MARETH BATTLE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 April 1943, Page 3

MARETH BATTLE

OUTFLANKING ATTACK BY NEW ZEALANDERS MANY HUNDREDS OF PRISONERS TAKEN. CONQUEST OF WELL-SITED DEFENCES. (Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) ALGIERS, March 30. Stories of the great 200-mile inland trek and of the battle fought by the New Zealanders’ out-flanking column on its way westward behind the Mareth Line have now come from New Zealand correspondents with the column. It is the third New Zealand outflanking attack which they have watched in Africa. In the sweeps round the two main German defence lines in Libya—El Agheila and Wadi Zamzam —difficult country was the greatest obstacle our columns had to overcome, and as soon as his flank was turned Rommel withdrew. But in southern Tunisia he anticipated the Eighth Army’s left hook and packed his forces across an ancient flanking defence line to hinder our column’s progress. Of the battle to strike through these defences a correspondent, writing recently, said: — “The New Zealanders were the force which outflanked the Mareth Line. Advancing in the moonlight under cover of an artillery barrage, New Zealand infantry overpowered the enemy’s main defences in the gap between Jebel, Tebaga and the Matmata Range, south-west of Gabes, and captured a nameless feature dominating the country ahead. Enemy guns are still established in the hills to the north of the gap, making progress difficult, but the new positions are being constantly hammered by our artillery. CASUALTIES NOT HEAVY. “The New Zealanders took many hundreds of Italian prisoners and captured a great quantity of weapons, including anti-tank guns and machineguns. Considernig the nature of the attack, our casualties were light. “Anticipating this threat to the rear of the Mareth Line, the enemy had prepared well-sited defences with a protecting screen of minefields. These defences were manned by Italians. “The approach to the entrance of the gap had been made by the attacking forces during the day, and at 10 o’clock last night two infantry battalions, one Wellington and one South Island, set off for their objective 4000 yards away, while our artillery concentrated on the enemy forward defence localities. Some of our troops were experiencing their first action.“The Italians put up stiff resistance with small arms, ' mortars, anti-tank guns, and machine-guns, but the New Zealanders presesd on steadily, firing as they advanced. At close quarters the Italian resistance was overcome, but there was much hand-to-hand fighting, and grenades were used freely. The infantry have reached their objective in good time, but there is still considerable fighting among tne foothills, from which several more hundreds of Italians are being rounded up this morning. “Our infantry are being subjected to fairly heavy shelling. They have dug in, and their casualties are few. “Whether because of our artillery fire or by reason of the threat from the tanks is not known, but in one enemy gun position three 88-millimetre guns were abandoned. • The captured enemy positions showed signs of long habitation and the dug-outs were well constructed. There was plenty of clothing, but no food and some prisoners stated that food had been in short supply for several days. “Bombing and strafing raids on the New Zealand lines have been fairly frequent without being severe. Sometimes planes of both sides were in the air together and our ack ack bursts and those of the enemy came close to being intermingled.” LANDING AT SFAX REPORTED BY ALGIERS RADIO. NOTHING KNOWN IN LONDON. LONDON, March 30. The Algiers radio announced tonight that a British naval landing had been carried out at Sfax. Nothing is known in London about this, and it is pointed out that the harbour is unlikely to be able to take a vessel of over 1000 tons. The Admiralty does not confirm or deny the report.