Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-05-11
Cap Bon Through by British
Closes Trap on Enemy Remnants;
Wis A||Over>" A||iedGeneraIS Saws
Enemy Roked by
Fire From Land,
Sea and Air
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
NORTH AFRICA, May 1l.-Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower's head
quarters announced today that
British armor had forced a COM
plete break-through on the neck
Of Cap Bon Peninsula, closing
that blind alley at its mouth
and pocketing enemy forces
which still were fighting fiercely
to the south and west.
"a Reuters dispatch to London
from Allied headquarters said it
was officially announced that en-
envy resistance on Cap Bon was
collapsing.
Its all over. There isn't going
to be any Axis Dunkerque," an
Allied general told the Associated
Press
Advancing from the Hannah
Lii area on the north side of the
neck, the British lSt Army crossed
the base of the peninsula to the out
skirts of Hammamet on the south
side, and took Soliman, Grombalia
and Mcneil Bou Zelfa in the GEN.
ter, the communique announced.
"a Reuters dispatch from AL
lied headquarters said the British
entered Hammamet early today
Scorched by Allied fire from land
sea and air the remnants of the
German and Italian armies which
were crowded onto Cap Bon ap-
peared to have lost their nerve after
this swift stroke by British armor
and the prospects of a last stand
on the mountain ribbed peninsula
were diminishing.
Opposition Slight.
The opposition from these troops
was slight, and the trapped SOL
diers were inclined to surrender at
the first opportunity as British
naval forces secured nearby waters
in what was described as a mop
ping up" of small parties attempt
ing disorganized escape
Pilots who continued to sweep the
beaches reported little activity and
said the cornered enemy apparently
had recognized the futility of at
tempting to get away, while huge
fires blazing along the roads of the
bomb riddled cape indicated the
Germans already we're burning their
supplies.
More than 5000 prisoners we're
taken by the British in their light
ming thrust across the peninsula,
including 600 members of the crack
Hermann Goering Regiment. which
had fought strongly around Ham,
man Lii from intrenched and buried
tanks. This unit appeared to have
lost its nerve along with other units
which were surrendering in COM
panies, even though their ammuni-
ton and supplies were not yet ex-
hauSted.
Messages CAPTURED.
Captured along with the flood of
prisoners were messages of en-
couragement sent to the front lines
by both Adolf Hitler and Benito
Mussolini. 1t was not known when
the messages were sent, but there
was no evidence that they had had
any effect on the enemy's resistance.
The Nazis had attempted to stop
the British drive by using their
tanks, drained of fuel, as fortresses,
but when the British renewed their
deadly assault yesterday morning
opposition cracked and the armor of
1t. Gen. K. A. N. Anderson swept
through to the south coast area with
but little difficulty
The tanks reached Soliman, 10
miles southeast of Hammam Lift, by
2 pm. swept on to Grombalia. S
miles to the south, by pm. and by
$50 o'clock last night were within
miles of Hammamet.
This peacetime resort town is
astride the coastal road on the south
side of Cap Bon. It's capture cut off
the remaining first line troops who
were fighting the British 6th Army
and the 10Th French Corps to the
south and west from the supply
units and communication personnel
Continued on Page Ais, Column u