AIR ATTACKS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 January 1943, Page 3

AIR ATTACKS

ON AXIS MEDITERRANEAN BASES CARRIED ON VIGOROUSLY BY ALLIES. DAMAGE DONE TO MANY OBJECTIVES. ■3 . LONDON, January 8. All over the Mediterranean war zone Allied aircraft are keeping up their attacks on Axis targets. Yesterday, an Axis seaplane base and power station were hit by American heavy bombers at Palermo, in Sicily. Fighter-bombers from Malta scored six direct hits on a factory, which was left hidden in enormous clouds of smoke. On Lampedusa Island, Allied aircraft started fires among grounded aircraft' on an airfield. In Tunisia, a night raid by American bombers on Tunis and Sousse was followed up by an attack on enemy troop concentrations and other targets. One Allied plane on reconnaissance in Tunisia reported that recent Allied raids on Sfax had completely smashed the power station. In Tripolitania, fighters machine-gunned retreating enemy transport only 40 miles from Tripoli. They also shot down one enemy fighter and damaged others. LAND OPERATIONS. On land in Tripolitania, the main news is still of patrols by armoured forces in the forward area and of long supply columns proceeding westward all the time. There is nothing to report on land in Northern Tunisia. In the south, about 50 members of the French Camel Corps completely routed 400 Italians., of whom 250 were killed or captured and the rest put to flight. TUNISIAN FIGHTING . LOSS OF RIDGE WEST OF MATEUR. FRENCH ROUND UP ENEMY PARACHUTISTS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 9.40 a.m.) RUGBY. January 8. Details of the action in which the enemy yesterday dislodged British troops from nositions 15 miles east of Mateur in Tunisia, captured on the previous day, are given by a correspondent at the Allied Force headquarters. The Germans succeeded in dislodging an infantry battalion which was holding the Jebel Assig Ridge and also retook a hill further north, which commandos had captured. Our troops fought hard to regain the hills, but against a strong cross fire and, after i hard fighting throughout the day, withdrew under cover of darkness. R.A.F. fighters and Hurricane bombers gave our troops active support, attacking infantry and batteries and machinegunned enemy troops. The correspondent adds that’ American aircraft carried out three raids in the neighbourhood of Kairouan yesterday. Bostons, escorted, by Light- 1 nings, bombed a military camp and later another group of Bostons, escorted by Kittyhawks, bombed the same objective. Direct hits were scored on railway yards and on buildings on either side of the yard. Fighters made many sorties yesterday, shooting down three enemy planes against the loss of two. It is announced by the French authorities that German parachutists dropped at Saint Arnaud, 40 miles from the coast an 85 miles south-west of Philippeville, in Algeria, to carry out objectives were accompanied by one Arab, in civilian clothes. All the parachutists were rounded up and arrested, thanks to help from Arabs in the district. The one Arab parachutist was courtmartialled and shot.