NO ADVANCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 July 1942, Page 3

NO ADVANCE

IN NORTHERN ATTACK UN EGYPT RETURN TO ORIGINAL POSITIONS CONTINUED AIR ACTIVITY. ENEMY LOSES TWELVE PLANES AT MALTA. LONDON, July 28. In the absence of any further news about the operations at Tel el Isa, it is taken for granted that these operations, which went on all day yesterday, have notv ended.

A Reuter message states that General Auchinleck has withdrawn his forces on the northern sector to the positions they captured last Wednesday. The position of the Eighth Army remains the same. All the ground occupied last week is still in its hands and pressure is still being applied to the enemy. The Australians have now gone back to their original positions in the Tel el Isa sector. Fighting petered out at about 10 o’clock last night. It appears that the Eighth Army’s tanks could not get to grips with the German armoured forces, being held up by German minefields and anti-tank defences. A 23-hour artillery bombardment preceded the attack. Last night British aircraft heavily raided Tobruk. An increase in enemy air activity over Malta is reported. Twelve enemy planes were shot down yesterday and others damaged, in three .daylight attacks. No British fighters were lost over the island. Two German planes attempting to raid the Suez Canal zone were shot down by British night fighters. ( In all the extensive operations in the Middle East, five planes are missing, but the pilot of one is safe.