Tobruk

You are currently browsing the archive for the Tobruk category.

14.4.41 [George Orwell]

April 14, 2011 in Abyssinia, America, Benghazi, Cairo, China, Egypt, French West Africa, Germany, Indians, Japan, Negroes, Political, Red Sea, Russia, South Africa, Tobruk, War-time, non-aggression pact by orwelldiaries

The news today is appalling. The Germans are at the Egyptian frontier and a British force in Tobruk has the appearance of being cut off, though this is denied from Cairo. [1] Opinion is divided as to whether the Germans really have an overwhelming army in Libya, or whether they have only a comparatively small force while we have practically nothing, most of the troops and fighting vehicles having been withdrawn to other fronts as soon as we had taken Benghazi. In my opinion the latter is the likelier, and also the probability is that we sent only European troops to Greece and have chiefly Indians and Negroes in Egypt. D., speaking from a knowledge of South Africa, thinks that after Benghazi was taken the army was removed not so much for use in Greece as to polish off the Abyssinian campaign, and that the motive for this was political, to give the South Africans, who are more or less hostile to us, a victory to keep them in good temper. If we can hang on to Egypt the whole thing will have been worth while for the sake of clearing the Red Sea and opening that route to American ships. But the necessary complement to this is the French West African ports, which we could have seized a year ago almost without fighting.

Read the rest of this entry »

26.1.41 [George Orwell]

January 26, 2011 in Bardia, Daily Worker, Political, Tobruk, War-time, Week, crossed wires, new statesman by orwelldiaries

Allocation of space in this week’s New Statesman:

Fall of Tobruk (with 20,000 prisoners) – 2 lines.

Read the rest of this entry »

22.1.41 [George Orwell]

January 22, 2011 in Daily Express, Daily Worker, Dean of Canterbury, Hewlett Johnson, People's Convention, Political, Tobruk, War-time, alarm clock, blitz, onions, posters, racketeering by orwelldiaries

——- [1] is convinced, perhaps rightly, that the danger of the People’s Convention [2] racket is much underestimated and that one must fight back and not ignore it.  He says that thousands of simple-minded people are taken in by the appealing programme of the People’s Convention and do not realise that it is a defeatist manoeuvre intended to help Hitler.  He quoted a letter from the Dean of Canterbury [3] who said “I want you to understand that I am wholeheartedly for winning the war, and that I believe Winston Churchill to be the only possible leader for us till the war is over” (or words to that effect), and nevertheless supported the People’s Convention.  It appears that there are thousands like this.

Read the rest of this entry »