MADE BY FIRST ARMY IN NORTH TUNISIA

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 April 1943, Page 3

MADE BY FIRST ARMY IN NORTH TUNISIA

Advance in Coastal Area in Spite of Continuous Rain POSITION IN SOUTH RATHER OBSCURE SUSTAINED ATTACKS ON ENEMY AIRFIELDS LONDON, April 2. Official news of the fighting in Northern Tunisia states that British troops continue to push north and. east beyond Sea Jenane. Correspondents say the recent gams have a strategic value that is not mentioned in the communiques. In the last four days’ fighting the First Army has made a real improvement in its position on the whole northern front. Not only has the enemy threat to the Allied bases further west been removed, but some of the enemy bases are now threatened. All this has been achieved in a period of exceptionally bad weather. It has rained without stopping for days and this has made very tough going indeed. . .. Further south, the only official news, is of very active patrol work in all sectors, especially in the area north of Gabes. It is not clear just where the enemy’s defence line is, north oi Gabes. Some reports put it as far as 25 miles north of Gabes but others, including German, put it at 10 miles or more further south than this. Berlin speaks of the Axis-withdrawal haying achieved a final union between Rommel’s and von Arnim s armies, according to a long-prepared plan of operation. In the El Guetar area enemy tanks are reported to-have counter-attacked the Americans this morning and further north the Americans are reported to have launched a new attack m the Maknassi sector. . A*lied aircraft are keeping up their attacks on enemy landing grounds in Tunisia, especially the one near Sfax, which was visited yesterday by nearly a hundred light bombers. Bizerta was heavily raided on the preceding night. Nine enemy planes were shot down yesterday. The Allies lost four.