THROWN BACK

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24138, 3 December 1941, Page 7

THROWN BACK

ATTACK FROM WEST POSITION RE-ESTABLISHED AXIS TANKS REPULSED LONDON, Dec. 2 The latest authoritative news in London states that, although the enemy penetrated the British defences about Sidi llezegh, as reported in a Cairo communique, they have since been thrown back by a counter-attack, and the British positions have been re-established. German infantry were stated to have been brought up from the east in lorries and slipped through a gap three days ago to join the loth Armoured Division in the present attack. The military spokesman in Cairo says pressure on the Tobruk corridor is heavier from the west than from the east. The German attack from the west was apparently an attempt by the loth Division to break through the corridor with the object of reaching the remnants of the 21st Division, which has been more severely battered. Three Main Areas A Cairo headquarters communique states: "The battle in Cyrenaica has now definitely resolved itself into three main areas: —Firstly, the main front south-east of Tobruk, in which our forces advancing from the east joined up with the British forces which made a successful sally from the fortress; secondly, the frontier area, stretching from Halfaya to positions north of Sidi Omar; thirdly, the area southwest of Gialo. "On the main front, El Duda —Sidi Rezegh—Bir el Hamed, intensive fighting continued throughout Sunday. During the morning an enemy tank attack from the west was repulsed by our armoured forces due south of Sidi Rezegh. Later, our armoured forces turned on the Italian division to the east and destroyed about half the remaining tanks. This formation then fled northward, pursued by a British mobile column. Penetration of Lines "In the afternoon, German infantry with tank support again attacked our positions about Sidi Rezegh, where they were successful in making a penetration into our defences. Bitter fighting continues in this area. "In the frontier zone, our troops are now concentrating upon the elimination of pockets of resistance in the face of determined opposition from the German defenders." Information about the repulse of Axis tanks on Monday is given authoritatively in London. The enemy attacked the Imperial forces about Sidi Rezegh from three directions—an Italian tank division from the south, the 21st German Armoured Division from the north-east, and the 15th German Armoured Division from the southwest. The latter took El Duda, near Sidi Rezegh, on Saturday evening, but was expelled during the night by counterattacks. Finally, all three attacks were repulsed, and the corridor joining the Imperial forces round Sidi Rezegh with those round Tobruk was maintained intact. A thousand Germans, taken prisoner in Libya, have been sent to vast camps on. the outskirts of Cairo.