World War: The Wells of Buna

It was all quiet on the continent of Africa last week. Only important development in the Kenya campaign was the withdrawal of British troops from Buna, at the mouth of the Moyale salient occupied by Italian troops (TIME, July 22, et seq.). Water is more important than steel in desert warfare. The British claimed that the water supply of Buna was sufficient for only a small garrison, and that the wells were within range of strategic hills from which the enemy could shell them. But what the British troops apparently feared more than thirst was a nutcracker attack which would flank...

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