Imperial Valley press., 1942-07-13
German, italian
Prisoners Taken
In Desert Battle
BY RICHARD ID. MCMILLAN

IN The BRITISH FRONT LINE
WEST OF Ell ALAMEIN, July IL
Delayed-UP)-It is the hottest
day of the year out here in the
desert.
German and Italian prisoners are
arriving steadily in the lines.
Two of the Italians are colonels,
one captured with his staff when
the British men overran a head
quarters of the Bersaglieri, the Ital-
ian shock troops.
Nest of the Italians have dirty
handkerchiefs around their heads
to protect them from the blisterine
sun. The Germans wear the snuff
colored peaked caps of the Afrika
Korps.
Gen. Sir Claude Auchinleck has
given jolt to Field Marshal Erwin
Rommel.
"STICKY" BOMBS
For "a hours we have had every
thing in the way of battle picture
"a furious tank struggle southwest
of Ell Alamein, in which German
tanks were destroyed, Stuka dive
bomber raids, aerial dog fights in
which Imperial and Axis pilots
spiralled and looped like dizzy flies,
hand to hand work by the infantry,
long range Smelling and fights be-
tween tanks and British troops
armed with sticky bombs.
(McMillan's dispatch referred sew
eral times to the sticky bombs, pos
Sibly of delayed-action type which
adhere to tankS)
1t all started Thursday night.
Silently the Australians, newly ar
rived, took up their positions in the
front line. At midnight they went
out to call on the Nazis. They took
along everything handy in the way
of sub-machine guns. Bren guns,
hand grenadeS. sticks of dynamite
and their bayonetted rifles.
FIRE OPENS UP
1t was moonleSs Three columns
picked their way through the 1000
yards of no mans land They made
1.400 yards before a squirt of ma
chine gun fire came from the
enemy lines. Then anti-tank guns
and rifle fire began.
The Australians pushed on, their
columns $50 yards apart. They
made the top of ridge where the
enemy had force of the 18th Ger
man tank division, along with a
battery of two-inch antitank guns.
The Australians let them have
their hand grenades. swept them
with machine gun fire and then
went yelling in with the bayonet
against one lot who showed fight.
With bayonet and trench dagger
the Australians killed every man ex-
cept nine they brought back, and
destroyed with their dynamite all
the guns and tanks around.
Just before dawn British tanks,
British and Australian antitank
guns and fresh Australian infantry
dashed out of Ell Alamein box, the
chief defensive position on the
coast, for the main attack which
pushed back the Germans five
miles.
1t wasn't IUng befoie the trucks
which had taken up the infantry
were coming back in swirling clouds
of dust. Every new truck brought
good news of an advance and each
one brought back it's quota cf pris-
oners. The Germans were mostly
gunners who, manning 3-inch and
3ta inch guns. were encircled. The
Italians looked grubby and GRUMPY
and some were only addressed
All day the fighting went on be-
tween the cool-lcoking turquoise
sea and the sand dunes along the
coastal fringe, in sweltering heat.
The Imperials made every objec-
tive in this limited drive. Toward
evening Rommel decided to try to
dislodge the Imperials from newly
won hill of Jesus Station just be-
low the coastal road on the desert
railroad.
During the night, the infantry not
only threw back all German at
tacks but extended their grip. and
this morning Imperial advance COL
umns are out again. marauding
among the German tanks and the
German Goth light division.