ROADS TO TUNIS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 April 1943, Page 4

ROADS TO TUNIS

PACKED WITH RETREATING ENEMY , TRANSPORT ALLIED FIGHTERS MEETING LITTLE OPPOSITION. AXIS CLAIMS REGARDING NEW BATTLE. (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) (Received This Day, 11.40 a.m.) LONDON, April 20. The “Daily Express” Cairo correspondent says Spitfire pilots returning from patrols yesterday reported that the roads to Tunis were packed with retreating enemy transport, “racing hell for leather.” These pilots are now flying from newlybuilt landing grounds just behind our forward troops, and within a short distance of Tunis and Bizerta, and the few remaining Axis airfields. In the past few days they have penetrated to the outskirts of Tunis frequently without meeting a single German plane. Allied fighters are maintaining a ceaseless watch over enemy airfields, so that it is increasingly difficult for large numbers of Axis planes to take off without being immediately spotted. Reuter’s Algiers correspondent says that, despite smarting losses in big transport planes, Rommel is still bringing them into Tunisia. His lavish use of them suggests that he is getting rid of all the non-essential personnel possible before the big fight. While Allied sources report merely artillery patrol activity on the Tunisian front,' the Berlin radio’s military commentator, Captain Sertorius, after a reference to the intensity of the barrage during the night of April 19, says several thrusts by major infantry and tank forces followed on the morning of April 20. “Extensive fighting ensued, which was still in progress at noon,” he added. “It remains to be seen whether this is the prelude to the expected large-scale attack by the Eighth Army or only a reconnaissance. It is known that General Montgomery is inclined to hurl his first attacking wave into battle as a kind of test, after which he throws in the bulk of his forces or leaves a lull if the first attempt is unsuccessful.” The Berlin radio broadcast a description of the fighting in Tunisia, received in Berlin today. “The enemy’s barrage,” it states, “is like a continuous thunderstorm. His artillery is everywhere—in the hills and valleys. On sandy ground the night seemed endless, to us. The eternal fire wears down our nerves, and a breeze from the sea blows sand into our eyes. Nevertheless, the enemy throws new forces against us. We try under the darkness of night t 0 disengage ourselves from the enemy. However, the British are pushing forward against us.” ALLEGED AXIS SUCCESS. The Berlin radio later claimed that the Eighth Army made an attack, with

strong infantry forces, on the Enfidaville line, but was beaten off. The battle was stated to have reached a climax in moonlight in the early hours of this morning. The Berlin radio, detailing the action, said that after several hours of artillery preparation, to which the Axis replied, British infantry attacked on a two-mile front, along which fierce fighting occurred. The British, despite heavy losses, repeatedly attempted to break in at various points. “The enemy’s losses were so serious,” the German report continues, “that reinforcements, accompanied by artillery, were rushed up, but the Agis attacked these from the flanks, and only small groups of General Montgomery’s forces reached the Axis advanced positions, where they were quickly cut off and driven back or wiped out. The Axis lines at dawn today were completely unbroken. Axis bombers and combat planes intervened so effectively that the British abandoned further attacks and retreated slowly to their initial positions.” The Berlin radio also mentioned two minor Allied attacks in the Medjez El Bab and Bouarada areas, without giving their results.