Evening star., 1942-11-24
oueh, Long Fight
Facing Allies in
African Campaign
Sy the Associated Press.

erupting struggle for air su-
premacy was fought over Tunisis
and along the Axis Mediter-
ranean shuttle route today, while
British and American forces
on the ground were getting set
for an intensified assault on
Tunis and Bizerte, once the
enemy is driven from the North
African skies.
There was every sign that the
aerial conflict would be hard one
for great fleets of German planes
were gathering in the Mediterranean
theater and Axis reinforcements still
were reaching Tunisia through the
Allied gantlet.
THE fight Is going to be tough
and longer than might be expected, u
said spokesman at Allied head
quarters in North Africa.
Bearing him out were reports from
both sides telling OF the mounting
fury of the struggle.
"a German broadcast con-
ceded that Anglo o-American troop
columns were advancing in Tu-
nisia.
CThe daily growing strength
of the Axis Air Forces especially
impairs the advance of British
and American troops" the Berlin
radio said)
Three Big Planes Downed.
The British Middle East command
announced at Cairo that at least
three more large enemy planes,
which may have been troop trans
ports, were sent plunging into the
sea yesterday of the Tunisian coast.
Broadcasting what it called an
Allied communique, the Morocco
radio said that Allied air activity
had grown very intense" and that
another violent bombing raid had
been made on Tripoli, in Libya.
The Algiers radio said nine Axis
planes were destroyed in an Allied
raid on an enemy-held airfleld in
Tunisia, and a Vichy broadcast told
of heavy air raids last night by
Germans and Italians on Algiers,
Bone and Bougie, Allied-held ports
in Algeria.
A heavy Lombing assault on BIZ
zerte and strafing of grounded en-
emy planes at Palermo, the Sicilian
base from which Axis reinforce
ments are being flown to Tunisia,
were carried out Sunday night by
the Raj, the Cairo war bulletin
said.
An Axis merchant ship was sunk
the same night by British topredo
planes southeast Of Sardinia. Can
non -toting British planes attacked a
schooner OF the Tunisia east coast
yesterday.
Desert Air Activity Slight.
The Middle East command said
aerial activity was on a small scale
Yesterday over Libya, where the
British 9th Army has occupied and
passed on west of Agedabia at the
heels of Marshal Edwin Rommel's
Africa Corps headed for Ell Aghelia.
From Rome the Italian high COM
mand broadcast that reconnaissance
clashes occurred yesterday in Libya
and on the Tunisian border, while
in aerial operations eight Allied
planes were claimed shot down and
five Allied ships, including a de-
stroyer, heavily damaged.
The general picture in Africa was
improved greatly by the announced
adherence of French forces at Dakar
to Admiral Jean Darlan, now CO.
operating with the Allies in North
Africa, but the task of driving Axis
Tunisian forces into the sea grew
in magnitude hourly.
The Allied advance toward the
core of German resistance in the
Tunis- -Bizerte region Of Northeastern
Tunisia has been hampered and
slowed by Axis air forces, reports
from headquarters indicated, al
though British Spitflres and other
Allied fighter planes are now in
action and have scored notable sue
cesses.
Axis Bases Reinforced.
German bombers, operating from
Italian bases in Sardinia and Sicily
can hop over tc Tunisia in little
more than an hour and the Axis air
bases in Tunisia have been mighty
reinforced with fighters and bombers
some flown from the Russian front
1t was said
The action of French leaders in
Dakar in throwing in their lot with
Admiral Darlan was regarded by
official Allied quarters in North
Africa as purely French matter,
but the acquisition of the excellent
naval port by Admiral Darlan was
recognized as of great advantage to
the Allies.
1t was assumed that the port
Continued on Pg. A-l6, Column L.