ODDS ALL IN FAVOUR OF BRITISH

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 32, 2 November 1942, Page 5

ODDS ALL IN FAVOUR OF BRITISH

Italian Declaration (Received November 1, 11.40 p.m.) LONDON, October 31. Home radio says that bitter fighting is going on on the Egyptian front, and the odds are all hi favour of the British. The German news agency says that the Eighth Army resumed its attack early this morning. General Montgomery brought up reinforcements for the attack, specially tanks and 'artillery from the south and central sectors. A German High Command spokesman claimed yesterday that the British tanks which penetrated the German line yesterday were cut off from tne following New Zealand infantry, and that 30 tanks were destroyed by 88millimetre guns. German infantry, he said, took prisoner many New Zealanders, despite the intervention of British and American air forces. ITALIAN SURRENDER “Officers Drink All Water” (British Official Wireless.) (Received November 1, 7 p.m.) RUGBY, October 31.An attack in the dark by a Yorkshire regiment of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division is described by a correspondent with the Eighth Army. A battalion of the regiment crossed a live minefield and moved up to the assault against heavy small-arms fire and anti-tank guns firing over open sights. Bren carriers followed after the sappers cleared a track through the mines.- The companies went straight in, and soon ran into many machineguns. The first job was to wipe them out, and they had to fight every inch of theway to do it. One platoon wiped out a triple gun-nest with hand-grenades and tommy-guns, and others stormed posts with the bayonet. They then prepared for a counter-attack, which came immediately and was smashed. One. company commander captured 50 Italians by stopping his machinegun firing and inviting the enemy 'to surrender. The Italians were in a strong position, but Yorkshiremen had got round to their rear, and after Bren carriers had broken their resistance tlie Italians decided to pull out, so the captain ordered the cease fire. Elsewhere, at the height of the attack. an Italian white flag moved over a ridge toward the Yorkshire regiment and, in broken English, a voice called, “No support. No food. Officers drink all water. So we surrender.” KEEPS HIS BOOTS ON (Received November I, 7 p.m.) LONDON, October 31. A war correspondent of the Stockholm newspaper “Svenska Dagbladet” says: “During the fighting in North Africa Field-Marshal Rommel often does not take off his boots for weeks He sleeps fully dressed, and creeps down the first available hole for protection from splinters. ■‘Those who are nearest to him feel that Rommel is bullet-proof. Rommel runs here and there like a desert fox, and he has an extraordinary flair for finding the enemy’s weak points. He helps when minefields are being forced; after the fall of Tobruk he was seen to take off his coat near Fuka and dig out British mines.”