The Press FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1942. The Battle for Tunisia

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23800, 20 November 1942, Page 4

The Press FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1942. The Battle for Tunisia

So far both Allied and Axis news services have been noticeably uncommunicative about the situation in Tunisia, where the decisive battles of the North African campaign will probably be fought. Allied reports suggest that the local French population, which numbers about 108,000, is anti-Axis in sentiment; and it seems certain that some French military units have been in action against Axis forces. There are, however, some 98,000 Italians in Tunisia who have been worked upon for years by Italian propaganda; and their attitude may offset any support the Allies get from the French inhabitants. But the point which most requires explanation is how the Germans managed to establish themselves in Bizerte, the French naval base which is the key by which the Mediterranean narrows will either be closed by the Axis or opened by the Allies. The harbour of Bizerte consists of an outer port with a deep water anchorage connected by a four-mile canal capable of taking 35,000-ton ships to an inner port. The defences of Bizerte are immensely strong. For 40 miles in each direction the shore is covered by a system of forts and camouflaged batteries, while to the landward side Jebel Kebr, 900 feet high, provides an excellent site for heavy artillery and anti-aircraft guns. How the Germans, who are said to have only 10,000 troops in Tunisia, managed to take this stronghold is for the present a mystery, and it can only be surmised that the garrison was paralysed by a fifth column inside the city. If it can be assumed that Bizerte and the whole of its outer defence system are in German hands the prospect of a swift and complete Allied victory in Tunisia must be considered remote. This, however, does not rule out the possibility of a move to take Rommel’s desert army in the rear. According to an unofficial report some Allied forces have been moved 150 miles southwards along the inland railway from Bone to Tebcssa and are striking thence eastward into Tunisia towards Gabes, which is about 100 miles from the Libyan frontier. These forces are not likely to make rapid progress, since the transport facilities in this region are rudimentary and since a chain of salt marshes will simplify matters for the defenders. Another report, also unofficial, says that forces from French Equatorial Africa are moving north to join the Allies. Such forces could do useful work in cleaning up Axis pockets of resistance in outlying oases, but here again the transport difficulty is again?! their being able to play any large part in the decisive battle for North Africa.