ADVANCE ALONG COAST

Southland Times, Issue 24460, 13 June 1941, Page 5

ADVANCE ALONG COAST

MAIN LINE BROKEN BY AUSTRALIANS

(Rec. 7.10 p.m.) LONDON, June 11. The Australians, after breaking the main fortified line defending Beirut, are now advancing along the coast road and are now nearing Sidon. The terrain is easy to defend, but the British warships, which are lending powerful aid, are also landing picked British units to attack the defenders in the rear and flank. The fall of Merjiyun, south-eastward of Sidon, opens the way along the Litani Valley to Rayak. The defenders of Merjiyun have fallen back to positions near Basheiya. The terrain here is also difficult for the Allies, but with the advance from El Quneitra they are now astride the second route to Damascus. The British and Free French forces in the main advance to Damascus swept on from Gabarheb to Kiswe, where today they heavily engaged the main outer defences of Damascus. , A Vichy communique states: “The British brought up powerful reinforcements and intensified their attacks, including incessant shelling by a strong naval squadron which destroyed a line of block-houses on the north bank of the Litani. The defence here put up. a stiff resistance, despite severe losses, in which a whole battalion was sacrificed. The defenders of Kiswe are resisting violent infantry and tank attacks in an intensified Allied attempt to reach Damascus. Our planes are most active! bombing and machine-gunning land and naval forces.”

Reports from Cairo state that the Royal Air Force drove off enemy bombers attempting to interfere with Allied columns.

Vichy claims that General Dentz’s forces are fighting the British at Abukamal, but the Turkish radio says that a British armoured column advanced from Abukamal and occupied the important modern air-field of Deirez Zor, while a second armoured column advancing parallel with the Syrian-Turkish border passed south of Rawelain and was still moving on. The Turkish announcer suggested these two columns may converge and continue their advance towards Aleppo in force. MEAGRE FRENCH RESOURCES A captured French officer said a lengthy defence of Beirut was impossible. “We have about 1000 French officers and men in Syria,” he said. “Our troops number 30,000, but they are mainly natives. There are no major fortifications before Beirut. We are also limited in material compared with the British. Our equipment and ammunition is meagre. The British bombardment broke our communications and we were without food for two days.” A British officer who has just returned from the front-line told The Daily Express that the Battle of Litani was no picnic. It began about 9 a.m., when the British artillery launched a heavy barrage, which was twice repeated. Then 1000 infantry and tanks charged across the river flat. Engineers dashed through a banana plantation, dammed back the stream and threw a pontoon bridge across and tanks, guns, men and ambulances rushed across it. The British swept up the slopes, but already there was chaos in the French lines. Picked British troops trained for every conceivable manner 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 one soldier smashed his way into the French barracks and hauled down the flag.

AIR PROTECTION FOR AUSTRALIAN AIRMEN

CANBERRA, June 12.

Australian soldiers in the Middle East are being heavily reinforced by protective squadrons of fighters and Army co-operation aircraft flown by Australian airmen.

Mr J. McEwen, the Minister for Air, said today that this important development disclosed the swift march of the British and Australian Governments towards the realization of a plan for which they had been working for some time—to ensure that no Australian troops would be without adequate air protection. Mr McEwen said that two of the new squadrons would be commanded by Australian pilots, Flight-Lieutenants G. H. Steege and B. R. Felly. Members of the squadrons, airmen trained under the Empire Air Scheme, would fly Hurricanes and the latest American fighters and bter Australians would man bombers.

The effects of the air training scheme were now being felt in the war zone. More and more reinforcements of Australian airmen would be supplied as the output of air crews went into full swing.