AXIS COLLAPSE

Grey River Argus, 18 May 1943, Page 5

AXIS COLLAPSE

One Gigantic Muddle [Aust. & N.Z. Cable Assn.] (Rec. 8.0.) LONDON, May 16. The “Daily Mail’s” Tunis correspondent says: “The truth about the collapse in Tunisia is out at last. It was one gigantic muddle. What precipitated the muddle was the unbelievable bursts oHspeed by the British down the Medjerda Valley to Tunis, also through Hammamlif to Cape Bon Peninsula. The Axis forces were split in twain. One captured General who paid a tribute to the British armoured forces said: “I did not conceive that an armoured division could move so fast.” After the Hammamlif breakthrough the whole Axis position automatically collapsed. Most of the Axis troops on Cape Bon Peninsula were not fighting troops. The entire Axis system of communications broke down. It was not a coherent army any more. It simply fell apart. The only forces which got away in an organised manner were Luftwaffe personnel. It all adds up to .a muddle on a gigantic scale, and if it can happen in Tunisia it can happen elsewhere.”

VON ARNIM ON GENERAL’S PAY.

LONDON, May 16.

General Von Arnim arrived to-day at an airpoit in the South of England, where the R.A.F. handed him over to the War Office, after which he was conveyed secretly to London. While General Von Arnim is a prisoner, Britain, under the Geneva Convention, must pay him £2,094 yearly, which he received as Com-mander-in-Chief in Tunisia. A British General who is a Commander-in-Chief receives £3,300 yearly. DEPOSITION OF BEY OF TUNIS LONDON, May 15. An official announcement in Algiers says: “After having investigated on the spot the situation created by the liberation of Tunisia. General Giraud has recognised that in present conditions the presence of the Bey of Tunis, who resigned during the occupation by Axis troops, would prejudice the external and internal security of the Regency undertaken by France as protector. The Com-mander-in-Chief has therefore decided that he must be succeeded by another of the same dynasty. According to the tradition of the dynasty, Sidi Lamine Bey wifi become his successor ” GIRL GUNNERS IN GERMAN BOMBERS? (Rec. 8.0.) NEW YORK, May ±7 The use of girl gunners in Nazi bombers is claimed bv some American soldiers who were wounded in Tunisia. They say that girls are small enough to fit in the tail positions of German bombers. One American soldier stated that’ one of the girl gunners shot down near his position was a pretty blonde. COLLABORATORS WITH AXIS TQ BE TRIED. LONDON, May 16. The “Daily Mail’s” Algiers correspondent says that General Giraud’s administration is forming special Courts to try local persons accused of collaborating with the Germans and Italians in Tunisia. Their property will be frozen to prevent the owners selling or removing it. This property in certain cases may be used to reimburse 1 the people whose belongings were looted by the enemy. Arabs proved guilty of looting will be severely punished. The Germans paid the Arabs fantastically high prices for foodstuffs and other goods, using French banknotes looted from France. The Arabs could be seen gambling in the streets with wads of hundred franc notes. Political suspects detained in Algeria include only French persons and 808 foreignof whom 553 are Italians. The remainder are enemy collaborators arrested after the Allies landed in North Africa. Details of the German and Italian reign of terror arg being filled in as French and Jews emerge from their hiding places, says the “Daily Mail’s” Tunis correspondent. A Beethoven concert was arranged by the Gormans on May 1. Storm Troopers arrived and arrested men in the audience. and took them away in trucks. The Germans were getting some of that 8000 workers wanted for fortifying the city. They also fined the Jews the equivalent of £114.000 after the Allies first bombed Tunis because the Jews “instigated the capitalist war.’

GERMANS AND ITALIANS IN HIDING. LONDON, May 16. The British United Press Tunis correspondent says a search is proceeding for Fascists hiding throughout the city in friends’ and relatives’ cellars and attics. A number of Italian and German Army officers ordered civilian clothes from Tunis tailors three weeks before the city fell. Many Italians asked barbers for new kinds of haircuts before the Axis defences collapsed, and a number of Germans had their hair dyed. Axis Prisoners AMERICANS PAY HIGH WAGES LONDON, May 15. In addition to the 111 captured Generals the Allies hold prisoner two Italian Rear-Admirals. Some Italians, including the Duke of Aosta died in captivity. America will pay Axis troops captured in North Africa 80 cents daily and also provide food, clothing, housing, and medical care. If brought to America for farm prisoners will receive ten cents daily. It not required to work commissioned officers without working will receive 20 to 40 dollars monthly, according to rank. If officers desire they may be given work suitable to their rank. American allowances for prisoners are fixed at an extremely generous rate in the hope that better treatment will be accorded to Americans taken prisoner. It is believed that both Germany and Italy have reciprocated by fixing equivalent payments. It is not known whether Japan is paying American prisoners in her hands.

