IV Eighth army outflanks the enemy

The Eighth army outflanks the enemy at Wadi Matratin
December 16-18, 1942
On December 16 the Eighth Army cut the retreating Afrika Korps in two by a brilliant outflanking movement at a place called Wadi Matratin, about sixty miles beyond El Agheila. This operation, which completely surprised the enemy, was actually planned by General Montgomery before the Battle of El Agheila, after British Intelligence officers had discovered a forgotten desert track running to the south and striking north, to the coast road again along the Wadi Matratin. It was carried out by New Zealand troops under the command of General Freyberg, V.C. For three days the infantry advanced more than 100 miles over the desolate sand dunes and rocky wadis, supported by a strong force of artillery, tanks and armored cars. The trapped Axis rearguard, which was entirely composed of German troops, fought desperately in its attempt to break through the British armored ring. But although a few enemy troops and tanks managed to escape and join their main forces farther west, heavy punishment was inflicted by the New Zealanders. The enemy lost at least twenty tanks, thirty guns and several hundred motor vehicles. Five hundred Germans were taken prisoner. One of the most important results emerging from this action, according to a Cairo dispatch, was the capture or destruction of a very considerable amount of Rommel's motor transport and also appreciable numbers of his rearguard. On December 18 the Eighth Army after mopping-up operations, continued its advance from Wadi Matratin and came to within thirty miles of Sirte, almost half-way between Benghazi and Tripoli. This remarkable action picture shows a small forward party of Australian infantry with bayonets and fire-arms advancing in the desert through a protective smoke screen after being detailed to capture a German strong point on the way towards Tripoli.

Continuing to advance through Tripolitania, the Eighth Army chased the dwindling Afrika Korps along the coast road. The retreating enemy columns suffered continuous bombing from the air by the powerful Western Desert air force. On December 25, British troops occupied Sirte without opposition, but to the west of this town air operations were curtailed for a time owing to the bad weather conditions and violent sandstorms. Beyond the Wadi Bei-el-Kebir the Eighth Army's sappers were busily engaged for several days clearing away mines and booby traps which the Germans had strewn over the roads in great numbers in order to delay the advance. On January 5 our forces entered Buerat-el-Hsun, about sixty miles west of Sirte where the coast road turns north along the salt marshes towards Misurata and Tripoli. After crossing the Wadi Zemzem on January 14, Eighth Army-troops encountered enemy rearguards at a point seventy miles from Misurata, but Rommel soon abandoned all his defensive positions in this area. Four days later Misurata was occupied without any opposition, and by January 20 the Eighth Army had progressed along the coast beyond Misurata to the important defensive positions of Homs and Tahuna, and on the following day advanced British columns had entered the suburbs of Tripoli, whose capture was announced less than forty-eight hours afterwards. Meanwhile heavy day and night blows were delivered against Tripoli harbor and the great Axis airfield at Castel Benito on the outskirts of the city. The picture shows British infantry advancing behind tanks in Tripolitania.







...