Copy No. 11 OPTEL No. 52 Information received up to 7 a.m., 27th December, 1941. (I) NAVAL MEDITERRANEAN. A Greek schooner arrived at TOBRUK on 19th with enemy cargo and was taken in prize. 23rd. H.M.S. Schooner TIBERIO capsized and sank off MERSA MATRUH. One fatal casualty. 26th. A Polish ship of medium tonnage carrying troops and supplies was sunk by U-boat north-east of TOBRUK. All the troops and the crew were rescued. HAIFA. The British tanker reported on fire in OPTEL No. 51 is burnt out, but the fire in the Norwegian tanker is under control and her tanks are intact. FAR EAST. A Dutch submarine has sunk three large transports and a tanker off the SARAWAK coast. A Dutch submarine is overdue from patrol in the Gulf of SIAM and must be considered lost. United States submarines claim to have sunk recently one transport and one mine-sweeper and to have sunk probably a second transport and possibly a sea-plane tender. (II) MILITARY LIBYA. The pursuit of the enemy by our forward troops is being pressed as fast as maintenance problems and bad going permit. In the BENGHAOI sector our troops are rounding up Italian stragglers north east of the town. BENGHAOI Harbour is extensively damaged but one mole is largely intact. The power station is in working order. Considerable war material was found aban- doned at BARCE. Further south our columns report that there are no enemy east of a line from REGIMA (30 miles east of BENGHAOI) to 10 miles north of BEDA FOMM (half-way between SOLUK and JEDABYA). The bulk of the remaining German forces appear to be still in and around JEDABYA. They are being continually harried and pursued by our mobile columns. A portion of our forces are operating on their southern flank. There is no news from the old frontier area where pressure on BARDIA and HALFADA continues. MALAYA . No further report of land operations received. (III) AI %R OPERATIONS WESTERN FRONT. 26th. Eleven enemy aircraft operated against the United Kingdom of which two flew overland. |