QUIETEST DAY FOR TUMPS AT ALAMEIN

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 170, 21 July 1942, Page 5

QUIETEST DAY FOR TUMPS AT ALAMEIN

BUT PLANES BUSY Lull May Be Shattered At Any Minute U.P.A. and British Wireless. Rec. 1 p.m. LONDON, July 20. Yesterday was the quietest, dustiest day—at least on the ground—on the Egyptian front since the Axis forces first encountered the Bth Army's positions in the Alamein area. The campaign has thus reverted to static warfare, but the lull is liable to be shattered at armament. Australians in the north registered slight movements. Everything is completely calm in the centre and the only real activity was in the south, where British mobile columns and artillery made contact with the enemy on El Taqa and Jebel Kalakh, where the enemy had established strong points. A Cairo communique states: "Our troops yesterday maintained their positions on all sectors. We have taken 4000 prisoners since last Tuesday. Light bombers and fighterbombers, escorted by a fighter squadron, attacked in force an enemy-occu-pied aerodrome west of the "battle area, destroying and damaging many planes on the ground and shootine; down five which were about to land. "Dust storms curtailed other operations, but in an air attack on enemy land forces in the southern sector, direct hits were scored on six tanks and fires started. Heavy bombers attacked Tobruk in daylight. One of our planes is missing from these and other operations." 6000 Prisoners in Ten Days The scale of the fighting during the last ten days can be gauged by the fact that 6000 prisoners, mostly Italians, have been taken. Enemy air losses in the Middle East for the week ended July 19 were 67. The R.A.F. attack on the enemy landing grounds at El Daba yesterday, referred to in the communique, was the strongest yet made on a desert aerodrome. More than a third of the enemy planes on the ground were destroyed, savs an agency correspondent with the Bth Armv, and five were shot down when about to land. Four of these were Junkers troop-carriers and the other a Stuka dive-bomber. The Admiralty states that light naval forces in the Eastern Mediterranean continue to harass the supply lines of Rommel's army in Egypt. On Friday night Mersa Matruh was bombarded from the sea. Enemy batteries ashore replied ineffectively to the fire of our ships. On the following night Mersa Matruh was again bombarded by light naval forces. One U-boat which attempted to interfere was engaged and chased, but succeeded in making good its escape. The navy forces suffered neither casualties nor damage in the two engagements. ENGINEERS ON JOB Two Deadly 88 Millimetre Guns Destroyed ABANDONED WEAPONS N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent WESTERN DESERT, July 19. Many weapons either captured by our troops or abandoned by the enemy during the attack on Ruweisak Ridge have been destroyed during the past three days by New Zealand engineers. These include two of the deadly 88mm guns, of which the enemy is known to have only a limited supply. Other guns made useless are 19 47mm, 39 20mm and 29 machine-guns.

Every effort is being made by the enemy to prevent the destruction of tanks put out of action in the recent battle and to be seen in front of the New Zealand lines.