Word: mersa
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Dates: during 1940-1940
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...Graziani, Italy's expert in African warfare, led the spearhead of a drive from Libya into Egypt. After his first crushing spurt, he had pegged in at Sidi Barrani (see map), and his forces had been consolidating themselves there ever since. The British were 80 miles east at Mersa Matruh, the outpost to which they had decided to retire, with tip & run tactics, whenever the drive from Libya materialized. To south and east, the Italians had already wiped out French Djibouti and British Somaliland, so as to clear the rear. This gave the Italians a strong clutch...
...wanton wench was Cleopatra but a politician whose love of Egypt was greater than the love she bartered with lonely Roman warriors. How long she and Mark Antony lingered in Paraetonium (now Mersa Matruh) history has forgotten. The city crackled in the sun, crumbled into decay, remained virtually forgotten some 2,000 years until last week another Roman warrior sought to enter its now squalid streets. He was Marshal Rodolfo Graziani...
...pushed the vanguard of his 260,000 desert troops 50 miles along the coast of northwestern Egypt to Sidi Barráni. There he stopped, or was stopped. Ahead of him, along a salt-scarred road-a three-hour run in a fast tank-lay Mersa Matruh, first major objective in Italy's drive to conquer Egypt, a prize the Fascist press at home could shout through the streets as noisily as the populace once roared at slaves in clanking chains. But Graziani waited...
...reported to 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...