Evening star., 1942-11-06
British Army Drives TwoWedges
Through Romme| Forces in Eqypt;
Capture Of Is 900 Men Claimed
Allies Fighting
Inside Enemy
Positions
By the Associated Press.

CAIRO, Nov. 6.-Three fast ar
mored divisions Of the British 9th
Army led by 1t. Gen. Bernard L.
Montgomery have driven two
wedges through Marshal Erwin
Rommel's forces and are fighting
inside enemy positions.
The Axis high commands con-
ceded that the Allied offensive was
nearing Matruh, 104 miles west Of
the old Ell Alamein battle line, but
the British said officially only that
the battle had been carried well
west of Ell Daba," 33 miles from Ell
Alamein.
Tanks were operating at the heels
of the Axis retreat in the Ell Daba
sector, British communique said.
The steady liquidation of Marshal
Rommel's forces was recorded to-
day in the official disclosure that
his losses by capture alone now to-
tai more than 10000 men and that
at least 339 of his tanks have been
knocked out.
The full measure of the Axis de-
feat was indicated in British
communique which told of round
up of large numbers of Italians
afoot, apparei. ~ abandoned in their
inland positions while the Germans
on wheels or caterpillar tracks tried
to save themselves By flight along
the coastal road.
Full Retreat Reported.
Portions of Marshal Rommel's
armies which managed to escape
the tank wedging and encirclement
were said by Gen. Montgomery to
be in full retreat.
This situation-of deep tank
thrusts encirclement and hammer
ing pursuit-suggested that the
fate of the German-Italian North
African corps might we'll be sealed
before the surviving portions could
retreat across the Egyptian Libyan
border some $50 miles farther west.
Gen Montgomery told OF the
armored penetrations when he re-
ceived correspondents at his desert
headquarters yesterday to announce
complete and absolute victory in
the battle of Ell Alamein.
CA well-informed British source
at London said of the land Of
fensive that there is reason to
believe that our armored forces
now have succeeded in getting be-
hind some of the retreating Ger
man and italian forces and that
their retreat is virtually cut off.
CThere are high hopes that
We may be able to annihilate
them completely without having
chase them across the Libyan
desert as in other advances.
The Axis high commands still led
the British in progress reports on
the Allied offensive. The broadcast
communiques from Rome and Berlin
placed the area of violent combat
between Fuka and Matruh-62 and
104 miles west of the original Ell
Alamein line.
79 More Tanks Destroyed.
The new British figures on tanks
destroyed and prisoners taken in
corporated the latest figures, 1000
more men and at least 79 more
tanks. And still the roundup went
on In the desert and the relentless
attacks on Marshal Rommel's rear
guards continued along the coastal
road, paced by continuous aerial
offensive which dwarfed the Axis
air efforts.
(Allied pressure Of the Axis
Mediterranean supply line was
emphasized by the London Ad-
miraltys report that six more
Axis vessels had been sunk and
two damaged by British sub
., marines)
Dispatches from the front sug-
gested that the battle OF North
Africa rapidly was degenerating into
a race across the desert, with Mar
shal Rommel's forces trying des-
perately to escape utter destruction.
Among the captives taken yester-
day, communique said, was the
commander of the Italians vaunted
Trento Division and his chief OF
staff. (The authoritative British
Press Association in London identi-
fed the Italian as Gen. Francisco
Scotti)
49, Axis Driven From Skies.
The Axis air forces appeared to
have been virtually driven from the
skies over Egypt, the British report
ing that their troops were free from
aerial attack yesterday while their
own bombers hammered at the
enemy almost unopposed.
Five enemy fighters which tried
to intercept Allied planes were shot
down yesterday along with a small
communications aircraft. Allied
losses were put at four planes.
As the 9th Army pursued its ad-
vance across the desert. the poten-
tial battle area, limited heretofore
to the narrow 40-mile front between
the Mediterranean seacoast and the
Quattra Depression, widened stead
lily.
=. GA Reuters dispatch from Cairo
said the battlefront already had
doubled in length-a statement
(which would indicate that fight
ing had progressed beyond Fukao
Some Still Holding Out.
Although some Axis forces were
reported yesterday to be holding out
Ia. isolated spots on the southern end
Of the Ell Alamein line, Gen. Mont
-gomery asserted that they would
quickly be put In the bag"
.The British general called on his
arfnored formations to follow up the
victory he proclaimed, striking at
the retreating enemy with un-
= (See EGYPT, Page A-180