WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 91 [Main Title]

The Last Lap.

I. "THE LAST LAP." Eighth Army Crusaders (with sand skirts) and M3 General Stuart light tanks negotiate desert terrain at high speed. The commentary outlines the success of the Eighth Army in defending Egypt and in conquering Cyrenaica and states that the men of the Eighth cheerfully face the challenges ahead. Wounded British infantry are carried by stretcher. A Sergeant dressed in a artilleryman's leather jerkin offers a cigarette to a wounded man. Douglas Boston bombers of the Desert Air Force bomb Axis soft-skinned vehicles retreating along a desert road. Stock shot footage shows United States Army Air Force (USAAF) Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers in flight and Royal Air Force (RAF) Liberators bombing shipping in Tripoli Harbour. The commentary outlines the composition of the logistics tail following the British advance which comprises of soft-skinned vehicles carrying water, food, ammunition, fuel and support workshops. A German prisoner collects personal belongings from the side stowage bin of a Sd Kfz 10/4 (Demag D7) with rear mounted 2cm Flak 30 anti-aircraft gun. Curtiss Kittyhawk Mk IIa fighter-bombers of 260 Squadron RAF take off from a desert air strip (Castel Benito ?). An RAF Bristol Beaufighter takes off from an unidentified airfield. Axis soft-skinned vehicles are attacked by Beaufighters flying at very low level (No Squadron codes visible). Camera gun footage shows shipping coming under attack by cannon armed RAF aircraft. The commentary states that the British Army moved into the town of Tarhuna on the last leg of their advance on Tripoli over scenes of Eighth Army M3 General Lee tanks and soft-skinned vehicles moving through the outskirts of Tarhuna. British tank crews mix informally with the local populace of Tarhuna as Italian prisoners are marched into captivity, escorted by a British infantryman armed with a Lee-Enfield .303-in No 4 rifle. A British Crusader III tank (side skirts and 6-pounder gun) drives past a road sign bearing the legend "Castel Benito K 64, Tripoli K 88." The children of Italian colonists mix happily with the British crew of a 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun. A camera car drives past a lengthy traffic jam made up of Eighth Army soft-skinned vehicles, Crusader and General Sherman tanks.

II. 'TRIPOLI.' The commentary outlines the arrival of the Eighth Army into Tripoli, described as the pride of the Italian North African Empire and a holiday playground rivalling the European Riviera. British Valentine tanks drive into Tripoli watched by the town's inhabitants. Panoramic views shows a large statue of the Roman she-wolf (Romulus and Remus) in the centre of Tripoli and sunken coastal vessels in Tripoli Harbour. General Bernard Law Montgomery presides over the official surrender ceremony in Tripoli where he meets town representatives including the Chief of Police and the Mayor. Montgomery salutes British Valentine tank crews who line the streets as he drives past in a Humber Snipe Tourer.

35mm