EIGHTH ARMY CAPTURES TRIPOLI

Grey River Argus, 25 January 1943, Page 5

EIGHTH ARMY CAPTURES TRIPOLI

ENEMY PURSUED AND HEAVILY BOMBED

Flanking Move to Cut His Retreat Route

EIGHTH ARMY’S PROGRESS. [Aust. & N.Z. Cable Assn.l LONDON, January 22. Eighth Army troops continued on Thursday to thrust westwards, and by the evening were engaging the enemy west of Homs and south of Tripoli, , Allied fighter-bombers and fighters continued their attack, flying deep into Tunisia. Castel Benito aerodrome. south of Tripoli, was bombed, from a low level. Three enemy fighters and three transport aircraft were destroyed. On Wednesday night enemy transport columns were attacked and fires were started, between Tripoli and Zuara. At sea, an Axis tanker and a merchantman were attacked, and small enemy vessels between Sicily and the Tunisian coast. Aerodromes in Sjcilv and on PanteUaria Island were attacked. Six aircraft are missing. London news correspondents in Cairo said, the fall of Tripoli was imminent unless there were some unexpected check. The Germans and Italians are strengthening the Mareth Line, 65 miles inside Tunisia, for a stand. Tripoli By-passed HARBOUR AREA CAPTURED. LONDON, Jan. 22. The Eighth Army has occupied all of Tripoli’s principal harbour area, states Reuter’s correspondent in Cairo. General Montgomery’s main force has by-passed Tripoli and swept westward, leaving infantry to effect the occupiation. Allied- pilots who were over Tripoli reported that considerable demolition was in progress.' Earlier messages stated: The Eighth Army artillery was bombarding Tripoli from the heights dominating tne town and that there was no chance - left for a successful defence. The: pounding of the fleeing columns by' the Royal Air Force is being main- ] tained at the highest pitch. , A heavy bomb barrage is being laid ) down on’ the harbour to check the; evacuation by sea. All roads still under enemy control are being kept under a rain of bombs. These activities have taken Allied bombers over the Tunisian border.

South of Tripoli, the enemy attempted to hold up the British advance with tanks, but these were swept aside and the Eighth Army continued its advance on Tripoli along the coastal road. The enemy has withdrawn from his big air base at Castle Benito, and Allied aircraft gave him a rousing send-off, destroying some machines on the ground, and damaging others. EVACUATION OF TRIPOLI. GERMAN ANNOUNCEMENT. (Rec. 6.30) LONDON, Jan. 23. The Berlin radio announced that Tripoli had been evacuated,, without any fighting, after the removal of mitnitions and stores, rand the destruction of the harbour. British Entry to Tripoli ANEMY FORCES NEARLY ALL GONE. [Aust. & N.Z. Cable Assn.] (Rec. 6.30) LONDON. Jan. 23. The Eighth Army has captured Tripoli. British tanks rumbled into Tripoli at dawn on Saturday, only to find almost ;all enemy units had already fled. Tripoli’s population consists mostly of Arabs, Italians and. Jews. They are reported to he, calm. 'Reuter’s Cairo correspondent says: ; “Tripoli fell to parallel thrusts along; a sixty-mile front by three columns; consisting of some of the Eighth, Army’s most famous units. Marshal. Rommel had tried to hold up British 1 columns by extensive demolitions on the coast road. He also threw a small panzer force against British 1 units south of. the city, but this failed i dismally. Marshal Rommel mis- I judged the pace of the latest British 1 advance as he had misjudged General Montgomery’s armoured strength at. El Alamein. I

The Secretary for War, Mr. Grigg, in a broadcast sail: “To all intents and purposes the fall of Tripoli completes the destruction of the Italian Empire in Africa. Both British and Russian armies have had dark days of retreat, but we believe that, tor both the tide has now firmly turned, and that both will bear a due share in the annihilation of the blatant Axis beast. RETREATING ENEMY. BOMBED ON LAND AND SEA. (Rec. 6.30) RUGBY, Jan. 23. The capture of Tripoli was officially announced on Saturday morning in a British Middle East joint communique. wnich stated: “Our forward troops entered Tripoli early this morning. Our troops on Friday occupied Castel Verde; half way uetween Homms and Tripoli, and were closing on Tripoli from the east a'nd south. Strong enemy rearguards were attempting to delay our forces. They were engaged and were driven back. The full weight and effort of our fighter and bomber aircraft was directed against enemy, transport columns, which are withdrawing westward along the coastal road into Tib nisia. Great damage was inflicted on excellent targets. Small shipping has been attempting to leave the harbour of Zuara, sixty miles west of Tripoli. This was attacked by our fighetr bombers. Vessels were damaged. The enemy air activity was not on a large scale. Combats developed, in which our fighters shot down three enemy fighters, and damaged others. Moonlight air attacks on retreating enemy forces were continued in force on Thursday night and a landing ground at Ben Gardane wa's bombed. Our intruder planes were active over Sicily L.ie same night, and much damage was caused. Attacks were repeated on Friday, further damage being inflicted on railway targets and storage buildings. Long range fighters also operated on Friday and carried out a number of attacks o nsmall ships off the coast of Tunisia. Two of our aircraft are missing from the above large-scale operations. Moving up almost in sight of enemy ground parties, British advanced fighter units in Tripolitania are dome' magnificent work preparing new landing grounds. Never in the last few days of the advance on Tripoli has the Eighth Army been without the co-operation of forward squadrons, and this is almost entirely due to R.A.F. mobile columns, who strike forward to take over enemy evacuated airfields, and in some cases, create a new landing ground out of scrub. One example was the Nay in which Allied fighters were enabled to operate from landing grounds in the Bir Dufan area, within 100 flying miles of Tripoli. Aircraft and key personnel of the complete fighter formation, which includes an American pursuit group, were brought forward

140 miles in one hop. One landing ground 1200 yards square was serviceable three hours after the advance ground parties selected the site.

