Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-11-23
Sig Allied Drive Reported Launched in Northern Tunisu
CONTINUED From First Page


ditions. Nothing proves more clearly
Rommel's strategical genius thar
this move, carried out as soon as
he realized the enemys intentions
I'm this way the balance has
shifted from east to west. Rom
mel's African Corps now has taken
up positions prepared beforehand
A communique from Cairo said his
forces in Libya were pushed back
farther yesterday toward the Al
Agheila bottleneck, the last good
place for stand short of Tripoli
While Axis announcements indi-
Gated that Algiers and Allied forces
there were under frequent air at
tack, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
headquarters and Cairo headquar-
tiers showed that the Axis bases at
Tripoli, TuniS and Bizerte were
being heavily pounded by American
four-motored bombers. Allied me-
dunn bombers and twin-engined
fighters attacking from both the east
and west.
United States Flying Fortresses
and twin -motored Lockheed P-38
fighters Of Maj. Gen. James H.
Doolittle's command blasted hangers
and warehouses of the airfield at
Tunis Saturday and destroyed nine
planes, four of them Messerschmitt
l09s which offered combat, it was
announced at Allied headquarters in
North Africa.
The bombers accounted for three
of the Messerschmitts. In action
for the first time against the Ger
mans, the Lockheeds shot down one
and drove off the remainder. Field
observers took this performance as
an indication that they are equal
10 the best in the Nazi air force.
Heavy damage was declared in
Aicted on a Nazi armored column
by one of the British advance de-
tachments pushing along the north
coast of Tunisia toward Bizerte and
the Germans were hurled back.
The communique disclosed no de-
tails and there was similar reti-
cence concerning successful stand
by Allied Frenchmen, lin spite of
relatively severe losses against two
vigorous German attacks. APP
parently referring to the same &C
ton, an unconflrmed report broad
cast by the Morocco radio said the
French had repulsed a local enemy
drive ION the western front" de-
stroyed four tanks and captured
prisoners
Repeated Attacks.
German and italian communicates
declared that Allied strongholds and
supply lines were under repeated
attacks by U-boat and bomber,
The Germans, without confrma-
ton in Allied quarters, said a Ger
man submarine scored three torpedo
hits on a warship formation and also
torpedoed two freighters and a de-
stroyer in convoy. The Italians
reported their submarines had sunk
6, ship of large tonnage" off Philip
reville, Algeria
American and Raj planes loosec
bombs by day and by night or
Tripoii, Shrouding that potentia
escape port in smoke and Earring il
with explosions from an ignited mu.
nitions dump.
Broadcasting from Cairo. 1t. Col
w. M. Krom of the 9Th United
States Army Air Force said thai
"our boys have never refused COM
bat and they have never been beat.
en- in an aerial battle"
North African observers expressed
belief that the Germans had estab.
lished strong defensive positions
around Tunis and Bizerte, backec
up by mine fields. while reinforcing
advance parties estimated last weel
to total 10000 men.
Vice Admiral Emile Musilier, for.
mer commander-in-ch chief of thu
Fighting French Navy, estimated Ii
London that the Axis would neee
between 10000 and 10000 troops tt
man Bizerte properly. but said that
If they became well established the
base would fall only before ar
overwhelming force.
Military Works Crippled.
He said Bizerte coastal batteries
had a 25-mile range and that
landward Notifications were every
strong when he was in command
there from 1882 to 1887. However
German and Italian armistice com.
missions are reported to have
crippled such military works sys.
tematically since 1910 to minimize
the possibility of French revolt.
Far behind the Allied lines, Unitee
States and French patrols rounded
up dozens of persons suspected O.
acting as Axis secret agents at tn,
naval base of Oran, Sidi Bel Abbes
headquarters of the French Foreign
Legion, and other Algerian towns
United States military authorize.
announced the arrest OF So within
two and half hours of continuin,
raids at Oran.
A Berlin broadcast quoted report.
from Tangier as saying that many
functionaries of the italian Fascist
organization had been arrested il
Cassablanca. United States occupied
Moroccan port. ..s-. ~, !, d.
The German radio said Pierre
Laval, dictator of the Vichy govern.
.A.-t v~ttSx :. -