Tip Of Egyptian Front

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 108, 3 November 1942, Page 5

Tip Of Egyptian Front

(Rec. 10.30 a.m.) RUGBY, November 2. Allied troops, principally Australians, by moving westwards of the enemy positions between the railway and the Egyptian coast near the extreme northern end of the battlefield, have partially isolated some German and Italian infantry.

On Saturday night the enemy launched an attack on these Allied positions, and some of his tanks managed to infiltrate and join his infantry. Late last night these forces had been partly encircled.

It was anticipated throughout yesterday that the. enemy would make a further attempt to break this isolation, but so-, far he has not tried another assault to relieve the entrapped force. ..'..''.''.

An encouraging survey of this latest tactical development in the Egyptian battle was given by a Cairo correspondent today.

"The attack in the coastal area is beginning to justify our optimism," he said. "It was in the* main an Australian attack —northwards towards the sea from the forward positions further inland which had already been gained in earlier stages of the battle. It succeeded in crossing and cutting the railway between Tel el Isa arid Sidi Abd El Rahman, and penetrated into a narrow belt of sand dunes of not greater average width than two miles that lies between the railway and the sea. This means that the enemy troops holding the northern end of their line opposite Tel el Isa and El Alamein are now practically cut off—not entirely, because the latest information is that there is still a narrow corridor through the dunes. But the. use of this may be illustrated' by the course of operations yesterday and the night before last. "During Saturday night these Axis j forces tried to break out by attack- j ing in the reverse direction—westward. But they were repulsed and driven back by our forces holding their new positions astride the railway. "Yesterday a few enemy tanks managed to find a way through from the west, but the country is very difficult for tanks, being sandy, marshy, and awkward for manoeuvre, and the plain fact remains that the battle in this area is developing into a new type of activity." The enemy's counter-attiacks with tanks must be made in face of our newly-won artillery positions, and these attacks, if they fail, are liable to be expensive. OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE. A Cairo communique states: "The enemy, on the night of October 31November 1, attempted to attack our troops established west of his positions between the railway and the coast. Our infantry held its ground, but some enemy tanks, succeeded in joining his

minutes they shot down five mort planes. They were out again.at daybreak yesterday and got involved in more dogfights. The two days' bag has brought the squadron's total to 176 planes destroyed in the Middle' East.