Evening star., 1942-07-03
RommePs Army Retreats in Egypt
As BIRTHS h Forces Press Attack;
Soviet Line Broken Nazis Claim
Bottle Rejoined
With Fury West
OF FL AIumein
+, the Associated Press.

CAIRO, July 3.-The battle OF
Egypt was rejoined today with
unrelenting fury west of Ell Ala
mein in the bottleneck of the
coastal approach to the Nile VAL
ley, with the resurgent British
9Th Army striving to exploit its
first successful counterstroke
since the Axis invasion started.
Following their repulse in the Ell
Alamein area yesterday the Axis
forces fell back to positions some
or miles to the west to regroup.
The German and italian forces
under "Rommel the Fox were
forced to retreat last evening after
general assault on Ell Alamein,
less than 10 miles short of their
main goal, Alexandria, was crushed.
The battle seemed to have been
CONSTRUCTED to the northern sector,
in the immediate vicinity of El
Alamein, and there were no indica-
tions of enemy movements on the
edge of the Qattara Depression.
British Being Reinforced.
0attara, with its supposedly i'm
passable terrain, lies some 80 miles
inland. 1t and the Mediterranean
shore form the sides of, the bottle
neck through which any eastward
invasion of the rich Nile Valley
must pass.
Yesterday the British, now being
considerably reinforced struck at
the f1anks of the Axis drive on Ell
Alamein and with nightfall the
Raj, buttressed by the South Afri-
can Air Force and the United States
Army Air Force, struck out anew
at the enemy's immediate rear as
well as vital ports for supplies and
reinforcements.
American planes, manned by
American. crews, took part in one of
the heaviest bombardments of
Tobruk, Libyan port.
: Throughout yesterdays battle
fighting planes and dive bombers
shuttled over the land forces, pro-
viding invaluable backing for the
defenders and attacking Field Mar
shal Erwin Rommels concentra-
tlons. 1t could be assumed that this
offensive continued today.
First Reverse in Present Drive.
The repulse at Ell Alamein was
the first reverse met by Marshal
Rommefs German italian arrnv
since it surged across the Egyptian
border following the capture of To-
bruk June 81.
British headquarters said the
enemy had suffered sharp losses
and declared imperial defense posi-
tions at Ell Alamein were holding
firm.
1n Berlin the German high
command announced today that
the storming of several strongly
fortified enemy bases" had re-
suited in widening of the
'breach" In the British 9Th
Army's Egyptian line at El Ala
mein.
(The italian high command
reported the capture of 1000
more British soldiers and said
Axis operations had developed
favorably southeast of El Ala
mein)
Day of Heavy Fighting.
The Axis retreat. a communioue
said, followed a day of heavy fight
ing, during which Marshal Rommel
launched an all-out assault from
the west on the British line at Ell
Alamein.
Our mobile and arp1ored forces
counterattacked the enemy flanks,
inflicting losses" the bulletin re-
ported, and after an armored battle
the enemy withdrew, leaving our
positions intact"
= Advices from the front indicated
that British reinforcements being
hurled into the struggle had played
an important part in the 1anking
operations, which were part of a
carefully laid defense plan.
One British column. composed of
tanks and mobile artillery, was said
to have swept widely around Mar
shal Rommels right flank late yes
terday afternoon to strike the Axis
forces in the rear.
Both sides were reported throw
ing everything they had into the
battle, climax of a 350-mile Axis
drive.
Informed quarters said the new
italian Littorio mechanical division
had gone into action in the desert
for the first time, increasing Mar
shal Rommels armored strength to