Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-12-19
Desert Fox Hunt


been overtaken and trapped by the
pursuing British Eighth Army come
as pleasant surprise When Rom
mel abandoned his strong position
at FL Agheila without fight, it was
generally assumed that he had left
only a thin screen of troops and
That the main body of his forces was
well on its way to Tripoli, the main
Axis base, some 500 miles to the
westward. 1t was likewise assumed
that even this slender rearguard
would make good its escape, because
British dispatches from the Tripod
ltanian front emphasized the maze
OF Axis land mines through which
the pursuers had to pick their way.
Now, however, we are informed
that British mechanical vanguards
have raced ahead so fast that they
have outf1anked a large portion of
Rommel's army less than 100 miles
west OF Ell Agheila. This force, con-
sisting of picked Germans with many
tanks and mobile artillery, is caught
between the British outflanking units
and the main body of the Eight Army
coming up from behind. Unless
Rommel turns in his flight and in
wolves more of his forces, the fate of
his rearguard is apparently sealed.
The question at once arises why
Rommel, reputed a skillful tactician
in desert warfare and known even to
his foes as "the desert fox" should
have been caught in such a trap. The
most likely answer is his inferiority
in the air. This nemesis has logged
his footsteps all the way across North
Africa. Persistent Allied aerial
bombing of his supply lines was
originally responsible for his defeat
at FL Alamein, and then took a ter
rible toll OF his retreating columns
across Cyrenaica to his temporary
hideout at Ell Agheila. Indeed, his
escape on that retreat was due large
ly to spell OF bad weather which
obscured visibility and grounded
Allied planes.
Romme's present retreat toward
Tripoli has no such helpful cloud
cover. The weather is fine, and his
columns, strung out along a single
coastal highway with only occasional
inland detours, are plain targets for
Allied air squadrons, working in
ceaSeless relays both by day and by
moonlight, their command of the
skies being virtually unchallenged
by Axis aircraft. This unremitting
aerial bombing has literally tele-
scoped the retreating columns,
breaking their line at many points
and causing numberless delays while
road blocks due to blasted trucks and
tanks were cleared away. 1t is this
Gripping process, slowing Rommel's
retreat more than his land mines
have delayed the enemy's advance,
that has enabled the British to gain
on the hunted quarry and to encircle
the rearguard. With something like
400 miles still to 60 before reaching
Tripoli, the Axis remnants may be
badly battered and disorganized in
this prolonged ordeal.
Furthermore, Tripoli itself will
presumably be merely another way
station toward the ultimate destina-
ton, which is Tunisia For the past
week, Allied air scouts have reported
troops and trucks moving westward
from Tripoli toward the Tunisian
border, some 100 miles away. The
indications point clearly to a con-
centration of all Axis forces in North
Africa for final stand in Tunisia.
The less Rommel can get thither the
easier will be the task of the Allied
armies for the final squeeze play
which will eject the Axis from their
last African foothold.