Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-04-28
War Today
Eisenhower AVaiIs
Self OF Superiority
in Men and Arms

BY CAPT JOHN ~. RAUL
Written special, for Intsrn'u >sws s'rric'
TIE COMBINED armies nm
der the command Of Sen, Eisen-
hover outnuuhcr ANS forces by
perhaps MS much as tWo 20. ore,
II supplies and equipment their
superiority is even greater.
United Nations fighter and
bomber planes possess almost
urd.sputcd command Of the air.
The way "a profit hy such
superioritleS IN men, guns, tanks,
planes and munitions IS 20 use
them. That is what Eisenhower
is doing. For seven days. Allied
hammerlng against the encircled
AXIS armies has been unlnter-
rupted and there Is no sign Of It's
slsckeninC.
Infantrynlcn of the Second
American Corps at the north
end of the Allied line. have
smashed through Jagged TuniSian
hills 70 a point 10 miles west OF
Nateur. vital communications
point on the road 10 Bizerte,
MATEUR Is one Of the KEYS
20 the whole Tunisian situation.
A break through 10 that point
would flank the entire line Of
AXIS mountain-crest positions 10
the south and reduce the whole
North African campaign 10
last-ditch battle for the fortified
towns Of Bizerte and TuniS.
South Of the Americans, the
British First Army struck to-
wards Mediez- el-Bah and Pont
du Fahs. Like Mateur, these are
keys 10 communications lines
leading towards the North Tu-
nissan plain and victory.
Interesting feature Of the war
on the First Army's sector Is
the tank battle going on in the
Vicinity of Lake KourZia. Ac-
eBrding 10 dispatches. almost the
entire arnored strength OF the
Axis is fighting II out here with
Gen. Anderson's tank divisions.
At last reports the Axis had lost
81 tanks there.
THIS is remarkable. because
according 10 the map. the Lake
Kourzia sector seems one OF the
worst imaginable for tank oper-
atoms as il is studded with
rugged knobs of rock that tanks
cannot climb. These would form
ideal battery positions for anti
tank guns and tank : killers of
all descriptions.
Incidentally, the tank is losing
much of its fabulous reputation.
Recent operations in North Az
RIGA have seen the production. of
anti-tank weapons in such profu-
sion and so powerful. that a
tank has only to show its nose
10 be blasted off the earth.
South of the British First
Army are the soldiers of the
French 18th Corps. Apparently |
there are al least three divisions
of these in action and they have |
been doing magnificently. The
French are reported in the vicin-
ity of Pont du Fahs.
-
DISPATCHES STATE that
the French divisions which scored /
the advances were Algerians and |
Moroccans. These were terrible
fighting men in World War /.
Members of the AEF Of 1918 [.
remember them wildly.
There are more than 100000
French colonial troops in the
North African colonies and due
TO the extremely intelligent
United States policy they are
now fighting with US. not
against US.
Southernmost of all, stretch
ing from the right flank of the
French 10 the sea, is the power
fHl British Eighth Army. The
Eighth has the toughest sector
of all. a mass Of tumbled noun
tains stretching from Just north
Of Enfidaville 10 the tip of Cap (
Bon. But despite the obstacles
of nature. the Eighth has been
grinding forward