LUFTWAFFE DRIVEN FROM THE SKY. LONDON, May 15. Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, Vice-Chief of the Air Staff, giving some results of the Allied victories over the Axis in Tunisia, said: “There are signs that the Huns are realb' hard pinched, and that the Luftwaffe will be the first German arm to crack up completely.” He warned against dispersal of the Allied air forces, and claimed that concentration was the key to air power, and added: “The Luftwaffe has been definitely driven from the sky. Al-

lied shipping will now be able to use the Mediterranean in safety.” Sir Arthur told correspondents that the Allies in the Battle of Tunisia had captured 520 aircraft, most of thehi in good condition, including many of the latest types. The Allies ‘had had air supremacy throughout. During the battle the enemy pilots just would not fight. In the later phases of the battle the Allies had fighter patrols over enemy airfields the whole time. The enemy tried t 0 send machines from Sicily but they never reached Africa. The Allies in the past had been inclined to flatter the Luftwaffe, he said, but the German was no good in the air. He did not know how to use an air force properly. Individually, the Germans might be good, but they did not understand how to use air power as a weapon of war.

CHURCHILL’S REPLY TO KING

RUGBY, May 16.

Following is the Prime Minister’s reply to the recent message from the King on the conclusion of the Tunisian campaign: “I am deeply grateful for the most gracious message with which Your Majesty has honoured me. No Minister of the Crown ever received more kindness and confidence from his Sovereign than I have done during the three fateful years which have passed since I received Your Majestry’s commission to form a National Administration. This has been a precious aid and comfort to me .especially in the dark time through which we passed. My father and grandfather both served in Cabinets of Queen Victoria’s reign, and I myself have been a Minister under Your Majestry’s grandfather, your father, and yourself, for many years. The signal compliment which Your Majestry paid me on this occasion goes far beyond my deserts, but will remain as a source ofjively pleasure to me as long as I ive.” OCCUPATION OF PENINSULA. E.O.W. RUGBY, May 16. A North Africa war correspondent describes a remarkable advance by the Sixth Armoured Division and the Fourth Infantry Division, which culminated in the complete occupation of Cap Bon Peninsula. There was only one way into the Peninsula, and that was along the coast road, which was heavily fortified by the enemy at the narrowest point. The enemy -had a large number of 88 millimetre guns in the hills overlooking Hammamlif, also a large number in the town covering all roads. The motorised infantry and artillery attacked the enemy in the hills on May 8, and fierce fighting went on throughout the day. The infantry rubbed out enemy nest after nest, and by evening held all the hills. Early ‘on May 9, Sherman tanks went into action against the town, being met by heavy fire from antitank guns and also anti-aircraft batteries. The artillery put down a heavy barrage on the town, and the tanks went in again, with the infantry riding on top of them. They fought a way into the town, often; knocking out 88’s from point-blank range, while infantry leapt from the tanks to rush the houses from which the enemy were firing from upstairs windows. T’he enemy was forced to withdraw so hurriedly that he left many undamaged guns behind, including 12 88’s. He also left two Tiger tanks. Next day, the armoured division moved into the ’ Peninsula and captured Soliman, despite strong resistance, then took Grombellia, and by travelling through the night were able to reach and take Hammamet early next morning. Here the division split, one group heading northwards, while the other went south and joined the Eighth Army on May 15. The Fourth Division went up the western road of the Peninsula and performed a remarkable feat, covering 41 miles in 18 hours. They met heavy resistance at some points, and there were cases of infantry leaping from tanks directly into enemy positions, with fixed bayonets. When they signalled they had reached the tip of the Peninsula, it was thought they had made a mistake, but the enemy was under no illusion on the subject.