NORTHWARD DRIVE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24632, 13 June 1941, Page 5

NORTHWARD DRIVE

THE FORCES IN SYRIA DEFENCE LINE BROKEN WARSHIPS ASSISTING • 'V>,6 IYtC 4* * V ■> • V. ' ' . - ' - . * • . ‘ .(United Press Association) * (Bv Electric Telegraph—Copyright) ’(Refe; 1 a:m.) ' LONDON, June 12. In the northward drive along the coast the Allied forces have advanced to a point within six or seven miles south of Sidon, which. i» about 20 miles north of' Tyre and -20 miles-, south of the important port of Beirut.- _ - The terrain is easy to defend, but British warships are lending powerful aid, and also landing picked British units to attack the defenders in the rear.and on the flank. The fall of Merj lyun, south-eastward of Sidon, opens the way along the Litani Valley to Rayak, and the defenders of Merj lyun have fallen back to positions near Basheiya. The terrain here is also difficult for the Allies, but with the advance from ,Eiquneitt*a they are now astride the second route to Damascus. “ : THE ADVANCE ON DAMASCUS British and Free French forces in the njain advance to Damascus swept bn from Gabarheb to Kiewe, where to-day they heavily engaged;the main outer defences of Damascus. V A Vichy communique states : “ The British brought up powerful reinforcements and intensified theif attacks, including incessant shelling by .a ■ strong naval squadron, which 'destroyed a line-of blockhouses on the north bank of the Litani. The defenders here put up i stiff resistance, in spite of severe losses, in which a whole battalion was sacrificed. defenders of Kiewe are resisting violent infantry arid tank attacks in an intensified Allied attempt to reach Damascus. Our planes are most active, bombing and machine-gunning land and naval forces/’ A captured French officer said a lengthy defence of Beirut vr.a* impdeeible. “We have about 1000Frenchofficer.and men in Syria. Our troop* number 30,000, but, are mainly native*. There are ho major fortifications before Beirut, and we . are : also limited in material compared with the British equipment, 'while our- ammunition is meagre. « The British bombardment broke our communications, and we were without food for two days.” ‘ f A British officer who has just returned from the front line told the correspondent of the Daily Express that the Battle for Litani was no picnic. It began about 9 a.m., when the British artillery launched a heavy barrage, which was twice Then 1000 ipfantry and tanks charged across through a banana plantation, Ramified back ‘ the stream, threw a pontoon bridge across, and tanks, irien and ambulances rushed across it. CHAOS IN FRENCH LINES ~»,VThe British - swept up the slopes, but already there was ,chaos' in the French linesJ Picked British troops trained for every conceivable mariner of fighting had landed from warships, first rowing and then wading ashore in the face of French fire, and within a quarter of an hour of the landing iODe , gqidier. sipashed his way into the French barracks and