FIGHTING SOUTH OF DAMASCUS

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

FIGHTING SOUTH OF DAMASCUS

Resistance To Free French

LONDON, June 11.

The Free French forces in Syria are encountering resistance at a point some miles south of Damascus. Fighting is taking place in the centre of Merdjayoum, while on the left considerable resistance has been made to the crossing of the river Litani, north of which the Allied troops yesterday advanced some miles. It is confirmed that troops have been landed from the sea and have encountered stiff opposition.

It appears that there is a crust of resistance varying in strength at different points, but it is not known how thick it is. The entry into Syria must not be considered “blitzkrieg” warfare, where troops advance at any sacrifice for the sake of speed. Some hundreds of Vichy forces are in Allied hands. Vichy reports say that the Allies have taken Marjiyun and Gabarheb and have intensified their drive along the whole front. A Vichy battalion was wiped out after a three-day battle at Litani. The Australians, supported by warships, continue to advance towards Sidon. ATTACK BY VICHY WARSHIPS Two Vichy cruisers and a destroyer bombarded the British from 500 yards south of Beirut. British artillery answered. The duel lasted for half an hour until British warships arrived, when the Vichy ships put up a smokescreen and made off with the British in pursuit. It is authoritatively stated in London that the Allies have taken hundreds of prisoners in Syria but it is not clear whether they were captured normally or surrendered without fighting. There are no reports at present that Germans are among them. It is confirmed that the Allies have landed troops by sea around the region where the Britsh forces crossed Litani. These fresh troops met a pretty stiff opposition. Nevertheless they succeeded in making progress for some miles northward of the river.

The Free French are encountering resistance at Kiswe 10 miles southward of Damascus.

The Ministry of Economic Warfare is holding large quantities of food near Syria, which it is sending in immediately the Germans are driven out.

Australian troops today fought their way to Adloun, 10 miles north of the Litani river and 12 miles south of Sidon, says the Australian Official War Correspondent. Advancing up the coast the Australians put a bridge across the Litani and broke the French line, which was the strongest fortified line between the frontier and Beirut. The French are now fighting a delaying action. Australian engineers working at top speed in the moonlight flung a bridge of 10 pontoons across the Litani, enabling the guns, infantry, ambulances, wireless trucks, supply lorries and all kinds of armament to pass over and reinforce the men who are fighting around Adloum. RESISTANCE TO AUSTRALIANS A South Australian battalion which was in the van behind our mobile forces faced strong resistance from machineguns and trench mortars, but the Australian mobile force steadily overcame the resistance from the opposing tanks and armoured cars, most of which were inferior to our own. It was a great relief to the advancing infantry as well as the engineers when they found the small, but courageous, advance party had succeeded in preventing the destruction of the next bridge in their path. . This was held against greatly superior odds all day by two officers and 18 men of a special force. As a result of the day’s push to Adloun 400 of the opposing troops were captured, together with motor-vehicles and other material. The front is still in a fluid state and a French counterattack failed in the face of our concentrated machine-sun and artillery fire.