GENERAL ATTACK

Grey River Argus, 24 July 1942, Page 5

GENERAL ATTACK

IN THE DESERT BY ALLIED FORCES Several Miles Advance ALONG THE WHOLE FRONT. [Aust. & N.Z. Cable (Rec. 9.40) LONDON, July 23. A barrage marking the °Pe nl ”S le an Allied offensive aong tn , e av Desert front began on Tuesday. lhe barrage lasted more- than two during which hundreds of shells were sent smashing into enemy , line s> were only about a few miles m front of the Allies’ most a sf a, ?^ d f^v C o f The ground rocked with the- fury ot the barrage, under which _ Indian, New Zealand and s , out^ r Afnca i p na ]s ) fantry crept forward. Verey s -B n . a "? soon began to rise as the enemy tried -to locate our troops. lhe barrag was intensified until 10.10 p.m. The it stopped as the .infantry contacted the enemy. The thunder of the bat rage was replaced by a chilling rattle of machine-guns ana a clatter ot tanks going into action, lhe Indians, New Zealanders and South Africans soon reached the first objectives mspite of desperate German counterattacks against the Indians and New Zeelanders. The Germans, at nrs employed tanks in complete darkness. The Allied infantry held their positions throughout the night. A second furious artillery barrage heralded the dawn on Wednesday. Then the Australians, in the nortn, advanced along sand dunes and attacked, and the morning sea haze was scon transformed into swirling clouds of black smoke and dust. , Bri tanks simultaneously crashed into action .in the far south, where German positions on edge of the Ljuattara Depression were soon overrun and also in the centra.! sector. The Australian attack began at 515 a.m. and at 8 a.m. the first lorry loads of German prisoners, from the Ninetieth Light Infantry Division were coming ba’ck along the coast road.

LONDON, July 22. ) Fighting wa's resumed fiercely in , all sectors on the Aiamein front last j flight and continued throughout to- , day in the north, where we tota "y ’ occupied the Tel el Ester ridge. The,; battle was quickly joined along tne , whole front. The Eighth Army took,] the initiative and is holding it. Unitea,. Kingdom troops also pushed tne ; enemy back in the south. 1 i counter-attacked at all points. 1' 16 ,* fighting showed no signs of slacken-p ing throughout the day. Tanks went i into action on both sides. |1 The “Exchange Telegraph ’ Agency correspondent says: We have a slight ] advantage north and south, but nop definite results are announced. . 11 The “Yorkshire Posts’,s” . military (i commentator estimates the German , casualties at nearly 10,000. He adds < that one German and one Italian di-]< vision are known to be ineffective ( because of the losses. I i PROGRESS IN ALL SECTORS. (Rec. 10.55) LONDON, July 23. On Tuesday, Allied troops made progress in the north and south sectors of the Alamein front. In both sectors they encountered strong enemy resistance. In the central sector, Allied troops considerably progressed along the Ruweisat Ridge. R.A.F. throughout Tuesday and Wednesday maintained a 1 protective umbrella over the Allied forces. The “Daily Telegraph’s” Cairo correspondent states that he watched the fighting from a position on the crest of Ruw'eisat Ridge. He sa’ys: “It looked as though General Auchinleck had decided on a blow against the Axis central dispositions at the very moment that the enemy had completed the straightening of his line after the Allied advance last week. The Allies’ advance a.iong the Ruweisat Escarpment brought them into a position threatening part of Marshal Rommel’s larmy on Rs norther and central flanks. N.Z. SECTOR’S ACTIVITY enemy gives ground. N.Z. TROOPS PUSH THROUGH. (Rec 1140) LONDON, July 23. The British United Press correspondent in Egypt says: . The latent fighting has been as grim as any seen in the Desert for the last two months. , Allied forces at present are attack ing the Germjan Fifteenth and Twenty-first Armoured Strongly placed elements of the German Ninetieth Light Infantry am the Italian Brescia and Pavia m fantry Divisions have been m 0^ d back. New Zealanders, who aie stationed on the southern side oi the central sector, pushed through wth their usual precision. A Leeds gun ner said* n You have to hand it t the Kiwis. They always do a' grand job.” With one hundred 7 lhed tanks sledge-hammering at the immediate western slopes of Ruweisat Ridge, groups of "General Grant” tanks an "Generai Lee” cruiser tanks in the first attack rushed to the aid of the New Zealanders. They were held up at the south-west edge of the rid »e. S< ; x German mark four tanks weie blazrna at the New Zealanders, who almost had ’reached their objective. The enemy withdrew under our concentrated fire. Our masses of waiting armout swept into battle unaei cover of a terrific barrage on Wednesday morning. The enemy had moved up most of his armoured strength into the Dustbowl. The Allies encountered strong opncsition. We had plenty of tanks, however, in reserve. They stretched i‘s far as the eye could see across the Desert vallevs and hills’des. “In the central sector, battle opened on a short front but gradually extended. At one p.m. on Wednesday, we had advanced several miles, but some enemy points were holding out. Our tanks are still trying to round them us, but the going is not easy.

