ADVANCE ON DAMASCUS

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23360, 20 June 1941, Page 7

ADVANCE ON DAMASCUS

General Wilson’s Ultimatum

PUSH TOWARDS BEIRUT

(Received June 19, 11 p.m.) ;U.P.A.) LONDON, June 19,

Operations are probably in progress for an Allied advance into Damascus. A Jerusalem message says that the Allies are attacking the city. All important heights round the city have been occupied by the Allies, and according to the Free French radio in Jerusalem, General Sir Henry Wilson, the Allied Commander-in-Chief, requested General Dentz, the Vichy High Commissioner, to withdraw his troops from the capital to save it from attack. If no reply ,was given by 5.30 a.m. to-day, action would be taken. ' In the coastal sector, Australian patrols are said to have reached Damur, a village 13 miles south of Beirut. Vichy troops have gained a foothold at Merjiyun, south of Jezzin. Operations to retake the post are in progress. Vichy troops also recaptured El Kuneitrah, 30 miles to the southwest, but were driven out in less than three hours.

A communique issued yesterday by British General Headquarters in Cairo states: “Further progress has been made in the coastal sector of Syria, where our advanced patrols are now within 20 miles of Beirut. South of Damascus the Allied forces made further, headway .in the face of strong opposition by Vichy troops. In the central area, heavy counter-attacks by .pur forces are in progress against Wichy elements, which have temporarily effected lodgments in Merjiyun and El Kuneitrah. At Jezzin, a determined counter-attack was successfully repulsed, leaving many Vichy infantry and several armoured cars ,in our hands.” Heavier Resistance Increased resistance by Vichy troops has caused the abandonment of the Allied “kid glove” policy in many areas in Syria. i Accounts from Beirut declare that increasingly powerful elements, particularly artillery, are operating on both sides, and that a war of movement is raging fiercely between the coast and Jebel Druz, with heavy fighting, particularly along the lines of communication and the crossroads in the Allied rear. Vichy counter thrusts, it is claimed, have reached the Palestine frontier. East of Mount Hermon, according to Vichy, there is a melee of infantry, cavalry, and armoured units, in which the initiative has shifted between one side and the other. The air forces on both sides are very active. . , The British loss and recapture of El Kuneitrah provides a tale of heroism ranking high in this or any other camoaien. Three to four hundred infantrymen from a famous London regiment and Free French resisted attacks by Vichy forces for 48 hours. The Vichy troops, with 15 tanks, six armoured cars, artillery, mortars and machine-guns, launched a closing attack at dawn, encircling the village with two battalions and tanks. Infantry attacked at 8 a.m. but were repulsed. Tanks attacked at 10 a.m. and failed to get through. The Allies maintained their fire ana used grenades very effectively, inflicting terrible losses on the enemy. The Vichy forces then heavily shelled the village. The Allies fought on until the last bullet, but at 6.30 p.m. were forced to surrender. „ The Vichy forces’ hold on El Kuneitrah, however, lasted exactly 150 minutes, because Allied reinforcements of infantry and artillery rushed up at sunset and captured the town before dark Fall of Saida A lighter story is of how an Australian sergeant-major, sergeant, and corporal “captured” Saida, These noncommissioned officers formed an army of occupation four and a half hours before Saida officially capitulated, accepting the surrender while a tank battle was raging south of the town. When the first British armoured units broke through and raced to the Vichy headquarters they found three grinning Australians there with the French staff under arrest and Vichy soldiers and officials lined up to welcome them. The sergeant-major said that he and his companions were separated from the main body attacking from the east. When the noise of battle died down he thought the attackers from the south must be in the town, so he decided to go in and meet them. However, a Lebanese told him the town had not yet surrendered. The battle had flared up and it was useless to try to get back. “We decided to bluff it out,” he said. “We made the Lebanese take us to headquarters. 1 strode up to the Senegalese guarding the door and declared: ‘The city has surrendered. Give up your arms.’ The Senegalese meekly gave up their rifles. I left the corporal to guard them and strode in with the sergeant. My revolver overawed the Vichy staff and they put up their hands. "I left the sergeant over them and went to the town hall and commanded the mayor to summon the council. He did, and led them to the Vichy headquarters, where we lined them up with members of the staff and simply awaited the arrival of our troops.”

Battles in Central Sector

Though the weight of the Vichy force in Syria now seems to be concentrating on the coast to meet the threat from the Australian column pushing up through Saida, the fiercest fighting is taking place in the central sector round Jezzin and Merjiyun, states the Australian official war correspondent. The battle line in the central sector fluctuates backwards and forwards as small mobile and armoured forces of either side make sudden attacks and counter-attacks. The coastal column yesterday had practically halted three miles past Saida, although patrols are probing some distance ahead towards Yaroutl. Its function at present is to guard the two lateral roads against flank attacks while the position in the central sector is consolidated. 4 , British military circles in Ankara yesterday estimated that the Vichy air force in Syria had been reinforced in the preceding 48 hours by between 50 and 70 machines, mostly fighters. Many are German machines with French markings. Admiral Darlan. broadcasting from Vichy, offered Free French soldiers in Syria amnesty if they joined General Dentz, but he declared that Officers would be punished if they were caught. “I speak in the name of Marshal Retain,” he said. “You are engaged in a battle against your brothers. 'I know you are courageous, but if you understood .the history of France you would know that our main task is to safeguard a united France under Marshal Retain." . ' „ , . lire French Minister in Sofia, who is visiting Istanbul for the funeral of the French Ambassador to Turkey, issued a statement denying reports of negotiations for the return of Syria to Turkey.

BRITISH SUBJECTS TO LEAVE CYPRUS

WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND

AGED PERSONS

LONDON, June 18. Practically all the British women, numbering 1000, and British children and' aged people have been evacuated from Cyprus. Jews and 500. Poles who fled their country after it was invaded have also been taken off the island. ,