As the details of the commencement of the British offensive in Libya come to be revealed a most remarkable story is being told. The Associated Press tat Cairo reports that when General Wavell opened his offensive against the Italians in the Middle East he called the war cor respondents together and told them one of the most remarkable stories of any war. Ho revealed what was going on but cautioned against over-emphasizing it at the start. The onslaught on the Italians began he said as "a great raid" which might develop into an offensive if enough supplies were captured in the frst day to permit it to continue. Here was a general of the world's greatest Empire telling war correspondents that he did not have enough material for an offend sive, but that ho hoped to pick it up on the way. "At first it seemed incredible to his hearers that such a thing had been planned, but on second thoughts they declared that such daring seemed to explain the greatness of the British Empire, is not to be thought that what had happened was an impromptu raid which might in certain circumstances develop into 'a major offensive. Everything had been most carefully planned, and after the initial sue-cess of which the world and the Italians now know, General Wavell let his men go ahead, changing plans, and improvising new ones on the battlefield where necessary, following all the moves with the closest attention but never letting the fortunes of the battle affect his own imperturbability. [All this followed trying months of preparation during which General Wavell managed to mislead the enemy and lull them into a belief that he would never attack. The collapse of France and the entry of Italy into the war had left Egypt woefully un~ protected on land, and the commander's first task was to build up an army capable of defending the Middle East without allies. Eight days after the offensive had opened the correspondent had occasion to congratulate the general on his success, to which he quietly replied "Yes, we had some luck."
'The whole of the Libyan campaign now stands out in its true light as a daring exploit, conceived by a daring man and carried through by troops of unquestioned bravery and determination. It is completely in accord with the best British' tradition in which the readiness to take some risk is always to the fore. General Wavell staked much on the opening stages of the attack. Though there was also a display of considerable caution. If the raid failed to provide the necessary supplies, it still remained a raid. If it proved profitable it could expand into a major action. The gallantry and dash of the Australian and Imperial troops, together with the assistance of the Free French army secured the necessary supplies which the Ttalians in their hurry to leave apparently did not attempt to destroy. The bases which Marshal Graziani had built up for his attack on Egypt fell practically undamaged into the hands of the British and their Allies. The material was there to be used against the Ttalians, and the spearhead which Marshal Graziani levelled against Egypt was turned into his own breast.
On the coastal road which Graziani had built for the purpose of carrying out his own plans there stands a monument at the top of which is carved a profile of Italy's lath-and-plaster "Napoleon." Beneath runs the legend "He who halts is lost." 'Those Italians who did not halt were few. Most] of them, however, did not move fast enough. 'The small cloud' in the sky in the shape of the initial raid rapidly became the overwhelming storm of a great offensive, and the Italian armies of northern Africa are now practically things of the past. It was done by daring planning, controlled by military genius and carried out with an clan upon which General Wavell knew he could depend. The lesson to be drawn from it all is that so long as the British command can learn whatever Germany has to teach and make uso of it in the manner in which mechanized units were used in Libya, there is not great deal to be feared from the enemy, and that when the Germans are eventually met in the field by the British they will again meet those flexible minds which held them in 1914 and contributed to their' defeat four years later.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.