Evening star., 1942-07-06
Allies on Offensive
In Egypt Bottle,
Germans Admit
MAP on Page A-6.)
Rv the Associated Press.

Bv the Associated Press.
CAIRO, July 6.-British desert
fighters attacked Axis forces in
the Ell Alamein area yesterday
and forced them to retreat for
the second successive day, Gen.
Sir Claude Auckinleck's head
quarters reported today.
Sharp fighting continued through
out the day and into the night, and
ended with Field Marshal Erwin
Rommels troops being driven from
a strong point, communique said
Heavy casualties were inflicted on
the enemy in this night engagement,
the bulletin declared. British cas-
ualties were described o1f1cially as
slight"
"a Berlin dispatch to the Basel
(Switzerland) newspaper Ma
tional Zeitung quoted German
military quarters as admitting
the British had succeeded in
bringing up enough reserves to
take the offensive in the battle of
Egypt.
lReports from Rome to the
Geneva Tribune said that follow
ing the Axis breakthrough near
Ell Alamein the Italians had not
expected such resistance as the
p,.stich rero Y,1,f tir,o I'm
III Giornale d'Italia said the
British were hurting into the bat
tie all available armored equip
ment machines repaired at
Cairo and Alexandria, as we'll as
American General Grant tanks
just arrived from South African
ports)
British Wheel Up Artillery.
Dispatches from the front said the
British were wheeling up their artil-
lery to blast away over open sights
at Marshal Rommel's tanks.
Although military circles said a
severe check had been delivered to
the Axis chieftain's ambitions, they
hesitated to suggest yet that he
might turn back to the Libyan
frontier
That he could do so successfully
if such maneuver seemed best they
did not doubt, however, for the
British forces apparently were not
in position to attempt to cut him of
or carry out pursuit in strength.
Allied planes were reported con-
tinuing their active part in the op-
erations in Egypt. blasting at Axis
troop concentrations and supply
lines.
Especially heavy attacks were
made yesterday on the enemy air
field at Ell Daba, IS miles west of
Ell Alamein, where at least IA planes
were damaged on the ground, the
communique said.
Six German planes were reported
destroyed in air combats Yesterday
and many others were said to have
been damaged. The British ac-
knowledged the loss of six planes.
Withdrawal Is Local.
Military quarters said the new
Axis withdrawal was purely local
in character, but it was hoped here
that by maintaining the initiative
the British might keep Marshal
Rommel off balance and thwart his
attempts to regroup his forces for
a fresh all-out assault.
(The New York Times said
yesterday that private advices
received indirectly from Rome
indicate that withdrawal of
Marshal Rommel from his pres
ent advances position in Egypt
seems imminent.
(Such a withdrawal while the
initiative remains in Axis hands
rather than await the concen-
tration of Auchinleck's REIN
forcements" was discussed, the
Times said at a desert meeting
which unofficial reports said
Marshal Rommel, Gen. Ugo
Wv oAA u, SAAiSl VI bIlC 1Jd udIl
genera. staff: Field Marshal Gen.
Wilhelm Kejtel, chief of the Ger
man Army, and other higher Of
f1cers held yesterday
1t was the general feeling that the
outlook in Egypt has improved
greatly from the British point of
view aurirg the past few days.
Partly responsible for this mount
ing optimism were dispatches from
the front indicating that the Axis
forces, weary from their swift $50
mile push across the desert, were
beginning to suffer from lack of
adequate supplies of food and water
as result of the heavy pounding
of their extended communication
lines by Allied airmen.
British bombers were reported to
(See EGYPT, Page A-2D