Jan.
The great speed, which the mechanized forees of today permit, has enabled the British high command in north Africa to maintain close contact with the retreating Talians in Libya. Thus after a jump of seventy miles which brought the Allied forces up to the outskirts of Bardia when they' assumed the offensive about a month ago, following the fall of that outpost the Allied forces have swept on to Tobruk, Which it is now claimed they have passed, cutting the lines of communication with that town some forty miles further west. Tt follows that the Allied forces have swept on after the Halians at euch a rate that the advance guards which have cut Mussolini's coast road at Gazala, have in fact travelled at least one hundred miles west of Bardia, They do not appear to have met with much opposition from. the Italians, and the immediate objective of the Allied forees now ie the reduction of the fortified area of That point is defended by two cular lines of fortifications in sixteen groups containing six blockhouses each, one about seven miles from the town and the second about three.
It is reported that these constructions are not so formidable as those at Bardia, having been more hurriedly constructed, and unless the Italians are able to put up a better show than they did at Bardia the capture of Tobruk may take even a shorter time than did the reduction of the former. In justice to the Italians it should be pointed out that the amount of hot metal the Allies were able to throw into that position, from the air, from land artillery and from the sea was such that one observer remarked that no one could hope to have lived above ground, It does not appear that Tobruk will offer any greater difficulties than did Bardia, for it is possible: {o deliver just as severe blows in precisely the same manner, and if the tone of the various reports coming from Egypt indicates the inevitableness of the fall of Tobruk it is not in the circumstances surprising.
That the Ttalian press is preparing its readers for the receipt of more bad news is evidenced by the publication of an article from its naval correspondent in the "Cor~ rare della Serra" in which he admits the inability of the Italian fleet to prevent the British from making full use of the Medjterranean, Whether Britain has the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.