The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-12-22
Biz Push to Get Axis Out of Tunisia Due Very
 Soon PLAN TO UNITE ALL ALLIED FORCES READY Rome, Berlin Admit Activ& ity in Tunisia Becomes
 More Intense
BY EDWARD W. BEATTlE United Press Stan Correspondentp

United Press Stan CorrespondensI
 London, December %. - (uP) -- Allied armies, rap. idly gaining equality and perhaps superiority in the air, are gathering strength for a push designed to drive the Axis out of Tunisia, front dispatches said today. Axis radios reported new Allied attacks, but a United Press dispatch direct from Allied heads quarters said all the energies of the bent % take troops, equipment and Americans, British and French were supplies to the front lines.
 Lieut., Gen, Dwight D. Eisen- hover, the dispatch said, has worked out plan to unite his forces with the British Eighth
 Army which Is advancing across Tripolitania, but the strategy Is to
 build up overwhelming strength 70 that the eventual offensive will bo assured of success,
 Americans in Center
 At present, Q BEG broadcast said.
 the Americans are holding the cen-
 ter of the TuniSian line, the Brit@
 iyh are on the left wing and the French hold the right
 African dispatches told of greab quantities of supplies moving for- ward in Tunisia in preparation for an eventual junction .iith Lieut.~ Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomerye
 Eighth Army.
 Montgomery,s forces were bee lieved on the outskirts of Sirtes more than TO miles west of Fl Agheila, in pursuit of Field Marshal Erwin Rommei's fleeing Afrika Korps. There were some ind.ca-
 tions that the impertals might have occupied Sirte,
 New Allied Attacks
 Both the German and Italian
 radios reported new Allied attacks
 in TuniSia. Both, of course, said
 the new thrusts were turned back
 by Axis forces.
 Significantly, however, Radio Rome said activity in Tunisia had become somewhat more intense" !" and Radio Berlin asserted that c
 major Allied action was imminent.
 French troops made a new ads , vance in the protectorate and were
 operating near Kirouan, only Sa
 miles from the strategic east coast
 port of Sousse, Radio Morocco saids
 quoting a French communique. 4
 successful drive to the cast coast
 would deprive the Germans and . Italians of a major reinforcement s port, . Report Oa Relief Unverified !, There was no confirmation of Y Spanish reports that the Germans z were massing relief force iu . French ports. British observers be- U lieved it unlikely because of the
 probability that Axis North African e resistance at best could be only a n holding operation.
 It was considered more probable J that if Axis transports were cons
 centrated in French harbors, they e would be used to take 8 German $ expeditionary force to Sicily as T defensl. garrison. relieving some
 of the strain on inadequate Italian IS railroads already hamstrung py l. smashing Royal Air Force raids. 1T Although it was increasingly evis d dent that Rommel intended to of- h fer only token resistance in hi
 flight to Tunisia, military Quarters .r believed the Axis comma would v rely or the combined strength q SS their Libyan and Tunisian force; d rather than risk landing reinfor- ?. M ments under fire of the Britis1 >s Navy and Anglo-American bombe1 <. power.
 y The French force advancing oz ' Sousse was the column which pre-. . 2. viously had battered its way ints ', Pichon, 25 miles to the west. . Nearing Port of Sfax Y Seventy-five miles to the south le second French column advancin( 't from the inland Allied base oS Gafsl
 was reported to be within striEinl l. distance of the port of Sfax. le Both prisoners and war spcsA IL were claimed by the French z sr (Continued on Page 4