The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-07-06
Marshal Rommel May Have To Reorganize
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by inexperienced soldiers, have beer wrecked in an attempted counter attack on the axis spearhead, DINE German News Agency reported 1T a dispatch broadcast by Berlir radio and heard in New York.
 ("United States tanks, which were employed too soon and driven bJ crews unfamiliar with these types fell victims to German artillery the report said)
 Planes of the British fleet air arm joined bombers and fighters of the Royal Air Force and the heavy bombers, of the United States army air corps in the biggest aerial at- tack in two years of fighting over the Western desert.
 Navy and RAF planes attacked a vast concentration of $500 enemy motor vehicles south of Fl Alamein and knocked out hundreds of them it was reported.
 The axis forces were concentrated in an area 15 miles square, with their main line forming sort of right angle stretching up to the coast and then extending north eastward to the vicinity of the rail- road station outside of Fl Alamein.
 A big bugle eastward in the enemy line, south and west of Fl Alamein, had been flattened and Imperial forces were hammering it day and night.
 It was emphasized here that the battle which started with an enemy bombardment last Tuesday and a full scale attack Wednesday was not over and that the danger to Alexandria and the Nile remained.
 But the Imperials had moved up in @ preliminary counter attack Wednesday night, had followed up with 8 full counter-attack Thurs day, and since then had not only held their own but had cap- tured axis tanks, guns and prison CTS all along hte line.
 The question was now whether the Imperials, having taken the in- itiative, could deliver the knockout blow or whether German field Mar shal Ewrin Rommel could hold them and reorganize for a renewed of- fensive.
 Nazis, Italians Hurled Back
 German and Italian forces were thrown back, in one Imperial counter-attack, from one of their most important positions on the Alamein line, a rocky ridge, running parallel with the coast south of Fl Alamein, which dominated tn country for 8 dozen miles, the axis lost many tanks in this engage ment.
 Allied planes, dominating the air, hit strongly at the axis all the way from the front lines to Benghazi, the big enemy base $50 miles to the west, where they scored direct hits on a supply ship.
 Medium bombers constantly har- ried enemy supply lines and bombed and machine gunned advanced air. dromes, roads an tank, gun an in- fantry concentrations and the front al areas.
 On Saturday alone Imperial fighter planes shot down five Ger man Messerschmitt-109 fig hters, three Junker-87 dive bombers and one Italian Macchi-202, while five enemy bomoers were shot down by fighters over the Alexandria and Suez Canal area Saturday night.
 One of the planes destroyed in the Alexandria area was shot down in flames by Wing Commander G. H. Stainforth, A, oldest operations pi- lot in the Middle East. He won in the Schneider cup speed races 10 years ago.
 BayOnets Are Used
 In the British Front Lines South of Fl Alamein, July 5-8 a. m.-(U. p - The New Zealanders went out hunting again with their bayonets during the ngiht.
 Troops of the Italian division, backed up by artillery and German and Italian tanks, were holding a strong ridge which runs parallel to the coastal road, about eight miles inland.
 Imperial artillery and planes opened a bombardment on the ridge. Tanks edged around the Hanks of the Axis position.
 Crews of nest of the tanks sur- rendered without much of a fight and so did the crews of number of German and Italian guns, in- cluding the 88-millimeter anti-tank guns which have caused the Imper- ials so much trouble.
 AS the result of this and similar counter-attacks many hundreds of Axis prisoners have come through the Imperial lines and the situation continues to show improvement.
 The Axis forces are expected to receive endorsements and the bat tie still is in the balance, but Axis p1 iSoners are tired and thirsty and the British appear to hold firm con- trol of the air.
 A British soldier who had es- caped from the Germans after be- ing made prisoner told me:
 T saw some of that RAF bombing it wasn't just business of dropping bombs. They are attacking all night long at low level, even the bombing planes. was out there lying in holes beside the Germans. They shivered as much as did; in fact. they ars snuAalisaS rAtIaAr naAdlv! ]"