Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-11-22
African Squeeze Play

OCoC NC VloudIlLcu DIS a Settles Oh OU-
stacle races, the chief hurdles being
distance and time. The Axis is
striving desperately to build up a
block Of resistance including both
Italian Tripolitania and the French
protectorate of Tunis. The Allies
seek to shatter this incipient block
by triple squeeze play. This con-
verging operation is being conducted
by the co-ordinated movements of
Britain's 9Th Army from the east,
Anglo American columns knitting
into Tunisia from the west and a
Fighting French force speeding
across the Sahara Desert from the
south. Their common objective is
the port city of Tripoli, the seat of
Axis power in North Africa.
The theater of action is vast, ex-
tending some 700 miles from east to
west and an indefinite distance
southwark into the Saharan wastes.
With the exception OF Northern
Tunis, which is mountainous and
relatively fertile, the terrain is
desert. This means that the same
problems of supply which governed
the campaigns in Eastern Libya and
Egypt continue to apply to current
operations. Although most of the
far-f1ung battle-ground has scant
occupational value, there are few
key points of high strategic signif1-
canoe.
The first of these is Ell Agheila,
the natural road block on the
coastal highway between Cyrenaica
and Tripoli. Here the road is backed
by extensive salt marshes, beyond
which, in turn, is sandy desert.
Those natural obstacles prevent
effective flanking movements by
mechanical forces. 1t was at Ell
Agheila that Ronlnel made his sue
cessful stand when he was chased
out of Cyrenaica by the British a
year ago and was thus given time
to rebuild his shattered forces until
he could launch his sensational
counteroffensive last summer which
almost took Egypt. BY precipitate
retreat Rommel apparently has saved
the bulk of his German Afrika Korps
and is concentrating for a stand at
Ell Agheila. The pursuing British
must be having grave supply difficult
ties from their distant base in Egypt,
though the captured harbors of
Tobruk and Bengasi will make mat
tiers easier when they have been put
in shape. At any rate, Rommel has
a temporary breathing spell.
The flying column of Fighting
French have nearly 1000 miles to
60 from their base at Lake Chad to
the Mediterranean coast. They are
following a caravan route which runs
almost due north to Tripoli. Most
of the terrain is stony desert, negoti-
able by light tanks and trucks. Food
and motor fuel presumably can be
flown to them by transport planes.
The chief difficulty is water, the
GASES being few and widely spaced.
The column probably is not a large
one. It's value will be as a striking
force in the Axis rear while Rommel
is fighting the two main coastal
thrusts
This brings the Tunisian sector
into the picture Here the situation
is highly confused. Axis troops
flown from Sicily by air seemingly
have established themselves firmly
in Northern Tunisia, especially at
Tunis, the capital, and at nearby
Bizerte, the great French naval base.
In Southern Tunis, next door to
Tripolitania. Axis forces are like
wise established. Some of them
probably have come overland from
Tripoli, where there is supposed to
be a considerable Axis garrison,
mostly Italians. Central Tunis is a
welter of skirmishing between Axis,
local French and Anglo American
forces The immediate aim of the
Allies Is to thrust a wedge to the
coast, thereby isolating the Axis
troops at Tunis and Bizerte from
their comrades to the south and east.
That is the necessary preliminary to
an Allied advance on Tripoli itself.
From all this it can be seen that,
though the odds clearly favor the
Allies, much remains to be done be-
fore the Axis is expelled from North
Africa. Everything indicates that
Rommel will put up a hard fight.
Against a determined enemy the
Allies have their work cut out for
them.