ALLIED THRUSTS

Grey River Argus, 19 November 1942, Page 5

ALLIED THRUSTS

On Coast and Inland [Aust. & N.Z. Cable Assn.] (Rec. 11.50.) LONDON, Nov. 18. A British United Press correspondent at the Allied Headquarters says: “It is understood General Anderson's First Army, with United. States troops, is-making diversionary slicing thrusts into l Tunisia in a three-prong-ed drive. Another report says an Allied force is reported to be starting from Nebessa at the end of the railway from Bone and thrusting towards «abes, which is about a hundred miles from th ' T h L e i X"ocla r ted-rtes S ,o« Great Britain reports a landing of British paratroops at Elaquina military airfield, near Tunis, which has been one of the chief inflowing bases for German air-borne troops and light tanks for Tunisia. The Vichy News Agency says: British and American forces are believed to 1 be thrusting towards Southern > Tunisia while the British Arm v U pushing on to Bizerta and Tunis along the coast of Tunisia. Another report stated: The battle for Tunisia may be regarded as having begun with a clash which has occurred between Allied and German reconnaissance' forces. The Germans retreated after the first shots had been fired. ' The United Press reports that in the Tunisian campaign the Allied fighter ’planes are mostly American long-range machines, but include some Spitfires. These aircraft are forming protective escorts for British paratroops. The Ujiited Press correspondent adds: “These reports are not officially confirmed at Headquarters, but it is known General Anderson’s and General Ryder’s troops are gathering momentum in a drive into Tunisia. Royal air Force and United States air force ’planes are continuously being built up to meet tha Axis air attacks effectively.’’

[Aust. & N.Z. Cable Assn.] LONDON, Nov. 17. Allied Headquarters in North Africa, reporting on the Tunisia situation, has to report at the moment merely that the British First Army is still pushing eastwards into Tunisia as fast as possible. The First Armv has been reinforced bv mobile American units. The Allied Commander-in-Chief m Worth Africa (Lieutenant-General Eisenhower), in a communique, said it was too soon to talk of fighting at Bizerta where engagements between Axis and Allied forces had been ear l Sier reported by the Morocco radio He said there had been a clash, but it was only between French and Ger man troops. An Associated Press correspondent at the Allied Headquarters stated:— British paratroops landed deep into Tunisia from American transport planes, escorted by fighters, and ar? now clearing the way for General Anderson’s advancing armies. The paratroops who apparently landed without opposition, are reported to be seizing everv possible aerodrome in Tunisia and British assault troops are following quickly behind. The Berlin News Agency states that Axis forces in Tunisia have thus far not come into contact with Allied forces. Bizerta has been occupied by Axis troops. General Walter Nehring. who has been appointed commander-in-chief <,f the Axis forces in Tunisia, is a panzer expert, and fought in Russia and with the Afrika Korns Paris radio says that. German and Italian reinforcements are pouring mto Tunisia by air and sea. A veritable air bridge has been established >-etween lialv and Tunisia. The “Standard’s” military correspondent says the Allied drive on Bizerta is in many ways historic. It marks the departure from the Dieppe line of attack, which ruled for too long. Instead of going headlong at Bizerta, using our naval strength, attacks ar e being conducted in the far less expensive and more effective . Japanese method. The Japanese 1 took Singapore from the land side and also Honk Kong, Rangoon and Sourasaya. Now th e Allies are using the same tactics in North Africa In an interchange of messages with General Eisenhower, Lord Louis Mountbatten. Chief of Combined Operations, extended congratulations and referred to the assault on North Africa as “the greatest combined operation of the war.” General Eisenhower, replying, said: We owe much to the assistance we received from Combined Operations, and to their work in the preparatory and "The vital" part played by the Allied air forces in convoying the vast armada to French North Africa, which was incredibly successful, is now more fullv described. Night and day without respite after the first convoy left port, an unending stream of flying-boats and long-range landbased aircraft patrolled the Bay of Biscay neutralising the U-boat threat before it could develop. Probably not one aircraft was seen by men’ on the troopships. The airmen were tackling the threat at the source, harrying U-boats as they left French Atlantic ports, while the ships sailed safely on far away to the west. This great aircraft umbrella was laid by the R'.A.F. Coastal Command, assisted by the -Bomber Command and the United States Army Air Force. Sunderlands, Liberators, Halifaxes, Wellingtons, Whitleys and Hudsons flew in the Bay patrols, and Coastal Command Beaufighters" inlervened against German long-range fighters which attempted to intercept our U-boat hunting aircraft. So complete was the secrecy surrounding the operation that not even the commanders of the squadrons providing protection against the U-boats knew* « hat was afoot. All they knew was the greatest submarine hunt of the war was on. It was the same with the crews. They flew long, tiring patrols over the Bay, without sighting the ships, but they saw several U-boats, recording some good attacks. After the ships left Gibraltar U-boats converged and in just over an hour the R.A.F. attacked three. Later that day two more U-boats were attacked within ten minutes. Others were forced to crash dive. On the following day four submarines ■ were attacked in the Mediterranean. The bows of one were blown into the air, at an angle of 60 degrees. The submarine remained like that for four minutes, and then sank. Bits of , casting of another U-boat attacked 20 minutes earlier were blown high into the air, and a destroyer arrived , to complete the task the aircraft began. ‘ The “New York Times” correspondent with the advanced R.A.F. headq larters in Africa, Drew Middleton, interviewed Air Marshal Sir William Welsh, who expressed the opinion that the campaign for air control ol the Mediterranean was nearing a close. The day was not far distant when the entire Mediterranean would be open to the shipping of the United Nations, thereby enabling the Allies • to mount, further offensives. He was certain that the success of the preliminary landings. at Algeria and Oran were due to the unexpectedness which explains why the first day of the Allied landing at Algeria was almost unnoticed by the Luftwaffe,

