MOVE BY ROMMEL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 1 September 1942, Page 5

MOVE BY ROMMEL

ATTACK ON SOUTHERN FLANK FIGHTING ON MAJOR SCALE WEAK ITAEIAN THRUST REPULSED (Rec. 12.50) Rugby, Aug. 31. The War Office issued the following statement early on Tuesday morning: “For some days past there have been signs of renewed activity on Rommel’s front and early this morning German forces, including armour, pushed forward against our southern flank in the neighbourhood of El Himiemat, where they were immediately engaged by our light forces, and fighting is on a major scale. A weak enemy thrust, mainly by Italians, against our main front was repulsed with loss to the enemy.”-—8.0.W.

MORE RAIDS BY AIR FORCE OPERATIONS OVER MEDITERRANEAN (Rec. 9.45 a.m.) Rugby, Aug. 31. A Cairo communique reports: “Our patrols engaged enemy working parties on Saturday night. Yesterday there was nothing to report from the land forces. On Saturday night our medium and light bombers and naval aircraft continued their raids in the battle area and on Tobruk. On the same night our bombers and torpedo carrying aircraft successfully attacked shipping off the Cyrenaican coast. Three ships were hit. two being left ablaze. In combats over the El Alamein area yesterday our fighters destroyed at least three Messerschmitts, damaged others and also an enemy tanker in the Mediterranean was left blazing from stem to stern. Two enemy planes were destroyed last night during small-scale activity over our base landing grounds.”

RAID ON TOBRUK American medium and heavy bomb ers participated in Saturday night’s raid on Tobruk. They also started several fires and observed large explosions on enemy landing ground eastward of Mersa Matruh. Anti-aircraft fire was moderate and there were no night fighters. All our machines returned safely.—B.O.W.