Word: matrs
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...British were baffled. They had thought this would be a major push. They had withdrawn hastily, scarcely offering rear-guard resistance, apparently willing to fall back 120 miles to Matrûh, the railhead from Alexandria, where the main British force was based...
...went, last week, back & forth, push & counter-push. These giant raids brought out important facts of strategy. In their hasty withdrawal the British had shown the Germans exactly what the Germans wanted the raid to reveal: the British plan of leading the attacker on to Matrûh. On the other hand, the Germans had shown the British that the Nazi attack-broad-fronted, wary of bombardment from the sea, in fanned columns which could flow around hard cores of resistance-would be harder to stop when it came than the Italians' Indian-file dress parade had been...
General Sir Archibald Wavell doubtless hoped for a repetition of the Italian mistake. He was apparently organizing his defenses well inside Egypt, at Matrûh, hoping to be able to break the Axis advance from behind them. But there is a difference between the Italians and the Germans. The Italians attacked along the sea, in range of the Royal Navy. The bulk of the Axis divisions (more than three, perhaps as many as eight) are expected to advance on a wide front, perhaps deep in the desert. The Italians are sensible men who have read military history and feel...
...have captured confidential plans for such a drive from the First Libyan Army many weeks ago, and were amazed to find the plans nevertheless followed to a T last week. Against the plans the British defense was apparently: to fall back, harassing the invaders, to well-watered Mersa Matrûh, the terminus of a narrow-gauge railroad from Alexandria, thus avoiding serious action until the British were in an area with good supply lines and the Italians were far from their base with extended supply lines which could be attacked...
...Barrani the Italians halted to gather themselves for the push to Mersa Matrûh, where Cleopatra used to bathe in the blue sea waves. No sooner had the Italians settled down than the R. A. F. from the air and the Royal Navy from the sea began harassing them. Well acquainted with the lessons of Lawrence in Arabia and Allenby in Palestine was the British Commander, Lieut. General Sir Archibald Percival Wavell, 57, who knows the Middle East like the knuckles on his own hand. He sent his men to work on the un-camouflaged Italian camps with...