Allied air forces from Malta, Tunisia and Tripolitania are hammering Rommel’s withdrawing forces. Plough ng at Castel Benito aerodrome was interrupted by an air atack, and all the ploughs were put out of action. The ploughing was further confirmation that Rommel does not intend more than a delaying action.

Once again the sappers have been ■ the heroes of the Eighth Army advance, says Cairo correspondent. Despite Rommel's attempted to hold up up by mining tracks and roads, and blocking the path wherever possible, the advance has been at a surprising rate. The road from Buerat to Misurata was cleared at an amazing speed of 25 miles a day. The sappers dealt with every form of unpleasantness. booby traps and mines, and two combined roads were blown up or blocked with obstacles, but they suffered remarkably few casualties. ALLIED AIR ACTIVITY [Aust. & N.Z. Cable Assn.] LONDON, January 22. A North African Aliied communique states that minor engagements have continued In the Bou Arada-Goubellat area. Our troops in this area in the past few days have destroyed 17 tanks and shot down seven Junkers. Bostons bombed the enemy advance from Pont du Fahs threatening Ousseltia, and War Hawks and Spitfires made sweeps over the fighting areas. One FockeWolf was destroyed. Bombers and Lightning fighters made sweeps over the sea between /Tunisia and Sicily, in the course of: , which a freighter was bombed and , ; sunk. Eight enemv planes were shot < ' down. Lightnings twice attacked i the road between Gabes and the TriI politanian frontier, destroying many; I vehicles. Two enemy fighters were I ; also shot down. From all these op-[ erations three of our aircraft are j missing. j Last'night five enemy bombers at-j tempting to attack our bases were , destroyed. It is now known that a I third enemy bomber was destroyed. on Wednesday (night. ) EIGHTH ARMY CONTINUES PURSUIT. [Aust. & N.Z. Cable Assn.] (Rec. 9.15) LONDON, Jan. 23. Reuter’s Cairo correspondent stated: The vanguard of the Eighth Army is on the move again to resume its chase of scurrying Axis forces practicallv before the demolition explosions in Tripoli have died down. Marshal Rommel’s rearguard desperately tried to stage a miniature Dunkirk by getting out of Zuara in small ships. Allied fighters and bombers caused havoc among evacuees when they dropped bombs among small craft huddled in the harbour. There is a good road as far as Zuara, but beyond that it tails off into an indifferent track to the Tunisian frontier. Our fighters and bombers were particularly active in the Ben Gardane area, where there is a dense traffic entering Tunisia. 1 A bombed Axis petrol carrier is I typical of havoc caused. It exploded and set on fire twenty vehicles' around it. Pursuit of Rommel TUNISIA. AIR OFFENSIVE AGAINST [Aust. & N.Z. Cable Assn.] (Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON, Jan. 23. British tanks are racing across country from Azisia, thirty miles south of Tripoli, in order to cut the coa'st road to Zuara. This road is Marshal Rommel’s only line escape I to Tunisia. : The London “Daily Herald’s” aero- ~ nautical correspondent says: It wm|. now be only a matter of days berore; the Eighth Army’s Air Force, which probably is the largest and strongest) and most experienced air unit outside; of Russia, will be able to concentrate on Tunisia. Already Marshal Von' Rommel’s retreating columns are oe- ! ing subjected to a non-stop air attack,'| practicallv along the entire coastline west of Tripoli. This coastline ss) admirably suited for landing grounds,) from which even four-engined bomb-, ers can operate. Twin-engined bomb-) er s and fighters, flying from any air-, field in this stretch can easily straiei the city of Tunis which is three hun-> dred air miles north-west of Tripoli.! Bombs, and bullets will follow Mar-; shal Rommel’s forces right into Tunisia. After that, perhaps, thei greatest combined air offensive ever; launched will begin on the Axis armies in Tunisia. There is reason to believe that the Aliied Air Forces in Tunisia nave conserved their strength for that precise’ moment. [British Official Wireless; RUGBY, January 22.

The general London opinion on Rommel’s ' retreat is expressed by “The Times” which writes: “It has long appeared probable the enemy was making for Southern Tunisia, imposing as much delay upon the Eighth Army as it safely could, without risking a major engagement. Of late perhaps the need to get to his battle station loomed larger in the estimation of Rommel than the aim of hampering General Montgomery. The Mareth Line is thus brought back in to the picture after a long period of oblivion. It was originally a respectable fortification, 80 miles west of the Libyan frontier, blocking the plain through which the coast road runs. The right flank lay upon the wooded heights, along which it probably extended in skeleton form, but the zone was demilitarised in 1940 and the fortifications were to be dismantled. Exactly what resulted is not known. In any case, the line was not built to withstand the weight of metal General Montgomery can bring against it. A strong defence exists in the neighbourhood of Gabes, and whether or not Rommel hopes to keep that port open, it. seems highly desirable from the point of view of the Axis he should try to keen Sfax and Susa in use. Rommel is already being supplied through Tunisian ports. If he falls back upon them, the whole of the Axis force in North Africa will be concentrated for defence on two fronts, and if strong enough, to strike out in either direction. On the othei- hand, Tripoli will have passed to the Eighth Army, which is moving heavier forces towards the scene of action than those at the disposal of > the United Nations in Tunisia. The organisation of its communications has been so masterly there is likely to be no very long delay before it is in a position to exert its full weight. Then, having driven the Italians out of North Africa, it. will be ready to play a part in the further campaign.”