ALLIED FORCES JOINED

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23918, 9 April 1943, Page 5

ALLIED FORCES JOINED

Bth Army And Americans

PURSUIT OP ENEMY

jf'" press Association—Copyright) , Lee. 11 p.mj LONDON, April 8. v special communique from Allied force headquarters states: <The Bth Army to-day made contact with the 2nd United States Army Corps from Gafsa. The advance continues, and the air forces from the east and the west are now enjoying common targets." Contact between the left flank of the Bth AVmy and the 2nd American Corps occurred south of the jebel Chemsi, about two miles north of the Gafsa-Gabes road, and some 15 miles east of El Guetar. As contact was made, heavy forces of Spitfires escorted American Mitchells bombing enemy transports fleeing northwards from the area under a heavy smoke screen. The latest front line dispatches , gay the Bth Army’s position conL, itinues to be satisfactory. Yesterr ‘ day’s battlefield Is being cleaned up and more prisoners have been taken. The American forces, which are reported to have made contact with the gth Army, yesterday made two attacks east of an important hill in the El Guetar area. One of these attacks W as held up. but it is reported that the left flank is now moving down along the Gabes road. The Americans also attacked north of Maknassi through a mountain pass which Marshal Rommel must hold at all costs. The Algiers radio states: “The battle • between the Americans and the Germans in the El Guetar area continues. American troops carrying out a local attack seven miles north of Maknassi

captured Jebel Maizizi, on the Sidi Bousid road." A correspondent states that by linking up with the Americans in the El Guetar sector, the Bth. Army now has available a new and shorter supply line.

Earlier dispatches said the Bth Army had advanced beyond the Wadi Akarit line and on the battlefield itself prisoners were being taken. Advance Through the Breach

“The Bth Army is-continuing its advance through the breach in the Geri man positions. Tanks and armoured m. ■vehicles are shielding waves of in!jf fantry,” declared the Algiers radio. ) The radio earlier stated that I the Bth Army took several Axis defence lines at the Wadi Afcarit at

the point of the bayonet. This detail, though implicit in Mr Churchill’s statement, completes the picture of Marshal Rommel’s discomfiture in that early,,, morning hour of darkness

when his unsuspecting forces were deafened by the sudden roar- of 500 guns and found themselves being bayoneted from all sides by an unseen enemy.

Describing the battle, the correspondent of the National Broadcasting Corporation states: "The Bth Army at 4

a.m. yesterday began blasting Marshal Rommel's ' defences with one of the heaviest artillery barrages of the Afri-

can war. Soon afterwards battle units began rolling forward to the chief Axis defences on the other side of the Wadi Akarit, which were centred on two hill positions, General Montgomery’s ‘Desert Rats’ at 6 a.nrf. stormed and took the hills. Marshal Rommel at dawn faced the fact that his main defence line was lost. He launched counter-attacks, but these were flung back, Organised opposition ceased by 6.30 a.m. in this area, and by 8 a.m. the bridgehead had been won and the way was open for the smashing drive which was to begin the second phase of the battle.”

Description of Attack

A British United Press correspondent with the Bth Army, describing General Montgomery’s frontal attack against Marshal Rommel, says: “Sweeping across the plain in front of the Gabes gap under the cover of a violent artillery barrage, the Bth Army on April 6 burst into the thickest Axis defences at'the Wadi Akarit, just as the sun rose over the Mediterranean. A thunderous barrage of shells had crashed at 4.15 a.m. into the heavy recently-dug German defences along the Wadi Akarit. and several thousand of General Montgomery’s best troops marched in battle formation across the plain. Bayonets gleamed amid flashes from guns and shells bursting amid the thick network of German machine-gun nests. "Within the first four -hours of the day several preliminary objectives were seized, The barrage continued to rock the desert as our guns plastered the Axis positions in a small area where the Wadi Akarit forks near the coastal road. Our troops advanced into a thick nest of machine-guns. Our infantry crossed the 100 yards wide wadi into the midst of the Axis positions. «

