The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-04-16
Allies Advance Within Less Than 30 Miles of
 Tunis Today UNAVOIDABLE WEATHER DIPPED BY BOMBERS Sardinian Air Fields Shell ed in Drive to Break Up
 Supply Lines
BY VIRGIL PINKLEY United Press Staff COrrespondenal

(Umated Press starr C0EreSp0nuensb
 Allied Headquarters, North Africa, April 16. = (UP) - The British First Army in a night counter-attack recap tured the key mountain height of Djebel Ang and ad- vanced to within less than 30 miles of Tunis today after temporarily losing the im- portant 2,000-foot hill to the Germans in one of the fiercesl clashes of the Tunisian war.
 All enemy counter attacks on the northeast TtlniSian front guarding the approaches to Tinis and Bizerte were beaten off on Thursday - the first time that the British First Army under Lieutenant General K. A. N. Anderson had successfully repulsed big-seRle enemy efforts to recapture important positions.
 UnfavOrabIe Weather
 Allied fighters, fighter -bomberS and heavy 'bomberS, meantime. de- fled unfavorable weather to resume pounding attacks on enemy front and rear positions by day and by night, dropping 4,000- pound block buster bombs on three Sardinia1 airfleldS and starting big fires. (Allied air raids also were reported against Naples, Palermo, Cataxias MeSsina and Sciacca in Sicily)
 The most important fighting was around Djebel Ang. which lies eight miles northwest of Medjez-el-Bab and is the hihgest point in that part of the Axis defense permiter in the northeast Tunisian cofiin corner. The height is of great importance because 1t dominates much of the surrounding area and gives the British vital kinck-o1 position for attacks toward Tunis.
 Twice on Thursday the Germans attacked violently. charging up the rocky slopes through wooded ter ritory. The morning attack was hammered back by the British on the hill, but in the afternoon the enemy fought his way to the sop of the height and drove back the British. who had been there about 24 hours.
 But Thursday night. Anderson's army struck back. In a heavy counter attack. they recaptured Djebel Ang and went on to take ad-' ditional ground to the east in ths direction of Tunis. Last reports from the front said that the Brit ish still held their positions.
 The fighting around Dejebei Ang, however, has been severe and llil- usually difficult for both sides and frequently the lines have swayed back and forth over the rocky, wooded ground and through ravines which can be traversed only by pack mules and men on foot.
 On other fronts, the Axis forces were holding more firmly and there was little change in positions.
 In the air. Flying Fortresses pounded the ardinian air fields at Decimomannu. Villacidro and Elmas in daylight and Wellingtons dropped block k,Ete-E cE t.sc game targets by moonlight. in Q drive Co break up enemy supply lines. Light bomb- CTS attacked the enemy on the roads north of Enfidaville and be- tween Tunis and Hammamet and hit the landing ground at St. Marie du zit by night. Korba also was et- tackled.
 At Mammamet. Hurricanes gunred many small ships in the harbor. Tanks and trucks were smashed as Oum el Aboouaab and a i.600-ton motor vessel was bombed and una- chine glnned south of Ustica Island, of the north coast of Italy.
 (The German high comannd re- ported that a German counter attack reached its objective on an undisclosed sector of the TunisiaF
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