The. “Evening Standard’s” correspondent with the. New Zealanders says: It is generally recognised that the New Zealanders are probrblv the most offensive-m’nded troops in the Western Desert. Although at present it is mostly quiet along the front, except for the R.A.F.’s bombing end patrolling, it is rarely quiet for New Zealanders, who are keeping up the already famous night patrols. These nicked' intruders sleep during the hot days and work at night-time. They carried out a typical patrol on Sunday night, returning early on Monday with more than 4f) prisoners from the Ariete Division. They killed a similar number and destroyed a 105 millimetre gun, five anti-tank guns and 10 machine-guns, land gained valuable information. They travelled 800 yards to the enemy

ilines and returned minus two Breneun ’ carriers, which struck land Imines. Their prisoners were young Italians, most of whom had arrived from Italy in the last ten days None had been in Africa more than a m< The correspondent is unable to eive the patrol’s strength, but it was only one of several New Zealand jobs Commenting on Rommel s regrouping of his forces, the Dai y Mail’s” correspondent m the Western Desert says: Rommel has straightened his line, but not in the way he wanted to. The British did it for him in the 10 days from July 10 General Auchinleck directed the vital 10 days’ moves supremely well. The operations were a logical extension of offensive-defensive tactics which he used after Tobruks fall. They stopped Rommel at Alamein, and have now turned the tide against the Axis army for the first time since Tobruk. Auchinleck chose the moiments for local attacks with extreme care. Rommel, almost for the 'first time, has been reacting to someone elses moves, instead of dictating them himself. The Eighth Armys attacks have been staged beautifully. [Rommels counter-attacks cost him dozens of tanks, scores of guns, and thousands of men.

Patrol and Artillery Fire

STUKA’S HOTLY RECEIVED.

(Official N.Z.E.F. War Correspondent.)

(Rec. 9.45) RUWEISAT RIDGE, July 20.

Successful night patrols deep into < enemy lines and artillery fire- in sup- < port of an attack by Indians on Ru- i weisat Ridge have been the main i activity in the New Zealand sector of j the front line during Sunday and j Monday. Our field guns have sei- ] dem been silent, but the enemy's only < replies have been occasional and in- j . effective shells from his long-range 1 artillery. New Zealand iregiments, ( have been constantly hammering ene- I ' my concentrations of tanks and i - transport. Enemy air activity had . grown to several raids la day on our j positions. It has since decreased , again, particularly since the R-A.F. - fighter pianes had great success , against the Stukas on Sunday. News , that five- morning raiders had been brought down and thirty-eight others - destroyed on the ground reached 1 me- Sunday afternoon while I ( was with machine-gunners in , what they know as "bomb , alley.” A major commanding what , was originally the machine-gun bat-, 1 taiions’ Scottish company sent on a , story that was eagerly received in ' every gun-pit. They had been hoping for news of success against this enemy beyond the reach of their , Vickers guns. Everywhere I stopped ‘ men were talking of, "the great job the R.A.F. are- doing.” When the Stukas arrived for their evening raid, i 1 they got probably the hottest recep- 1 tion that German planes have had | ’ from the New Zealanders to date. It : appeared that every man with a gun ’ capable of firing into the air was - shooting for direct hits. Shells were 1 shot up so thick and fast that some of the Stukas were almost obscured by their bursts. Our ack-ack gunners. whose never-failing resistance > is the- pride of the division, seemed In be fighting even more vigorously than usual. Several possibles must bo joined to a long list that accompanies eighteen certainties they have destroyed in this campaign. Since early on Monday morning R.A.F. fighters have been hovering over us, • but above the New Zealand line there have been few targets for them.” AIR ACTIVITY (Rec. 11.50) LONDON, July 23. : The Axis Air Force joined in the* desert battle on Wednesday, after a noticeable absence on the previous day. There -were a number of air combats. Italian and G eri pan planes tried to prevent the planes from battering enemy front line positions. Allied pilots in the morning were hampered by clouds : and dust from the battlefield. The ■ conditions later improved. Fighters and bombers gave valuable ‘aid to the Allied ground forces. “The Times’s” correspondent says: On Tuesday R.A.F. planes continued amazing performances in North Africa, yesterday, when it made over a hundred sorties with light bombers. There was no effective enemy fighter opposition. The Luftwaffe’s inactivity is believed to be duo to the success of our attacks on the Fuka and El Daba aerodromes. It is thought that many more enemy aircraft were then damaged than were claimed. Light bombers attacked enemy ■■ positions throughout Monday. Direct hits were scored and fires were ■ started. Targets included a concen- '■ [ration of 1000 vehicles in the, central ' sector and poorly dispersed infantry > in the northern sector. Fighter-bomb-ers attacked concentrations of veh- • icles in the northern sector. Two 1 enemy fighters were shot down in • combat. Long range fighters on re- • ccnnaissance shot down an Italian I aircraft near Sidi Barrani. Heavy ■ bombers attacked shipping in Suda 1 Bay in Crete, scoring direct hits on ; two medium-sized ships. There was a ; near miss on a large ship. The pier i was set on fire. Other heavy bomb- ■ ers raided Tobruk. From all these ) operations five Allied aircraft are 1 missing. s The B»B.C. correspondent, Mr. J Dimbleby said: A min’mum of 301 , enemy machines were badly damaged lat El Fuka. No estimate of the i damage at El Daba’ had yet been made > but there was no reason to believe , ) that the attack was less effective.