“The wadi at this point has a gently sloping bank on the south side, with £ fairly steep bank on the north side, fanks were able to cross easily, but vheeled vehicles could not. Therefore engineers wore in the forefront of the battle clearing minefields and building a suitable slope on the northern bank so that supply lorries were able to cross.” A correspondent of the “Daily ExPress” says: "Two hills formed part of Marshal Rommel’s defence line—RouIr 'ana, 500 tcet high, and Tebegafatnassa 800 feet high. Whoever held these hills hold the wadi. They were burs after two hours of bitter fighting. We had hardly taken them when there Was a counter-attack. The enemy knew that with the ‘Desert Rats’ on the hills their foothold on the wadi would crumble, but a storm of fire met the Germans, and there were soon only isolated groups lying flat on the ground, or sprinting from one bit of cover to another. “Soon the sweaty and sand-baked British troops were north of the wadi, and only five miles from the shore, they had made a bridgehead through Which passed units charged with the task of combing out the enemy in the wadi positions near the sea. towards our tanks began to move. Besides prisoners we captured much equipment, some of which our troops Will be able to use.” Wednesday’s communique from North Africa states: “The Bth Army successfully attacked the Wadi Akarit positions yesterday and drove a wedge into the enemy positions after very heavy fighting. Enemy counter-attack’s on the bridgehead position were repulsed. Fighting continues in the El

Guetar sector. On the remainder of the front our patrols have been active. ’ Next Defensive Line A British United Press correspondent in Tunisia says: “Marshal Rommel has no defensive positions until 15 miles beyond the Wadi Akarit and no real line to hold on to until he is well above Sousse.” Reuter’s military correspondent says Marshal Rommel cannot expect to find a suitable natural line on which to make a stand before Sousse, which would mean a retreat of 150 miles.” The correspondent adds that General Montgomery’s offensive has advanced with astonishing rapidity, which must have completely disconcerted Marshal Rommel. “It is now clear that the Germans were standing on the Wadi Akarit position in great strength, and once again General Montgomery smashed through with a frontal attack which was a magnificent feat of administrative organisation, being launched on a major scale after only six days of preparation.” The Berlin radio on Wednesday night declared that "the battle is continuing with undiminished violence.’ Referring to events yesterday the radio said: "There were heavy, bittter battles all day. General Montgomery’s losses were heavy because he had to work his way forward through heavily-mined territory in the Wadi Akarit.” , ,

The Rome radio said: “The Axis ir. Tunisia suffered heavy casualties. The Allies have greatly superior numbers and equipment. It is. however, necessary for the Axis to fight to the end. since Tunisia is Italy’s last bastion :n Europe." Summarising the day’s air score throughout Tunisia, the British United Press correspondent at Algiers says: “There has been nothing like this continuous air attack in military history.” He adds that the day’s work included the biggest attack against enemy airfields made in the present campaign The chief target was La Fauconniere, which is Marshal Rommel’s main air base as he retreats north. More than 100 aeroplanes participated in this attack, leaving great fires and a bombpitted airfield. Simultaneously, over the whole battle areaj every fighter and every bomber available was on the job. attacking enemy vehicles, gunposts, troops, tanks, and communications.”

The Algiers radio said: “Reconnaissance reveals that more than 150 enemy aeroplanes were destroyed or damaged on the ground during raids against aerodromes in Sicily on Monday." On Monday evening four Italian tor-pedo-bombers attempted to attack Allied shipping off the Algerian coast All were shot down by Hurricanes. Sergeant Jackson, of Cheviot, and Sergeant Cammock, of Papanui, were among Hurricane pilots who shot down the torpedo-bombers. According to the Algiers radio, large numbers of young men from Gabes and Medenin have volunteered during the last three days for the Fighting French services. As soon as the German rearguards left Gabes nearly all the white population hurried to the river to prepare a crossing for the Bth Army, as the Germans had destroyed all the bridges.