Evening star., 1942-10-24
British Open Offensive in Egypt
Aided by y. S. Planes and Flyers;
Russians Pierce Nazi Front Line
RommeI's Forces
Pounded by Land ,
Seq and Air

vi
6rthe Associated press.

CAIRO, Oct. 24.-Brltaln' re-
built and refreshed 9th Army
charged into the Axis Ell Alamein
line today in an offensive sprung
in the night with blows against
the enemy by land, sea and air.
The Allies thus beat the Axis
African Corps to the punch and
launched what may be the battle to
decide the fate of the Mediter-
ranean this winter.
With all branches in close CO.
ordination, the armored army of
the desert thrust forward under
strong air support, including planes
and flyers from the United States,
while a task force of the Mediter-
ranean feet struck deep on the en-
emy's sea-girt northern flank near
the Egyptian port of Matruh. A
naval communique issued at Alex
andria said the naval force suffered
no casualties and only superficial
damage" to one boat despite an
enemy air attack.
Fighter planes of the United
States desert air forces were active
in the final preliminaries of the
long aerial preparation for the
offensive, raking the Axis forward
landing grounds yesterday and es-
corting Allied fighter -bombers on
similar missions.
Full Desert Moon.
The hour of attack came under
a full desert moon last night but
1t still was too early to discern any
trend.
Under strong cover of war
planes, the Allies lunged against
the enemy positions in a swirl of
sandy dust with tanks and guns
many of them American made
hurling thousands of shells at the
enemy.
The main battle was concentrated
In a comparatively small area,
stretching 40 miles inland from the
coast to the Qattara Depression.
but probably it will spread rapidly
as the British have been sending
desert patrols hundreds of miles
across the desert to strike at the
rear of Axis Field Marshal Erwin
Rommel.
1t. Gen. B. L. Montgomery, COM
mander of the British 9th Army
"a collection of troops from various
parts of the empire. Poles, Fighting
French and other Allies-announce
recently that his men were fighting
fit and ready for anything"
Line Stabilized July 1.
The general had been faced with
the task of replacing the upwards
of $4,000 men" which Prime Minis
ter Churchill announced had been
lost along with valuable equipment
in the retreat from Libya to the
El Alamein line in June. The Ell
Alamein line was stabilized on July l.
The British offensive was under
the overall direction of Gen Sir
Harold Alexander. Gen. Alexander,
the 50-year-old hero of Dunkerque
who succeeded Gen. Sir Claude
Auchinleck as Middle East COM
mander August 18 during a summer
lull in the desert fighting, sent his
forces surging across the Egyptian
no-man's-land last night.
Days of steady air attacks by
British and United States flyers
upon German-Italian air fields and
communications opened the way for
the ground push.
Pierce fighting developed and is
continuing" said terse commu-
nieue issued jointly by British
headquarters and the RAF.
Thus the Allies got the jump on
Marshal Rommel, who boasted in
Berlin recently that he could crush
their forces in the Middle East. The
marshal's spectacular counteroffen-
sive against the British push into
Libya last spring carried to a point
only 10 miles west of Alexandria,
British supply and naval base, and
there it was checked and stalled.
Enemy Forced Back.
British counterattacks forced the
Germans and Italian troops back 10
miles, where lines we're set up along
the Ell Alamein sector between the
Mediterranean and the great salt
sinks of the Qattara depression
Rested and reinforced, Marshal
Rommel sent his troops forward
again September 3-5 in short-liveo
attempt to turn the British line
Strong counterattacks drove them
back and British positions were re-
ported improved.
The extensive bombardment o1
British naval and air bases on Malta
during the last two weeks indicated
the Germans were rushing supplies
across the Mediterranean to the
African Corps in the hope OF q
knockout blow.