GRIM TOLL OF ENEMY

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 37, 7 November 1942, Page 7

GRIM TOLL OF ENEMY

Record Bombing FLEEING VEHICLES JAM ROADS LONDON, November 5. Correspondents with the Eighth Army give some idea of the toll taken of the retreating enemy. One says: Thursday will probably prove one of the most successful days the Allied air forces have ever had. The Mersa Matruh road, he says, is already littered with the carcases of vehicles and fires are still burning here and there. During Wednesday night, tons of explosives were dropped every hour on the retreating enemy. Air crews reported that so many fires were burning in the El Daba area on Thursday morning that they merged into a huge conflagration. The roads were crowded with enemy vehicles of every sort, and each bomb dropped had the maximum effect. The bombing continued all day. The night’s attacks were mostly concentrated on the roads west of Fuka, along which a heterogeneous mass of vehicles w’as streaming westward. Enemy beach concentrations were also effectively attacked. Light bombers and fighter-bombers took over the night raiders’ task at the first light of dawn. Not a single Axis tanker has reached Rommel during the last six weeks, and tlie Allied air forces have almost closed the Axis watergate to Egypt. Planes based on Egypt during the first 10 days of the present offensive, sank six ships and severely damaged one. In the last three months they sank 11 merchantmen and damaged four, and sank 23 flak boats and damaged nine. Following heavy attacks on Tuesday night, Allied bombers, fighter-bombers, and fighters continued throughout yesterday to harass the enemy withdrawing along the coastal road, says today’s Cairo communique. Enemy air activity was confined to attempted interceptions and one Stuka raid. The latter was successfully broken up and two Junkers 87’s and one Messerschmitt 109 were destroyed. "During the day,” the communique says, "we shot down a total of 13 aircraft. "Our bombers and torpedo-caYrying aircraft in the central Mediterranean on Tuesday night scored hits on a heavily-laden enemy merchant vessel, which was brought to a standstill, and also on a tanker. In addition, three hits were scored on escorting destroyers. An enemy schooner was also attacked off the coast of Southern Sicily. No enemy aircraft crossed the Malta coastline. Two more pilots who were previously reported missing are now safe.”

Cabling today regarding last night’s operations in Egypt, a news agency correspondent with the Eighth Army says: “The night was relatively quiet. Sappers were again at work clearing numerous minefields beyond the crescent. ridge in front of which a 36-hours battle raged before the Germans started their withdrawal. There are no signs of an armoured battle this morning. The enemy had evidently avoided costly movements by night, as offering too easy a target for R.A.F. bombers, specially on the Mersa Matruh road. Fortress Abandoned. “In the south the withdrawal of the Germans continues. They are evidently afraid of being cut off and have abandoned even the splendidly-pro-tected Himeimat fortress.” All last night the R.A.F. was working in formation after formation, bombers and fighter-bombers going up to harass the enemy over the future battleground. AU previous records were broken by medium bombers of the Allied air force on Tuesday. In the first phase of the bomber onslaught a large concentration of enemy troops was discovered between El Daba and the coast. It was heavily bombed, and fires were started. Another concentration was found near Fuka, and 20 fires were started, explosions breaking out continuously. More than 60 tires were counted. Hordes of aircraft came down within a few hundred leet of the ground to machinegun tents and encampments and the railway. From this large operation only one of our aircraft did not return. After a record number of sorties, a tremendous air effort was again launched against the fleeing enemy yesterday. A number of air combats took place, and up to a late hour this afternoon our pilots had shot down 13 enemy planes. In these combats fighter pilots of the South African Air Force particularly distinguished themselves. A light bomber force comprising units of the Royal Air Force, the South African Air Force, and the U.S. Army Air Force had a highly successful day. Their targets improved as the day progressed. and the trickle of retiring Axis forces swelled to a Hood ami then to a torrent. . Eight of our pilots who were reported missing yesterday have now returned to our lines. More than 100 ions of Itombs were (Implied on the enemy’s battle area P<’ s| - tions by medium bombers and naval aircraft as the Axis forces retreated on Tuesday night. The Germans and ihe Italians have been outgeneralled and outfought in Egypt—outgeneralled by the British commanders, and .outfought by British. Dominion, and Allied forces of all arms. This is the considered opinion in London as the Eighth Army continues its victorious advance in what is generally regarded as the first British offensive in

North Africa to be supported by adequacy of all arms. The German defences were deep and strong, ■ and in counter-attack after counter-attack the enemy fought well, so that the victory has clearly gone _to the best men —men who could best “stick it out.” That is the first of three facts which stand out brilliantly. The second is that General Montgomery has had control of the situation throughout, not only of his own troops—British, Australia, New Zealand, South African, and Indian—but also of the German tactical moves.

