RACING NORTH

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 April 1943, Page 3

RACING NORTH

NEW ZEALANDERS AMONG ADVANCE TROOPS IN COMPANY WITH ARMOURED UNITS. PURSUIT~BEYOND AKARIT. (Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) ALGIERS, April 10. New Zealanders were among the forces of the Eighth Army with which General Montgomery made his successful advance beyond the Gabes gap. Back in the role which they played so successfully after the smashing of the El Alamein line, the New Zealanders were again with the British armoured forces which raced through the opening that was made by the asault on the Wadi el Akarit defences, and they have continued to force back the enemy ever since. It is possible also to say that British infantry formations—the 51st Highland Division and the 50th Division —which shared all the way in the New Zealanders’ advance through Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, are again in the fighting. Tanks from one of the oldest desert armoured divisions have again fought magnificently against the German rearguards. Through minefields and against anti-tank defences, these tanks and our troops with their light tanks, guns, veteran infantry, and trucks, are striking still farther into southern Tunisia. For the second time since they crossed the border our forces have been opposed by the newest German tank, the Mark VI, which mounts an 88-millimetre gun. Twice between dawn and dusk on Thursday our armoured forces battled fiercely with German tanks and antitank guns in the area of Mezzouna, an inland town at the edge of the hill country, and by nightfall the Germans had once again begun to withdraw, pursued closely by our tanks and guns. The British forces in the coastal area also pushed on, capturing Mehares and, as announced a few minutes ago, the harbour town of Sfax. The latest information on the inland drive is that “the advance continues.” : -— — \