HARD JOB

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 November 1942, Page 4

HARD JOB

INVOLVED IN ATTACK ON ROMMEL’S REAR GENERAL’S REPORTED OPINION. VAST DISTANCE TO BE COVERED. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 10.50 a.m.) RUGBY, November 15. An American correspondent, broadcasting from Algiers, reports that in General Anderson’s opinion an attack on Rommel’s rear will be a hard job, as vast distances have to be covered and the Germans are trying to set a barrier between the British First and Eighth Armies. So far the enemy has landed “a considerable air force” at Tunis and some ground troops. Any day now the main body of the First Army will start rolling. It is emphasised at Allied headquarters that a complete and rapid pacification of the country will greatly speed the next phase of operations. Commanders do not want to be looking back over their shoulders, instead of looking to the front but must secure back areas while they go east. General Anderson said, according to a war correspondent at Algiers, that the objective of his army was to get at Rommel as fast as possible and help put him in the bag. They hoped to remove every German and Italian from North Africa. They were getting eastwards as quickly as possible to seize ports and airfields. The Germans were trying to build up a force to stop the advance, but were being bombed from Malta. They had landed troops and considerable air forces in Tunisia, at Bizerta and Tunis. ■ General Anderson said he was satisfied with the progress being made. Though he would like to go much faster, there was a great deal of organisation to be done and hard fighting lay ahead.