Evening star., 1942-12-07
The Bottle for Tunisio

The Bottle for Tunisiu
The stiff defense encountered by
the Anglo-American forces, especially
in Northeastern TuniSia, may be an
unpleasant shock to uniformed or
overoptimistic civilians, but to the
Allied high command it could have
been no surprise. Indeed, a glance
at the map Is enough to show the
average layman why the Axis is
bound to bend every effort to retain
its grip on the highly strategic bend
Of North Africa which, in Axis
hands, shields nearby Italy, but
which, in Allied hands, would men,
ace the Axis soft underside."
The Axis certainly lost no time in
getting firm grip on Tunisia The
very day American troops made their
surprise landings in Algeria and
Morocco, Axis forces began swarming
into Tunisia by air and sea from
nearby Sicily, and by land from the
adjoining Italian base at Tripoli.
Those movements were slightly i'm
peded by local French forces which
promptly opposed the Axis invaders.
But the resistance of these ILL
equipped Vichy troops was overcome
long before the arrival of the Anglo
American columns pushing across
the difficult frontier belt of hilly to
mountainous country that separates
Algeria from Tunisia. The Axis was
thus able to occupy the entire east
coast of Tunisia, from Bizerte to the
the Tripolitan border
However, this Axis hold was an un-
even one. The number of troops
transportable by air, and by conveys
from Sicily dodging the British naval
and aerial blockade, was limited.
Only the vital strategic triangle of
Bizerte-Tunis, directly opposite Sic
lily, was effectively occupied. The
intermediate links southwark to the
Tunisian frontier were thinly held
and got only short distance inland
before they came up against the
Allied vanguards which were over
running the whole interior. We
know little about the confused
skirmishing that resulted, but the
Axis screen seems to be pressed back
to the coast and is likely soon to be
cut through at several points and
rapidly eliminated. This will end
overland communication between
Tripoli and the northeastern tri-
angle, the real center of Axis re-
sistance.
1t is against this vital area that
the main effort of the Allies is being
directed, And it is obviously a hard
nut to crack. The Tunis-Bizerte tri-
angle is, for the most part, tangle
OF hills and valleys naturally de-
fensible and already fortified by the
French, especially around Bizerte,
the chief naval base of French. North
Africa. The Axis garrison. may run
as high as 10000, mostly picked
German troops with ample equip
ment, including heavy tanks which
have somehow slipped through the
British blockade. This alone would
be formidable obstacle to an Allied
land assault
However, the strength Of Axis re-
sistance is doubled by the great
amount of air power that has been
modified in nearby Sicily and flown
to Tunisia from airports some of
which are only $50 miles away. The
cream Of the Luftwaffe, planes and
pilots alike, is being thrown into the
struggle. On the other hand, the
Allies are hampered, not so much by
lack of planes, of which there are
said to be plenty in North Africa, as
by lack Of adequate airfields in the
vicinity.
This unfavorable equation is Civ
ing the Axis local air superiority,
which is the chief reason for the set
backs our troops have experienced
during the past few days. But every
thing portends that the aerial bal
ance soon will be restored. Further
more, we should remember that our
main ground forces have not yet
come up. Only our vanguards are
thus far engaged. The Axis may be
able to conduct a long and bitter
defense of the Bizerte-Tunis triangle.
But the total weight of Allied power
in North Africa so greatly surpasses
that Of the Axis as to assure victory