ALLIED RING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 April 1943, Page 4

ALLIED RING

TIGHTENING ON ROMMEL & VON ARNIM AIR ATTACKS MORE INTENSE THAN EVER. I ENEMY BLASTED BY DAY & NIGHT. (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) (Received This Day, Noon.) LONDON. April 13. The Allied ring which is pinning down Rommel and Von Arnim in the remaining strip of Tunisia is now tightening. The enemy’s land movements have slowed and his defence is becoming stabilised. The Berlin radio declared that "the compression of the Axis forces has created an extremely strong concentration.” The Allied ?.ir forces are now pounding this concentration day and night. According to the latest information, Enfidaville is definitely in Allied hands. This is at present the southernmost point of the perimeter in which the Axis forces are confined. The perimeter takes an almost regular sweep between Cap Serrat and Enfidaville, except for a threatening salient in the Medjez el Bab area, where the Allies stand on the edge of the Tunis plain, with Tunis only 30 miles away. Reuter’s correspondent in North Africa says the Germans seem to be most seriously threatened from this quarter. The correspondent adds that activity along the whole front yesterday was characterised by numerous movements, mostly on a small scale. Eighth Army patrols are maintaining contact with Rommel’s rearguards. The French have now joined in the northward drive. They have reached a point within 30 miles of Pont du Fahs. They are continuing the mopping up of the mountain area. A pause in the operations would not be unnatural now, after the recent heavy fighting and the arduous task of maintaining contact. The Allies furthermore face the problem of a greatly contracted front, which has enabled the enemy to concentrate his forces. The First Army was last reported 15 miles north df Kairouan. The Algiers radio stated that the Allies have captured five more irffi portant airfields. The radio also said that 18 more Axis ships had been sunk in the last few days. SOME -ENEMY CLAIMS. Today’s Italian communique announces that the Italian Navy in recent weeks has lost, through enemy air and naval action, three torpedoboats, two submarines and one cruiser, and claims that in the same period two Allied submarines were sunk. A German communique also claims that a German submarine chaser' sank two submarines in the Mediterranean. A Cairo message reports that a single Indian battalion, fighting in the forefront of the Eighth Army advance, captured an entire German unit of 400 men. A document captured in Tunisia ordered the removal from the front line of all German soldiers of Polish, Czech or Austrian extraction. The document stated: “These soldiers would rather be British prisoners than soldiers of the Wehrmacht.”

CONTINUOUS BOMBING. The R.A.F. yesterday attacked Axis positions in Tunisia with greater intensity than on any day in the whole campaign. A R.A.F. officer who went through the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain and also watched big attacks over France in 142, said he had never seen anything like it. There was not a moment all day when a squadron was not airborne. The North-Western Air Forces and the Desert Air Forces are now working as one. For instance the Axis airfield at St Marie Duezit, mentioned in an Algiers communique, was bombed on the night of April 11 from two directions. This is one of the enemy’s principal airfields, situated 15 miles inland from Hammamet. Wellingtons, Bisleys, Baltimores and Halifaxes unloaded . incendiaries and high explosives throughout the night. The last pilot to leave reported that nineteen fires were burning. Bombers resumed their attacks at daylight, when they added more fires to those still burning. The term Eighteenth Army Group, in a communique,'covers all the Allied forces in Tunisia under the direct command of General Alexander. GOOD PROGRESSMADE BY FRENCH FORCES. THOUSAND PRISONERS TAKEN. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.50 a.m.) RUGBY, April 13. The Algiers radio, quoting “the latest reports,” states that the Eighth Army has established contact with Rommel’s forces in Sc-bkra Kelbia, the big marsh area north-east of Kairouan and west of Sousse. The reports adds that French forces have occupied Djebel Kaiasum. A French North Africa communique states: “Pursuing their offensive operations, our troops completed the occupation of the eastern part of the area north-west of Kairouan. The number of prisoners taken has increased to a thousand. There was lively patrol activity in the area of Bou Arada. Our planes carried out bombing action in the area of Zahgouan-Enfidaville without loss.” SOUSSE HARBOUR “AN ABSOLUTE SHAMBLES” RESULTS OF ALLIED AIR ATTACKS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 12.15 p.m.) RUGBY, April 13. A commentator, speaking . from Sousse, said: “The town itself is not so badly damaged as you might expect, but the harbour area is a scene of absolute devastation. Our air forces determined that the enemy should not have the use of this port to bolster up tfieir forces in Tunisia and they scored a terrible success. It is only a small harbour, littered with wrecked cargo vessels, one on top of another. One is down by the stern and another lying on its side. A third just has its decks showing. Several more have completely capsized. The water is littered with wreckage and there are masts ahd funnels sticking up everywhere all over the harbour. It is a grim sight. The mole has great gaping holes where our bombs exploded, while

the cranes and dock installations all round the harbour are twisted, bent and brokenl The whole place is an absolute shambles. There is not a sound vessel, large or small, in sight, or a sound building either.” ROMMEL IN ITALY ACCORDING TO VICHY RADIO. (Received This Day, 12.10 p.m.) LONDON, April 13. , Quoting a report from Vichy, the British United Press correspondent in Madrid says Rommel today flew to Italy, to confer with Admiral Doenitz, General Keitel, and Riccardi, the Un-der-Secretary of the Italian Navy.