AXIS LINES SAG

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25213, 30 April 1943, Page 3

AXIS LINES SAG

TEBURBA PLAINS REGION ALLIES 21 MILES FROM TUNIS LONDON, A pi. 28. The latest news indicates that General von Arnim is throwing in his la?i resources as the Allied forces advance irresistibly on Tunis. The First Army in the Mejez-el-Bab sector is now two miles from the Teburba plain, says the Algiers radio. The salient forming the German defence line in this sector has become untenable, and the Axis lines further to the north have given way at several points. The Tunis plain is now open to British armour. Tank battles continue between Mejez-el-Bab and Goubellat, while the French draw closer to Pont du Fahs. The French at the northern extremity of the front have reached a point seven miles to the west of Lake Achkel, which is 11 miles from Ferryville. They captured large quantities of booty. The enemy resistance seems to indicate that the Germans are creating a new defence line. General Montgomery Waiting Vichy radio, quoting a Berlin report, says General Anderson is regrouping and preparing for another assault in the Mejez-el-Bab and Bou Arada areas, where he has succeeded in achieving some breaches in the Axis line. General Montgomery is still waiting, and will renew his attacks when the battle on the north is raging again. The slow progress recorded in the North Africa communique has broughx the First Army, after hard fighting in the Mejez-el-Bab sector, nearly to the summit of a hill overlooking the plain, and only 21 miles west of Tunis. This is Jebel Bou Aoukaz, dominating a ridge on the right bank of the Medjerda 10 miles north-east of Mejez-el-Bab.

The British forces, after the capture of Jebel Ahmera, or Longstop Hill, crossed the river and stormed the ridge, reaching a point a-quarter of a mile from the crest, and taking 30 to 40 prisoners. A famous regiment captured another important hill, but the Germans, counter-attacking with tanks, regained the crest. Along the Mateur road the Americans, pushing towards Jefna, took two dominating hills on either side of the road. These are Jebel Ajred, or Green Hill, on the south side, 13 miles from Mateur, and Jebel Azag, or Bald Hill, just north of Jefna, 12 miles west of Mateur. Both hills, which are over 1200 feet, were taken after very heavy fighting. , The French, in the centre, with great dash and determination, have taken all the high ground overlooking Pont du Fahs, which is being closely invested from the north-west, south-west, and south. The French in this sector, including Algerian and Moroccan cavalry, are advancing in conjunction with the western and Eighth Army front in the area of Jebel Fkirin, 25 miles west of Enfidaville. This 3000 ft massif, forming the pivot of the enemy line, is threatened by the French thrust between it and Pont du Fahs. Along the northern coast the French and North African troops advanced 27 miles in 10 days, and are still clambering through very difficult country within 10 miles of Lake Achkel, north of Mateur. Under steady Allied pressure the enemy’s position is becoming more acute every hour. Outskirts of Pont du Fahs A later message states that British and French troops have entered the outskirts of Pont du Fahs, where murderous fighting is going on. The Algiers correspondent of the Columbia Broadcasting System reports that the French have finished clearing the mountains overlooking the town and that their patrols are now in the outer parts of the town itself. The British United Press correspondent states that the French troops have cut and crossed the road from Pont du Fahs to Enfidaville, southeast of Zaghouan Mountain and about 15 miles south-east of Pont du Fahs, thus threatening the rear of the German Army facing General Montgomery’s troops in this sector. The report states that the Germans have used flame-thrower tanks against the British infantry on the Mejez-el-Bab front. The correspondent says that the tanks throw a jet about 30 yards. The British infantry overcame this new weapon after they had stormed Sidi Salem, which is a hummock on the Mejez-el-Bab front. The Germans also threw into this fighting their crack infantry, with heavy mortar and machine-gun support. The Daily Mail’s correspondent north of Mejez-el-Bab says that as the Germans fall back they leave suicide squads of machine-gunners, who have generally been ordered to hold on until a certain hour, after which they are free to surrender. Many of them were among the prisoners taken on Longstop Hill, and almost all of them had fought in Russia. Reuter’s Algiers correspondent reports that United States planes in the week ended April 23 flew over 5000 sorties, dropped almost 2.000.0001 b of bombs, and destroyed 240 planes in combat. The Rome radio to-day said: “It would be folly to forecast the future of the battle for Tunisia, but enemy pressure must certainly be considered grave."