EIGHTH ARMY GAINS

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 29, 29 October 1942, Page 5

EIGHTH ARMY GAINS

First N.Z. Casualties Thought Light

(Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) CAIRO, October 27.

Patrol activity on Sunday night was the only activity in which troops were engaged, following the Eighth Army’s major offensive, which opened on Friday night. Scanty news of their _ efforts. has so far reached Cairo since they gained all their objectives, by the first light on Saturday morning. As far as is known they have not been engaged in any major action since, but have continued to collaborate in a general plan of consolidation of the Eighth Army’s first big gains. Casualties in the initial attack are believed to have been comparatively, light.

GERMAN REPORT

Local Success By New; Zealanders (Received October 28, 9.15 p.m.) LONDON, October 28. The German official news agency says that the Eighth Army yesterday made increasingly heavy attacks on the Axis coast flank, where the greater part of the British tank force was concentrated. Tanks made a number of attacks, sometimes with the support of British and New Zealand infantry, strongly- supported by British and American air formations. Most of the attacking waves came to a halt in the minefields.

Allied forces made slight breaches of no operational significance at a cost of heavy casualties. The Italians and Germans immediately sealed the breaches. A British tank brigade attempted to extend a local success achieved by the New Zealanders, but were forced to retreat. Some New Zealanders were taken prisoner. The British ceased their attacks on the southern and central sectors. . . An earlier German communique said that on Monday the British threw in fresh forces and tried vainly .to break through the Italian and German positions. The Italians and Germans destroyed 111 tanks and 38 armoured cars. Italian and German planes are increasingly attacking the British rear communications, and shot down 14 Allied machines over the .battle area and the Mediterranean. An Italian communique claimed that in all 22 Allied planes were shot down. It said that one Italian submarine had failed to return to its base, and one enemy submarine was sunk. The "Volkiseher Beobacliter” declared that the Allied offensive is being carried out with extraordinarily strong forces. “It need hardly be cmphasized,” says the paper, “that the Axis forces will have to face very hard demands. It is obvious that the enemy has concentrated his war effort in North zVfrica ” Rome radio’s “pep” talker, Mario Appellus, declared: (‘The Mediterranean is once more in the front line of battle. British and American strategists have finally chosen it as the leading theatre of their war. W e will be disciplined. We will be satisfied with the news given us daily in our communiques.” A ghost voice interjected: Way don’t your communiques tell the truth about your cities?”