and when the Nazis woke up strong Allied fighter forces had aiready ar rived at vital airports. The Luftwaffe undoubtedly, will return to bomb Algiers from Sicily and Sardinia, but such an attack will b e extremely mostly in view of the wealth oi Allied flak protection concentrated in tne city. He concluded: The Allied adventure in Africa caught the Nazis napping. Now they are fighting defensively and with God’s grace- we will give them a good hiding.

Allied Paratroops LANDED IN QUICK TIME R.A.F. AND - U.S.A. PLANES OPERATING (Rec. 1.6) LONDON. Nov. 18. The Exchange Telegraph’s Agency correspondent says: No information has yet been received to indicate whether' British paratroops dropped over Tunisian aerodromes have contacted the enemy. They have had. hovvever. a heartening effect on French garrisons with whom they are expecting to join up. Our sky-troops came from an original parachute battalion, and included men from 67 different regiments, the majority of them Londoners. One pilot estimated that, the whole force was dropped in 50 seconds. Reuter’s correspondent with the First Army states: American parachutists were dropped in force in 40 seconds. They occupied an inland Algerian airfield near a small town on the Tunisian border. Reuter’s correspondent.. at the R.A.F. headquarters in North Africa said: Bounding- almost daily from aerodrome to aerodrome along the North African coast, R.A.F. formations are engaging enemy planes wherever they are found, and inflicting losses much greater . than their own. The R.A.F. is now firmly established in this new theatre. The R.A.F. inititally concentrated on accumulating fighter planes, but American heavy bombers have now arrived. and are shortly going into action. Their first objectives will he German bomber aerodromes, but probably they also will give Italian cities doses of corrective medicine.

AIR CAMPAIGN IN PROGRESS

(Rec. 1.0.) LONDON, Nov. 18. Air Marshal Welsh, of the R.A.F., North Africa, stated: “Thusfar operations have gone extremely well. The First Army’s advance has been faster than our’s, but we are moving as fast as we can. We are further afield than we expected to be a week ago.” He added: “Many of the Tunisian airfields were not fit for modern ’planes. The Tunis airfield was valuable to the Germans only for fighters, which attack the eastern-most Algerian aerodromes

“Bombers and: Stukas are also raiding these aerodromes from Sardinia anfl Sicily.”

Rommel Back TO ORGANISE TUNISIA CAMPAIGN. (Rec. 11.40) LONDON, Nov. 18. A Reuter correspondent at an ad; vanced Allied Headquarters in North Africa says: Well-informed persons say Marshal Rommel is now in Tun:si’u,' making a desperate effort to organise Axis resistance to the First Army’s imminent onslaught against the main Axis occupied centres. EAST MEDITERRANEAN NEW AXIS DEFENCES (Rec. 7.40) LONDON, Nov. 17. "The Times” Istanbul correspondent says: The Germans have mined the entire Greek coast from the Turkish frontier to Salonica. They an* also fortifying the Gulfs of Salonica and Cassandra. Italian troops are reinforcing the garrisons in Dodecanese Islands. SURRENDER OF DAKAR? (Rec. 10.20) LONDON, Nov. 18The Liberian radio says that a military mission from Dakar is en route to North Africa. The radio added: “British officials in Wesr. Africa interpret this to mean that negotiations for a peaceful capitulation of Dakar are under way.”