Evening star., 1942-05-08
Libyan Position Seen
Secured by Malta and
Madagascar Success
British Observer Says
RommeI Lacks STRENGTH
For Big Operations
BY the Associated Press.

LONDON, May s.-The British
position In Libya is secured for the
summer by the occupation of MAZDA
gascar's Diego Suarez naval base
and Maltas successful defense
against Axis air attacks, which evil
IDENTITY were intended to open the
way for invasion, ell-informed
military observer said today.
Capitulation of French forces In
the Diego Suarez Bay area reduced
the Japanese threat to Indian Ocean
supply lines. Dwindling of German
italian mass air raids within the
last two weeks has left the rock
based naval and air forces of Malta
still preying on Axis conveys in the
Mediterranean.
Gen. Sir William George Sheldon
Dobbie, 62-year- old World War vet
eran who had weathered more than
1900 air attacks on Malta, has been
succeeded as governor and COM
mander In chief by Viscount Gort,
55-year-old former chief of the i'm
perlal staff, 1t was announced last
night.
Attacks on Malta SIacken.
Lord Gort, 55, is known to the
British as Tiger Gort." He led the
British Expeditionary Force in
France at the beginning of the war.
Since April, l94l, he had been in
command at Gibraltar.
Succeeding Lord Gort as governor
and commander in chief of Gibral-
tar, British base at the western en-
trance Of the Mediterranean, is Maj.
Gen. Sir Colin Jardine.
Gen. Dobbie is expected to return
to England to rest.
The military observer said Field
Marshal Erwin Rommel was not
strong enough to open large scale
operations against the British
armies in North Africa and that
constant submarine attacks on Ger
manhattan conveys made the Axis
supply situation precarious.
He said heavy air attacks against
Malta had slackened since April 25
and added:
There is no doubt in my mind
that these were intended as a pre-
nminary to sea-borne invasion of
Malta. The r. A. F. and anti
aircraft batteries defeated the
Luftwaffe just as they did in the
summer of 1910 over Britain. The
invasion plans were upset. Malta
Is still operating and Axis supplies
are still being sunk"
British anti-aircraft guns shot
down 101 Axis planes over bomb
SCARED Malta during April, military
quarters announced. Nearly 1000
tons Of bombs were dropped on the
little Mediterranean island naval
and air base, these sources declared.
Able to Halt Rommel.
With a steady flow of supplies, the
observer said, the forces of Gen. Sir
Claude Auchinleck, Near East COM
mander, ARE strong enough on the
ground and in the air to halt any,
thing Rommel can throw at them"
Their position is very good" he
said. Hot weather has started.
Unless Rommel disregards all rules
and attacks a superior force under
bad conditions there will be no cam
paign this summer"
Confronted by British strength in
excess OF their expectations, the
Germans may try to push through
Turkey toward the Oil of Iraq and
Iran and a juncture with the jap
anese somewhere out there" the
observer commented.
He said slightly unbalanced
picture of Rommels ability Is cur
rent in Britain"
Italian Ability Praised.
'Rommel is hard-working soldier
with lots of common sense and
determination" he said. But the
British licked him last winter and
would have done even more had
their supply system been able to
maintain more troops at the front.
THE Italians fought well last
winter. Their artillery was very
good despite the age of some of their
guns. They stuck 1t out as long as
the Germans and they fought hard
al the way.
How do the Germans and Italians
get on? Like the Giants and the