German And Italian Armies In Full Retreat

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 13790, 6 November 1942, Page 5

German And Italian Armies In Full Retreat

rtflfl ARMY SCORES BIG VICTORY 11 IN DESERT FIGHTING

NG A xiS FORCES BEING HEAVILY FLE battWed by allied aircraft

raTTLE MIGHT BE TURNING POINT B OF WAR, SAYS SMUTS

London, Nov. 5. • ■ from Egypt is contained in a Cairo communique BC that the retreat of the Gorman-Italian armies continued ■'■'' |Sa,V lt day The fleeing Axis forces received a heavy batterconcentrations of Allied aircraft. h Ik of the retreating German and Italian forces is streamd along the coast road hotly pursued by our "'round f '" ,,u . ill( -i r a ceaseless rain of bombs and bullets from the air. •'"en far no sign of any stand being made by the Axis There is so ic

&• -., rm y continues to advance along the whole front alK en emy is endeavouring to hold out in some positions in

Tuesday night the enemy was heavily battered from the l nor bombers and fighters and this was kept up all day yesterThe only air activity on the part of the enemy were some •' \t interception and also one attempted bomber raid. This broken up and three planes shot down. Thirteen enemy flvere shot down during the day. Aver the Mediterranean on Tuesday night our planes attacked L y merchant ship heavily laden and it was brought to a iwili Hits were also obtained on escorting destroyers and on i'l'r In all operations yesterday we lost 14 planes. A correspondent in a message from Cairo says: "Our measure Irietory in the desert is increasing." He adds that this fifth of {■ember the fireworks are being provided by our guns and the 4e S are being 1 provided by the blazing enemy tanks. The my is running away trying to get out all the men and material

"Large numbers of Germans," continues the correspondent, toamong those in the lead racing away. This time they have left Italians behind." it El Daba ,which was one of the enemy's advanced landing siils, the aerodrome was covered by huge, sheets of flame. Hitter west at Puka our planes made a night' attack on enemy #s speeding westward. General Alexander has received messages of congratulation a His Majesty the King and from Field-Marshal Smuts. FieldMai Smuts said that the present battle might be the turning at, of the war.

it Washington U.S. Secretary of State, Mr Cordell Hull, said site United States fully and enthusiastically participated in the we expressed by high British officials at the trend of events Berlin radio said that having contrived to secure a concentraSio! forces'it was not unexpected that the British would achieve lU success. Before claiming a victory the British would be drifted to wait a little and see how the battle developed.

Earlier messages announced that 8,000 more Axis prisoners had N taken besides large numbers of guns and great quantities of k war material. Over 600 enemy planes have also been bred.

Berlin radio confirms the capture of General Bitter von Pom- • commander of the Afrika Korps. Many other high ranking officers have also been taken, and it is known that a senior W who was in command of the Axis forces in Rommel's '* has been killed.

A correspondent of the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, % from Berlin, says "Rommel's losses are great." Tl >e Italians have asked for an armistice to enable them to -Ttheir dead. y* t