Evening star., 1941-06-18
HeI|fire Pass Taken
By Scots Regiment
In LibYan Drive
Germons Rolled Back
Almost to SuIum in
Surprise Attack
BY GODFREY III. P. ANDERSON,
An English Journalist.

All EIlblloh OOul hdAlSb'
WITH ADVANCED IMPERIAL
FORCES IN THE WESTERN
DESERT, June Is Delayed -
Britain's desert fighters opened a
new offensive at m. today (Sun-
day) and by nightfail had rolled in
the right German flank almost to
the burning town of Salum on the
Mediterranean coast.
A famous Scottish regiment was
Installed firmly astride the summit
of. Halfaya CHellf1re) Pass connect
ing the top of the escarpment with
the town.
To the south British tanks sped
across the sandy wastes and took
the strategic point of Bir Wa'er just
inside the Libyan frontier and south
of the italian Fort Capuzzo.
The Germans. fighting desperately
TO retain a foothold on the lower
slopes of Hellfire Pass, backed into
Salum and grimly held on under the
heavy pounding of the British
medium batteries.
The secret of Gen Sir Archibald
p. Wavell's developing penetration
was well kept and in the beginning
German and italian troops were al
most. completely surprised.
Trucks Move at Night.
Some imperial troops moved up
for, sle attack on foot, marching
many miles per day and creeping
In Indian file over the face of the
desert to escape Axis aerial recon-
naissance.
Trucks carrying rations and am
munition numbered forward nightly
at widely separated intervals strug-
Cling through sandy ruts and grind
ing stunted thorn bushes.
When the infantry reached for
ward positions all movement ceased.
Each man had to lie at his post
under a blazing sun, drinking and
eating from his own pack. Each
dug himself into the sand and stayed
there all day and all night until
the first guns sounded the zero
hour at dawn.
crept forward with the infantry
n the gray light of dawn, as chilli
ing wind still blew across the sand.
A gray-haired brigadier sketched
the campaign plan in the sand with
his walking stick.
Great Attack Begins.
He pointed in circle around what
appeared to be an unoccupied region.
But promptly at am. thousands
of armed men moved out of their
hiding places in the scrubby bushes
and the great attack began.
Clouds of acrid yellow smoke
rolled down the aptly-named He'll
fire Pass as batteries poured thou
sands of shells of all calibers. The
escarpment temporarily was blotted
from view.
By the time the sun was high an
intense battle had been Joined over
the entire front from the escarpment
to the sea- The whine and crash
of exploding shells were almost con-
tinuous.
Planes droned like bees in cloud
less sky where the r. A. F. tackled
the LuftWaffe on more equal terms
than usual
The day scarcely had begun when
the first Nazi plane swooped out OF
the blue and plummeted a few hum
dred yards away in welter of flame
and exploding machine-gun bullets.
Creeping Barrage Laid Down.
Once. three Messerschmitts came
roaring low over our heads with
their machine guns splitting. With
quick glance around for snakes we
flung ourselves down. The next few
moments we're painfully long.
When I raised my head again
bearded Indian soldier grinned from
q nearby thorn bush and waved his
hand. We climbed out into the open
again.
Later, two Stuka dive-bombers
plunged to their doom. One fell like
a stone. seemed to bounce, then ex-
plode like a giant flrecracker. The
other also blew into thousand
pieces with a shattering explosion
of its bomb load.
Once German batteries laid down
a creeping barrage across the desert
area where we were concealed. Gey-
sers of yellow sand spouted hundreds
of feet into the air, showering dust
on the infantry but causing very few
casualties because of the wide troop
dispersal.
One husky Scot who was carried
of on a stretcher yelled:
Tell them in England we gave
the ferries hell today"