Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-04-29
War Today
Final Battle On
in Tunisia but
II Won't Be Easy
BY ]. {. oESTREICHER

r Is obvious now that the
final. fuil-scale battle Tor conn
nation of Tunisia, All of North
AFRICA and the Mediterranean is
under way with 5ll the ad-
Vantagos ON the Allied. side.
The present tide OF battle
indicates that Americans VIII
share the honor and danger of
penetrating the ANS stronghold
OF BizeFte. Typographical ana
other reasons dictate that this
fortress viii stand after The
balance Of the country. .nclud-
ing the capital city Of IunlS,
has fallen INTO Allied hands
But before B.zcrte itself IS
assaulted. the Allies must re-
dude TWO subsidiary garuSons
al Ferryville and Sidi Abdallah.
In these two towns are Concen-
trated the military ard naval
establishments Of Bizertc itself.
HON. much OF these remain IN
tact is problenlatical. for the
Allied air forces long ago Sc
lected Ferryville as a particular
target and heavy damage has
been done there by bombing.
EVERY DISPATCH from the
battlefront confirmed Adolf Hit
ler's decision that TunlSla Will
be fought for foot by foot,
Robert G Nixon. International
News Service war correspond
ent who has Just arrived from
the North African battlefront,
deplored a belief current in this
country and fostered by mac
curate dispatches that the AXIS
is collapsing and that Allied
victory is now but a matter Of
days
This campaign should not
and cannot he Judged on the
standards Of Germany's 'blitz'
campaigns in the past" he told
this writer
THE Germans -waft battles
quickly in Europe because they
had little or no opposition. We
are winning the battle OF North
Africa against terrific OppOSi-
ton. and that will continue.
'1t IL just as well IL the Amer
lean people are given 10 under
stand that difficult fighting lies
ahead and that casualties will he
very heavy. Hitler simply has
IN hold that African toehold as
long as he possibly can.-0nce 10
Foes, he loses the MediteTranean
I'D the road 10 invasion of
Europe Is open.
"FVery day his armies hold
~ Tunisia il another day gained
pr the fortificatlOn of Europe.
DeDend upon II, the Germans
will continue TO fight because
they have TO-"
a military spokesman al Gen.
Fisenhower's headquarters in
Africa corroborated this view
point.
The enemy" he said. els te-
raciously defending his positions
and offering strong opposition
TO the reduction of his bridge
heads.
"He is slowly being forced to
yield ground and II looks un-
likely that he will be able To
offer prolonged resistance to our
combined pressure"
This pressure he described as
overwhelming.
DETERMINED GARRISONS
have held out unbelievably long
under heavy pressure in the past.
Australian troops held Tobruk
for nine months during the early
stages Of the North African war.
surrounded on three sides and
with their backs 10 the sea.
No one in a position 10 Judge
the situation realistically can
see the Germans al Bizerte hold
ing out for anything like nine
months, and that many weeks
would he a long time for the
siege 10 last
But there is reason 10 caution
against any belief that the AXIS
will fold and allow Allied
troops 10 surge into Tunls and
Blzerte over night. Such a
miracle as mass surrender might
occur, but il IS regarded as ex-
ceedingly unlikely.
ItaIy Fears Attafk