Evening star., 1943-03-31
ta|ianRegiment
Wiped Out in
Northern Area
Eighth Army Presses
On From Gobes; U. S.
Forces BIust Nuzis
BULLETIN,

WITH THE BRITISH 1st
ARMY IN THE SEDJENANE
S TOR tR. - Moroccan
Goums operating with the
British 1st Army reached two
points six miles east and
southeast of Sedjenane today
in an Allied advance which
wiped out an Italian Bersa-
glieri regiment. The fighters
are Moroccan natives under
French volunteer officers.
"a French communique
broadcast by the Algiers radio
said French forces had ad-
vanced beyond Bou Mardos,
10 miles southeast of Ell Cue
tar, and were closing in on Ke-
bill, south of the Chott Djerid
salt marsh. The Germans were
declared repulsed in a violent
counterattack east of Pichon
in Central TuniSia.)
Py the Associated Press.
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
NORTH AFRICA, March 81
British 9th Army veterans, push
ing the forces of Marshal Erwin
Rommel relentlessly across an
open and barren plain under a
fiery air attack, have seized
Oudref, directly in the Gabes
Gap. the British 1st Army in the
North has captured Sedjenane,
and Americans in the center are
hammering Rommels escape
corridor" it was announced to-
day.
Capturing Metouia. 8 miles
north of Gabes, the 9th Army of
Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery.
swung on to Oudref, miles
farther along the road, and then
continued to drive northward with
nothing to halt the onrush but has
tily-erected defenses, Gen. Dwight
D. Eisenhower's headquarters said
British infantry and Moroccan
Goums of 1t. Gen. K. A. N Ander-
sons lst Army took Sedjenane, 40
miles southwest of Bizerte, after an
advance of about seven miles from
the Djebel Abiod area.
Meanwhile, the forces of 1t. Gen.
George S. Patton, jr., made slight
advance through dense minefields in
the Scared hills east of Ell Guetar.
Retaken in Attack from South.
Sedjenane. given up by the British
a few days ago during an offensive
by Col. Gen. Jurgen Won Arnim's
northern forces which carried them
about "a miles was retaken as the
1st Army opened an offensive and
attacked from the south. 1t is A
little railway station about II miles
from the coast. The attack was car
ried through in difficult conditions.
Medium bombers, fighter-bombers
and fighters were especially active
as the Allied air attack continued
at furious pace, smashing at La
Fouconniere Airfield, 80 miles north
west of Sfax. and Ell Maou Airdrome
W Vic IlOl vi VI oldf, INlCt ytSltl -
day, attacking many tanks, SilenCing
machine-gun posts and strafng
troops.
(The British and American
air forces in North Africa an
nounced yesterday that they
were adopting nonstop annihi-
lation tactics" against the en-
emy's troops and front line posi-
tions as soon as his defenses ap-
peared to be cracking, shifting
from their tactics of attacking
ports and supply facilities)
Light Douglas bombers with mixed
British and American crews escorted
by Spitfire and WarhaWk squadrons
carried out a number of these mis-
SionS.
Allied airmen shot down IL enemy
planes during the day, losing seven
of their own planes. Eleven of the
enemy planes were shot down by
Americans.
Air Forces Sweep Roads.
Western desert air forces from
Gen. Montgomerys sector swept the
roads between Sfax and Cekhira,
(See AFRICA, Page Aid