The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-07-22
By RICHARD ID. MCMILLAN United PreSss Staff Correspondent

NOCW ANCSSD OGhH COrrcSpOnQent)
 At a British Post Overlooking the German Line, Egypt, July 21-De- layeO-Ffeld Marshal Erwin Rom- mel today completed a forced Ger man withdrawal from the important salient south of Fl Alamein.
 Complete failure of persistent series of attacks by tanks and in- fantry last week on the British im- perial line from the coastal striu through the central dust bowl forced Rommel to rectify his line.
 He had been squeezed by an Aus tralian push southward, along the camel track between Fl Alamein and the Hill of Jesus.
 In the center he had met a stone wall resistance by imperial tanks and British and Indian infantry men.
 The result was that he was forced to give up his salient.
 AS he did so the South Africans moved forward and captured some prisoners.
 The South Africans caught the Axis troops, mostly Italians with German anti-tank artillery, as they were trying to slip back to their new line.
 Now the German line starts on the coast about eight miles west of Fl Alamein and runs almost di- rectly southward to a point 20 miles inland. There 1t veers slightly west ward for three or four miles and turns southward again.
 Late reports said that in their at tacks last weekend the Germans lost 31 tanks, 50 field guns and 45 anti-tank guns. Some of these were destroyed, the others captured Aby the British.
 Artillery began warming up again yesterday and firing continued on an intensified scale today.
 No Rest for Enemy
 Neither the British guns nor the imperial patrols were giving the enemy much rest in their front line hvouacs or the Italian one man out posts built of stones and rocks.
 Patrols get little mention in com- muniques but they do important work when they slip out through the mine fields and barbed wire un- der the waxing moon and, making their way through sentry lines, at tack sleeping German and Italian troops.
 watched an Australian patrol group go out just before moonrise on three mile mission to Ger man camp, to "brass up" German tanks which had been seen by day. light. The patrol came back three hours later and the patrol leader gave this report:
 "The patrol moved southward on the track leading to the Qattara de- pression and passed some derelict vehicles. After 600 yards the patrol went to ground and listened. Faint sounds of digging were heard and the patrol continued. After 1t had made four more halts a large tank showed up dimly. A light flashed from the front of the tank.
 "One platoon moved out on the left as an attacking force and an- other went out on the right to pro- tect 1t.
 'The enemy heard us approach and opened fire with machine pis- tol while the tank fired its two- pounder gun. Our patrol fired Bren guns and Tommy guns.
 "At this stage an engineer threw a stick bomb from four or five yards. It exploded on the side of the tank, which was set afire.
 "The patrol advanced and found three Germans dead beside the tank presumably members of its crew. Another, who presumably fired the two-pounder, was dead inside.
 we proceeded 500 yards without hearing any further sound of dig ging and then returned to our lines"