MS HAMPERED BY NARROW FRONT

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 254, 27 October 1942, Page 3

MS HAMPERED BY NARROW FRONT

HEAVILY SHELLED N.Z.E.F. And Highlanders In Hard Fighting U.P.A. and British Wireless Ree. 1 p.m. LONDON, Oct. 26. English, Empire and Allied infantry divisions are fighting hard in all the battle areas in the desert. They are reported to be making progress towards certain objectives, and the number of Axis prisoners and casualties is rising.

Reuter's special correspondent with the Eighth Army cabled this information in a dispatch received in London this afternoon. He added that early in the battle several scattered clashes occurred between Allied and German tanks west of the El Alamein line. One British heavy tank formation, emerging from a wedge driven through the enemy's minefields by the initial infantry assault, was by evening still holding on despite heavy shelling from artillery and anti-tank guns. During the last 24 hours, says Reuter's correspondent in a later cable, the Allied forces have made no further progress, but have retained the ground taken early in the offensive. More armour is now engaged, and artillery is in action continuously along the whole front. The nature of the terrain and the narrowness of the front, plus the large number of enemy prepared positions, which must be overcome by a frontal assault, make it unlikely that the Eighth Army will secure rapid territorial gains. The British United Press correspondent with the Eighth Army, Robert McMillan, says the British widened the break in the German lines, and the New Zealanders advanced. The Germans counterattacked, but were repulsed. The Australian forces held these attacks while the Highlanders fought a battle with great gallantry over a strong point which the enemy was hotly disputing.

Prisoners Total 1450

The enemy has been unable to dislodge our troops from the areas already gained, states the Cairo communique. There have been minor engagements in which armour has been involved on both sides.

Up to fi p.m. on Sunday, 1450 Germans and Italians were taken prisoner. Large scale Allied air attacks continued over the battle area during Saturday night, and also on Sunday. Enemy air activity increased but our pilots had a successful day, shooting down at least seven planes and damaging many more. OfT Tobruk we bombed a merchantman, which blew up and entirely disappeared. Our long-range fighters, which had been on this operation, shot down two Junkers 88's, one Dornier 24 and a Caproni 42.

Air attacks against Malta continued and our fighters shot down an enemy fighter. Ground fire destroyed two moie. Including the large-scale operations over the battle area, ihrco of our pianos failed to return yCrttf rflay.

On the first day of the battle the Allied air forces in the desert took the offensive and have kept it. They held throughout the opening day complete command of the air. Allied air power was switched from the task of holding down and wearing cut the enemy air forces and flung at enemy troops on the ground, coinciding with the attack by the Allied divisions.

The air striking force in the desert took over from the medium bombers, which had attacked enemy positions in the battle area throughout Friday night. This had been widespread, including attacks on both the northern and southern sectors. One hit of a gun position or Ammunition dump produced a terrific explosion, which rocked the aircraft at 6000 ft. Guns were silenced and vehicles, stores and mechanical transport concentrations bombed and shot up. Under bright moonlight the bombers, which had a most

hazardous task to perform, began their operations. Dispatched to lay smoke screens in front of our advancing troops, they restarted at the first light the shuttle service of bombing with which the enemy became familiar in the last two battles. One after another the raiding forces formed up in the sky, with protecting fighters weaving around them, then headed westwards. As soon as one raider force came down another took off, and with more fighters escorting it. These raids were all directed against enemy ground positions. One raid alone, on a smallish concentration of - tanks and transports, started six fires. The escorting fighters' pilots from one raid reported that a concentration of some 250 to 300 vehicles, which light bombers attacked, may have been wiped out. An R.A.F. gunner described the anti-aircraft fire as some of t fiercest experienceu, but it did not deflect the bomber formations/- The fighter squadrons flew offensive natrols throughout the day over enemy territory, while others were Datrolling the forward positions of Fhe Allied ground forcesgiving Protection against air attacks. Thes did not materialise during tne m .u. part of the day, but in the afternoon the Luftwaffe made a few small scale fighter-bomber raids.