusing. It is not clear whether the fleeing enemy has been able to clear a path through the debris on the narrow road. Another Cairo report now estimates the number of Axis prisoners taken as between 60,000 and 70,000, in addition to 40,000 casualties. Reuter’s correspondent with the Eighth Army near Mersa Matruh says the German prisoners, trudging back to the cages, are silent and gloomy, but the Italians are cheery. The road to Mersa Matruh became axle-deep in water in some places, owing to torrential rain. The desert off the road is a quagmire. The victory march accordingly has faltered in some places and some of the Eighth Army units are advancing by 1 concentric circles around the enemy. They were bogged yesterday and they dragged themselves cleai' with difficulty.