The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-04-13
ROmmel Expected to Make
Next Stand at En-.
fidaviIle
100000 GERMAN AND
ITALIAN TROOPS READY
Naples, COsenza Bombed |;
Fighting Light Last "a
Hours
BY VIRGIL PINKLEY

bt VhNOtL HhNhkEE
UNITED Press Staff Correspondence
Allied Headquarters, North
Africa, April Is. - (UPl -
The Allies 18th Army group
gained new ground today
squeezing the Axis deeper In
to the coffin corner Of north
east TuniSia, hammering tha
enemy front and rear In
steady aerial attacks and
boosting the total Of prls-
oners taken TO more than SS,l5B.
Tho British First and Fights
Army Spearheads pushed up the
coastal road from Sousse to En~
fldaville. where Nazi Marshal IRE
win Rommel Is expected to mike
his mex. stand. The French pressed
eastward In the Ousseltia sector and
British advances also were repogte9
Ia the northernmost Medjez III Ban
sector
(Radio Algiers reported the Brsta
ish has reached the enemy defensca
ut Eniidavllle, where London OBJ
serves estimated Romnel was pre-
pairing TO anchor q defense line
behind which he has probably S-0.a
600 German and italian troops
Cairo disclosed that American LIZ
berator bomhers made hard-hlttln@
daylight attacks Sunday and M0n~
day on the big italian port Of Naples
shooting down three enemy planes
and probably destroying i've others.
Cosonza, Crotone Pizzo also were
attacked.
Compilation OF official fisures
showed that Allied forces In Tlinisia
since November %, when Tunisia
was invaded, had taken az least
SS,l56 prisoners, In addition, many
hundreds OF other prisoners still
were uncounted.
The Americans were estimated h
have taken more than 5000 Of the
total number.
Lull In Fighting
Although there was O compares
tive lull In hard fighting In The
last "a hours, reports from the frone
showed that the enemy had been
hard hit In his retirement 70
the Northeast Tunisia bridgehead.
Scores OF Axis tanks, vehicles and
planes were listed as destroyed ae
Allied troops checked up on results
Of recent fighting.
For the moment, RommeIs re-
treat had virtually removed the. war
from the main sectors occupied BY
American troops. United States ems
gineers were hard at work restor-
ing roads and bridges.
The bulk OF Marshal Erwin Rolll~
mel's battered German and Italian
armies were digging In for last
stand In the rocky hills, deep gorgek
and narrow passes OF the Cartha@
ginian promotory guarding the ap~
proaches to Tunis and Bizerete Ii
the coffin corner OF Tunlsia.
Gen. Dwight d. Eisenhower'a
daily communique said that patrolA
from the first and Eighth Armies
were pushing northward from sous
sc between the coast and the hills
but gave no indication Of how Gloss
they were to Enfidaville, Is miles
north OF Sousse and the eastern
anchor OF the new Axis line.
il was possible that R0InTuei ieta
rear guards to fight another de.
laying stand In the eight-nllla
coastal corridor bounded on tho
west by the Salt Lakes Sebkret Nall
FL Mcneil and Sebkra Kelbia II
TO IA miles north OF Sousse.
However, French forces advance
ing through the hills east of tllo
Ousseltia plain, west Of Sousse, cas-
lily can flank the Lakes position
and thus the rear guard stand APP
peared doomed to early failure.
A British column driving north
from Kairouan also was threatens
ing to flank the Sale Lakes from the
west. AT last reports, this colllmm
was Is miles above Kairouan, which
was captured Sunday.
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