He has forced the enemy to conform to his own plan and has refused. to be diverted by incidents of lesser importance, such as the establishment of the enemy pocket on the coast (this pocket, known as Thompson’s Post, is now reported to have been cleared by the Australians). The British commander has given a striking illustration of the military principle of “maintenance of the objective.” Thirdly, he has accomplished remarkable integration of the various arms of attack —Army, Navy, Air force, and within the Army, infantry, artillery and tanks. The speed and skill witii which the artillery met every situation is particularly noteworthy. Where Is Rommel? Nothing is known here of the movements of Field-Marshal Rommel himself, but it is thought likely he is not there, or at any.rate that he was not. there at the beginning of the offensive. The “Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung” stated on October 15 that, lie had returned to Egypt, but this is not necessarily true. General von Stumme, whose death was announced yesterday, is believed to have deputized for Rommel during the latter’s absence in Germany lately, and was probably at Rommel’s side. lie is reputed Io bo the num from whom Rommel learned how to handle panzer formations. Von Stumme fought in Greece, and captured Salonika and Alliens, and also served in south Russia. General von Thoma, who is now a prisoner of war, recently took command of the Afrika Korps from General Nehring. He commanded a panzer regiment in the Polish campaign, and a panzer division in Russia last winter. The situation of the Axis forces in Egypt is compared in London to that in which the Allied forces found themselves in France in 11)40.

The Allied air forces are able to take full advantage of their superiority to attack the enemy communications, and in the first stage attacked the enemy indirectly by hitting his supplies. In the second stage they directed their attacks against the ground forces. Consequently most, of the losses suffered by the Allied dir forces have been caused by the ground defences in low-flying attacks.

ties'. The enemy at first fought back grimly, but each day aud night our troops hacked their way through the Germans, who had dug in hastily in improvised holes in the sand. Daily our guns were massed thicker and thicker in the broadest lanes ever seen ip Africa, and all the time our guns moved forward as the enemy moved back, and kept up an endless rain of shells.

“As I watched this stupendous battle,” he says, “I had the impression that the Germans at last realized that they were up against the might of the. Allies — Allies who now are equipped with all the might of their great factories. "A Red Cross official said he had never seen so many German dead. Our artillery mainly caused this havoc. It wits devastatingly intense, while our air support has been magnificent. It is only necessary to watch the R.A.F. in action to realize what vengeance we have stored up.” A Beirut message reports that Fighting French paratroops were active behind the enemy’s lines during the crucial phase of the El Alainein fighting, when they destroyed 30 enemy aircraft on the ground. ' Reuter's Cairo correspondent reports that. at. a critical phase of the battle, when 200 Axis tanks were massed for attack, the intervention of the Allied air force killed the counter-thrust before it could be begun. Allied planes attacked seven times and dropped SO tons of bombs on the area of this concentration within two hours and a half. The correspondent says that Rommel blundered in the use of his tanks. He had two German panzer divisions. He hail at the start of the battle the 21st Panzer Division and the Italian Ariete Division in the south. Not till October 26 did Rommel begin to grasp the situation and begin moving the 21st Panzer Division :ind part of the Ariete Division north to the assistance of the 15th Panzer Division, which by then had been badly knocked about.

The threatened counter-thrust by 200 Axis tanks was broken up on October 28. Then the 125th Panzer Grenadiers and t.wo Italian bersaglieri regiments were practically cut off in the coastal sector. Rommel became obsessed with the idea of relieving those troops —a paltry part of his battle force. Forty Axis tanks pushed toward the opening of the pocket, and 20 wore knocked out. The other 20 got through, whereupon the Australians matly closed the exits with mines. The Axis continued to fritter away its armour in small attacks, trying to relieve the coastal situation. Rommel was playing the game General Montgomery wanted. Tile Eighth Army meanwhile regrouped for the final thrust through its bridgehead. When our heavy attack was launched <m the night of November 1. the Axis armour was again split, the 21sf Panzer Division having moved northward to counter-attack. Our armour poured through the gap and took lei Akair, and the Axis rout bad begun.