BRITISH HOLD NEW GROUND

Southland Times, Issue 24885, 27 October 1942, Page 5

BRITISH HOLD NEW GROUND

BTH ARMY TANKS IN MINOR_CLASHES MEN HALF-WAY THROUGH ENEMY DEFENCE ZONE (United Press Association— Telegraph Copyright) (Rec. 1.5 a.m.) LONDON, October 26. Troops of the Sth Army have yielded none of the ground they have captured in their gieat Western Desert offensive. The mid-day communique from Cairo states that British armoured units have been in contact with enemy tanks, but there is no indication yet of a major tank battle. So far 1450 German and Italian prisoners have been taken. “Yesterday the fighting continued,” states the communique. “There were a number of engagements. Armour was engaged, but the enemy was unable to dislodge 1 us from our newly-won positions. In large-scale air activity over the battlefield our planes shot down seven enemy aircraft and damaged many more. When our bombers attacked a ship at Tobruk it blew up and disappeared. From all the air operations, including those over Malta, three of our planes are missing.” “After bitter fighting the Bth Army has made a general advance in the attacking sector,” says The Daily Mail’s Western Desert correspondent. “Our troops broke through two lines of dug-in positions and are now attempting to breach the third line, which is not dug in, but is strongly held. Resistance is fierce everywhere. The enemy has not yet been thrust completely from an important ridge, where fighting continues. Our troops have made a bridgehead of considerable value. The immediate task is to extend the bridgehead and clear the way for our main armour. Some infantry units pushed forward five miles, including two miles through enemy positions. FieldMarshal Rommel’s front has been estimated at four miles in depth, including one mile of mine-fields. Therefore, our advance units are about half-way through the enemy defence zone.”

Reuter’s Cairo correspondent says: “From the start of Lieutenant-General B. L. Montgomery’s offensive the Allied Air Striking Force has enjoyed absolute command of the air. It is a little too early to say whether our airpower has completely grounded the Luftwaffe and the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force), but they were clearly outclassed at the most vital time. The troops of the Bth Army for the first time in the critical 24 hours of an offensive were able to watch the astonishing spectacle of transport and supplies passing to the forward areas completely unmolested by Stukas. The tough desert fighters in those vital hours smashed gaps in the main enemy positions and held them in face of all the fury the Axis could muster. There has been minor tank fighting, but so far there is no news of anything in the nature of of a major armoured clash. Axis air reinforcements have been considerable in recent weeks and the enemy cannot be expected to delay much longer throwing in all his available air resources in an effort to stem the rain of bombs on his forward positions. The Allied air operations are being stepped up daily.”