English Translation

S Division IV Strictly confidential! Group Broadcasting Only for personal radio and light duty Service use! In own responsibility to iV anan Prüfung,-Nr. ....g... /§ 353c RStGB/. p'y Reports of lo. December 1940. .72/12.40 SENDER LONDON /English/: In the western desert the British armed forces surprised the army Grazianis at several points. The Cairo communiqué states that the operations are progressing successfully. So far, more than 4ooo prisoners have been taken and a number of medium-heavy tanks captured. 25 km behind Sidi Barrani, the British departments have reached the coast. Sidi barrani was bombed by naval forces. Air force and fleet work together with the land forces. Further south, the brit. The British patrols continue their activities and are successfully supported by the artillery. The only thing the Italian Army report reports about the events in Egypt is: 4 enemy planes have been shot down. Statement C h u r c h i l l s in front of the House of Commons about the beginning of the beit. Offensive against Italy in Egypt: The collapse made the task of defending Egypt against an Italian invasion very difficult, all the more so since England was threatened by a German invasion at the same time. There are still enough signs of the preparations for an invasion. However, when the Krigsminister visited our troops in October, Gere ral Wavel had already received large reinforcements of troops and material. Thus, our troops were not only given a great feeling of security, but also the opportunity to take the offensive. At this moment, however, for us, the ital arose. In Greece, the need to send a large part of our air force to Greece in Egypt, to support the Greek army in the heroic defence of its homeland. It must be mentioned here that the RAF played a major role in the victories of the Greek Army and the thanks for the British army. The temporary weakening of our air force in Egypt made it necessary to postpone the execution of the plans of an offensive that had already been planned for the time being, because the air force had to be able to provide the necessary support to the advance troops. Accordingly, it was only on the 7th of July that the Greek king and the government confirmed this. December a strong division of the Nile army, consisting of British soldiers and soldiers from all over the world, supported by free French forces, the positions which the Italians had secured three months ago in the Egyptian territory. It is clear that the advance which our troops had to make in the desert and at which 1 2 km had to be travelled in one stage must be regarded as an increase which is not easy when considering the number of troops deployed. The government is therefore highly satisfied that this invasion was carried out quickly and successfully -2-