The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-05-13
1000 Guns, ESQ Tanks
Among Booty Taken By
Allies in T'unisia
MOST IMPRESSIVE WIN
IN MILITARY HISTORY
Attention Shifted to Island
Stepping Stones to
Italy
BY VIRGIL PJNKLEY


Allied Headquarters, North
Africa, May 13. - (UP) =
Triumphant Allied armies
completed conquest of the
Tunisian base for invasion OF
southern Europe today with
the total seizure of 10 Axis
generals, more than 100000
prisoners and vast booty that
included more than 1,00O
guns and $50 tanks.
A few stragglers were still to be
rounded up or crushed, but both
German Colonel General Jurgen
Won Arnim, commander chief OF
Axis ground forces, and Italian
General Giovanni Messe, the Fascist
commander. were in the net along
with their Staffs.
Attention shifted TO the island
stepping stones to Italy, where the
Sicilian harbor of Marsha was
heavily pounded again before daw1A
Wednesday in a growing aerial Of
fensive.
The end was a strange one,
with deep contrasts Of stubborn
PruSsian resistance and wholesale
surrender by demoraliZed AXiz
troops. But at Allied headquarters
there was a spirit of enthusiasm and
confidence as General Dwight D.
I Ga,,aro1 Civ 10 rnlH
Alexander, wearing Stacks and suede
shoes anG. with sleeves rolled up for
business, explained what had hap
pened.
THE American divisions through
experience became a very fina
corps" Eisenhower said after dis
closing that a sudden, mass shift
ing of Eighth Army troops frors
the south had enabled Alexander to
fool the Nazi high command ana
sweep in behind the enemy.
Many Lessons Learned
I'VE will profit everywhere In the
future by the lessons learned. In
short, all things considered, the gov
ernments of both our countries-to
say nothing of the French here
can have real reason for encourage
ment and hope as result of this
campaign"
Alexander, addressing 500 mem
bers of his staff, said that the VIC
tory was complete and decisive and
one of the most impressive in mill
tary history.
I'VE have wiped out an entire
army and stand masters of the
whole Afrika Korps," he said. II
want to thank you and tell you
how grateful I am. This victory is
of your making and its fame and
glory belongs to each of you"
But there were different scenes at
the TuniSian front, where the last
power and prestige Of the Axis
African armies was vanishing with
the bedraggled lines of enemy SOL
diers still streaming into barbed wire
prison pens
Won Arnim, still naughty Prus-
sian militarist who had done his
job with methodical precision, sur
rendered with his staff without
1uldl llSllJ dllSI ] dIlOlllS I1lGlSl liidU
he had carried out orders TO defend
Tunisia to the last cartridge" Some
of the last cartridges" were fired
into the air by the German veterans
as they came out of strong mountain
positions with their hands in the
air and others were abandoned i'll
wrecked camps, but others fought
to the end.
Troops of the 4th Indian division
found Won Arnim waiting at his
mountain headquarters in the st.
Marie du zit sector, about 10 miles
west of Hammamet.
He had visited Italy only short
time before his capture but pre-
sumably had returned to share with
his troops the dregs Of defeat. When
he saw that all was lost he asked
British Iieut-Gen. X. A. N. Ander-
son for terms.
Unconditional surrenders,' An
derson replied. also the handing
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