The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-06-02
BY HENRY T. GORRELL

A0 N AAACAN41A 4S 0OAOAWA5AA United Press Staff CorreSpOndent)
 Cairo, June 2.-(UP)-Col. Gen. Erwin Rommel,s Axis armored forces were reported today to have suf- fered smashing setback" on the Libyan desert battlefront southwest of Tobruk but counter attacking British Imperials using 28-ton Amer ican tanks are stil lengaged in hard fighting.
 l Although thrown back in the at tempt to encircle Tobruk and wreck the British defense system, Rom- mel's forces have not yet been smashed and still may be able to reorganize west of two gaps in the minefield line of British positions west of TC~~uk.
 To prevent Rommel from mus tering his strength for a new from tai assault eastward in the area of the gaps. Lieut.. Gen. Neil M Ritchie's Eighth Imperial army is ceaselessly hammerlng the enemy with tanks, artillery fire and bo1nb- CTS.
 (The German and Italian high commands, contradicting British versions of the battle, said that strong British positions had been "encircled and annihilated" and re- Sistance broken at Ualeb, one of the two gaps through which Rommel's tanks withdrew. The Germans elaine the destruction or capture of 25l British tanks and the taking of 5000 prisoners including 0 British brigadier generally
 Loses Many Tanks
 Advices from the desert battle. front indicated that Rommel had lost approximately half of 500 tanks he sent against the British posi- tions, sweep ing southeastward around the British left flank at Bir Hacheim and up behind the British positions southwest of Tobruk.
 (Prime Minister Winston Church i'll told the British house of com mons today that, at a conservative estimate, about 260 Axis tanks had been destroyed or captured. There is not 8 shadow of doubt, Churchill said, that Rommel's plans for an of- fensive have gone completely awry. | He also disclosed that HommelS ef- forts to land forces on the Mediter- ranean coast west of Tobruk had been thwarted by the guns of the British fleet).
 British military quarters said that Rommel already has suffered a se- were setback, but that the battle is by no means ended and that he may return to the attack at any time.
 Ritchie's forces still were engaged in hard fighting in the Knights bridge area 28 miles southwest of Tobruk, striving to destroy the remnants of the Axis tank units re- maining inside the British Minefield barrier extending south from Ell Gazala on the coast to Sir Hacheiin.
 Two Armored Divisions
 The British are believed to be using two armored divisions and several "brigades" of heavier tanks in their counter-atlack cenetring upon the Knightsbridge area.
 The British tank forces include American 28-ton tanks mounting three-inch guns and known as the most deadly medium tank in the world, having great advantage m fire power over the German mark 4" tanks which were masters of the Libyan battlefront six months ago.
 Tn possession of the battlefield and with ability to salvage his dam aged equipment, Ritchie might be able to go over to the offensive If Rommel's forces can be knocked out sufficiently in the battle now !ln- derway. It was said.
 But that depends upon how much Rommel is able to bring up in the way of reserves.
 During the last big Libyan cam- paign Rommel suddenly threw large tank endorsements into the battle and turned the tide, disastrously for the British around Sidi Rezegh and Fl Duda and finally forced the Brit ish to abandon several hard-won positions.
 Tn the KnightShridge battle area Rommel left a trail of burning stranded tanks and tank concen- traitor of undetermined strength to fight a rear guard action while his main forces strengthened theil positions along the two gaps.
 Vallee Edward Sutherland ano