Evening star., 1942-12-19
British Open Drive Into Burmo,
Advance 40 Miles Past Border:
Rommel Pursuers Nearing Sirte
Axis Troops Abandon
Zuutu En- NofiIiu
Under Heavy Pounding
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, Dec. 19.-The Brit
ish chase of Nazi Marshal Erwin
Rommel's retreating army rolled
swiftly westward today and the
Morocco radio reported that
vanguards of the pursuers were
within 10 miles of Sirte, 155
miles beyond Ell Agheila, start
ing point of the current drive,
and only 240 miles from Tripoli.
The British communique said only
that Axis forces continued theil
flight yesterday on the road to Trip.
oil under day-long ground and all
blows.
The only gauge of the speed o1
Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery's
forces was that the enemy had aban.
doned Zauta en- Nofllia, 100 miles
airline west of Ell Agheila, and that
Allied air forces had moved onto ar
advanced base to harass Marshall
Rommel'sscolumn in the Sultan area
more than 80 miles father west.
The Morocco broadcast said ad-
vance units Of the 9th Army had
been in heavy fighting with Marshal
Rommels rearguard SIS miles west OF
zauta en- Nofllia Thursday.
Big Drive May Be Near.
Across the enemy's narrowing foot.
hold In North Africa, the increasing
fury Of the Allied air attack on Axis
strongholds in Tunisia and wide
spread patrol probing all along that
hilly front in improving weather
suggested that the all-out Allied
drive on Tunis and Bizerte may be
near.
The Italian communique, still re-
porting the Fascist retreat only by
implication, said that "the enemy
who had been extended in fighting
during which he lost a further 81
tanks, did not exert great pressure
against Axis troops yesterday" and
they still carried out their pre-
arranged moves.
This suggested that Marshal
Rommel was keeping ahead of the
British, putting out only feeble
rearguards and still avoiding battle
as far as possible. The British
communique made no further report
on the cutoff Axis forces boxed
in between the Wadi Matratin
Gulch and Marble Arch, now far
behind the westward moving front.
Previous reports had indicated,
however. that the fighting there was
ended with a considerable part of
perhaps 10000 enemy troops and
many heavy weapons wiped out and
the rest having slipped free again.
Although the Italian communiuue
acknowledged a severe Allied air
battering of Sousse, Axis held sup
ply port in Eastern Tunisia, the only
aerial counter blow mentioned was
a bombardment of Allied troops in
the Medjez-El-B Bah sector.
Heavy Attacks on Tunis.
The British communique reported
heavy Allied attacks again Thursday
night on Tunis and La Goulette,
which is part of the Tunis harbor
one troop-laden air transport shot
down and enemy seaplane bases in
Sicily severely damaged" by aerial
machine-gun and cannon fire.
In the eighth day of the sustained
battering OF Axis-held ports in
Tunisia, Flying Fortresses yesterday
hit and set ablaze an Axis warship,
believed to have been a cruiser, off
Bizerte.
The same planes sent new debris
flying among the docks of the great
naval base and shot down 3 of Is
enemy planes which attempted to
stop them. Six more enemy planes
were reported damaged. Only one
Fortress was lost.
Other United States bombers,
B-25s and B-26s, flew through heavy
anti-aircraft fire to blast the rail-
road station and a 1000 foot section
Of the yards at Sousse. Hits also
(see AFRICA, Page A-2)