Evening star., 1941-04-15
Advance Of 40 Miles
In Northern Greece
Claimed by Nazis
Ptoiemuis and Kozune
Occupied After RepuIse
Of Enemy, Berlin Says
EV ths Associated Press.

EV ths Associated Press.
BERLIN, April Is. - German
troops driving into Northern Greece
have repulsed British forces and
occupied Ptolemais and nearby
Kozane. the latter 40 miles south
of the Albanian and Yugoslav
border junction. the German high
command announced today.
The German communique said
units of the German Army and
Blackshirt Elite (SS) Corps also
had forced a crossing of the Ajax
mon River north of Veria, a rail
town 80 miles northeast of Kozane
and about an equal distance north
of Mount Olympus.
Near Ptolemais, 80 British ar
mored cars were reported destroyed.
In Yugoslavia, the high command
asserted, German and italian troops
were continuing their pursuit and
encirclement" of remnants of the
Serbian Army, which was declared
showing localized resistance in the
Mostar- -Sarajevo region.
General Reported Captured.
Numerous additional prisoners
were brought in" including the
commanding general of the South
ern Yugoslav Army, the war bulle-
tin added.
Hungarian troops were reported
to have completed occupation of the
Drava- Danube River triangle in
Northern Yugoslavia and had
reached Donyu in the east and oc-
eupied Novi.
The High Command asserted Nazi
units were pursuing retreating Brit
tsh south of Salonika and that the
British rearguards were attempting
to retard the Nazi advance by ex-
tensive destruction
The Veria sector, where the Ger
mans claimed to have crossed the
Aliakmon, is about 40 miles south
west of German-o occupied Salonika.
The town itself is linked to the
Aegean port by rail and highway.
The Aliakmon enters Greece on
the west below Phlorina, flows
southeast to a point southwest of
Mount olympus then curves north
eastward to the Gulf of Salonika.
Planes Attack Enemy.
German Stukas and pursuit
planes attacking Yugoslav forces
Yesterday, the high command said,
wiped out marching enemy col
umns in the Lower Bosnia Valley
and in the area between the Sava
and Drina Rivers
Other luftwaffe units were de-
clared to have dispersed Greek
troop concentrations at Deskati and
shot down six British fighters in the
Lake Prespa area.
Four merchantmen totaling $4,000
tons were claimed sunk and eight
other big vessels damaged at Piraeus,
port of Athens, where port facilities
also were reported fired.
Hits were made last night, the
eommunique asserted, on destroyer
and three big merchant ships in
Elevsis Blight and off Piraeus. and
the Elevsis airport was effectively"
bombed.
In North Africa, German aTmen
were reported to have supported an
a attack on British forces encircled
at Tobruk, 30 miles west of the
Egyptian border.
No mention was made of the prog
ress of axis troops, which we're de-
clared yesterday to have occupied
Salum, across the Libysn border in
Egypt.
Claim Capture of British.
Other German quarters claimed
that italians captured a number of
British columns in North Africa
after the imperial forces ran out of
gasoline.
The pursuit of the British, these
informants added, is continuing at
q rapid pace"
Two airports on the British Medi-
terranean island of Malta, the high
command related, were repeatedly
and successfully attacked by day
and night"
A British ship, it said, was hit
and two British fighters we're
downed at Tobruk and two Yelling
ton-type bombers at Derna.
Big destruction" in dive bombing
assaults last night on airplane and
armament works at Manchester,
destruction of 10 planes on two
sirports in Southern England and |
damaging of two freighters yester-
dav off the British Isles were re-
v,ortnd