The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-05-10

lHIec SHIPS Oil CilS NOI I'LL 4u11Lo-
ian coast near Cape Zebib wers
sunk, jetties were fired and barges,
small boats and a cargo ship-moSt
Of them carrying troops were
sunk, blown up or driven back to
shore by American and British air
forces sweeping the Tunisian
beaches on relentless patrol.
But the main Axis remenants. eS-
timated between $4,000 and 100000
men were fighting bitterly against
powerful British tank and infantry
assaults and against French thrusts
through the mountains toward the
base OF Cap Bon Peninsula.
A great evacuation attempt seemed
impossible even if the Axis com
manders decide not to fight to the
end and as yet official dis
patches said there was no sign of a
major effort to withdraw by sea.
Furthermore, American and Brit
iSh bombers ruled the Tunisian skies
almost without Luftwaffe opposi-
ton and roamed far to the north
along the island invasion route to
Europe, battering the Italian bases
at Panterlearia and Palermo from
which rescue ships would come II
the Axis can muster any.
The mop up Of Axis booty aro
prisoners by the thousands contin-
ued on land, with the Americans
officially reporting $4,000, including
six German generals and 5000 Luft-
waite men already counted. The
toll for the Tunisian campaign
already is over $1,000 and estimates
ranged as high as 100000
Thousands of Germans were cut
off In the north by a bitter night
time American tank, artillery and
infantry assault that prevented the
enemy from reaching the east coast
and resulted in unconditional sur
render of the Axis forces Sunday,
dispatch from C. r. Cunningham,
United Press correspondent at the
front, disclosed.
Front dispatches emphasized that
the Allied planes were meeting no
opposition and that even over Pan
telleria, where two raids by 10e
Allied craft in two days left huge
columns of smoke rising 1000 feet
there were no enemy fighter planes
in action.
Allied fighters and fighter bomb
erS sweeping the Tunisian beaches
reported that their attacks ON small
enemy boats were not opposed and
that they saw enemy soldiers strug-
CLING in the water or clinging to
Wreckage, some waving white flags.
American medium bombers also
attacked the village OF Soliman, ON
the zaghouan-Cap Bon front, where
the best Nazi troops were still fight
ing tiercely. The pilots reported
that the village was only "a big
cloud of dust and smoke" when they
left.
Raj and American squadrons
attacked small groups trying to es-
cape in boats near Porto Farina ON
the north Tunisian coast, wrecking
all vessels, and also broke up an
escape attempt near Cape Sebid,
east OF Bizerte. A schooner carry
ing troops was sunk neathwest of
Bizerte and a barge loaded with
soldiers was sent to the bottom. An
enemy ship was blown up by tor
pedo attack at Rasidda anchorage.
on Cap Bon.
PantelIeria Pounded
The big italian naval base Of
Pantelleria was pounded for the
second straight day by more than
100 Allied bombers. Reconnaissance
photographs showed that the biggest
an-American laid Of the war by 400
U. S. bombers and fighters had
caused tremendous damage to war
factories, arsenals ana depots at the
Sicilian port of Palermo on Sunday.
At leaset 10 enemy fighters were
shot down.
The Allied air force also bombed
and strafed the German and Italian
troopS-perhaps $4,000 men-on Cap
Bon and in south Tunisia as the
British First Army spearhead bat
tied furiously with tanks and artil-
lery to break through crumbline
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