Evening star., 1943-03-01
Allies Are Said to Be
Pressing On in
Central Sector
d! tie Associated Press.


the northern sectors of the Tu-
nisian front, have battered their
way a short distance into Allied
lines northwest of Medjez-El-
Bah in an effort to flank that AL
lied forward base, Allied head
quarters dispatches reported to-
day.
In the central sectors. however
American and British forces were
reported moving forward both to
the south and the northeast from
recaptured Kasserine Gap after
their recovery of the initiative in
that sector with the smashing OF
Marshal Erwin Rommel's offensive
Ihe Allied advance to the northeast
1t was announced officially, was pro-
ceeding without meeting oposition
A Reuters dispatch said American
engineers, clearing away dense mine
fields which the Germans had
planted to protect their retreat be-
low Kasserine, had entered Feriana
IL miles from the Algerian border
and 40 miles northwest of Gafsa.
Three Miles Beyond Sidi Nsia.
Allied headquarters dispatches said
the Germans in North Tunisia had
hammered a path slowly to three
miles beyond Sidi Nsir, only 13
miles northeast of the road junction
of Beja and 40 miles west of Tunis.
This represented only a slight gain
L., tho fooo Nf cfuhhor,, o,,pocitio,, 1,x,
the British 1st Army and terrific
Allied air assault which was said to
have left bloody chaos" in Axis
ranks.
This gain was reported after an
Allied communique had announced
that the continuing Axis attacks at
half dozen points along 65-mile
front in the north had been turned
back yesterday. The communique
said, however, that particularly
strong assault had been made on the
road toward Beja, in an obvious ef-
fort to flank Medjez-el-Bab, the nat
ural springboard for an eventual
Allied offensive against Tunis and
Bizerte.
Vehicles Are Attacked.
Spitfire and Hurricane pilots re-
ported scores of hits on six-wheeled
and other armored vehicles and two
waves of Flying Fortresses made one
Of their heaviest raids on Cagliari in
Sardinia where they reported hits
on four ships, docks, warehouses and
railroad yards. The Italians admit
ted 200 persons were killed in the
raid on Cagliari.
The occupation of Feriana, from
which the Germans once had threat
ened the American base of Tebessa
in Algeria, meant the Allies had pro-
gressed about 18 miles since taking
Kasserine, at the eastern end Of the
strategic mountain gap recaptured
late last week after American and
British infantry, artillery and ar
Erwin Rommel's bid for the inti-
ative
Move on Toward Sbeitla.
Driving northeast from the Kas-
serine Gap, Allied patrols moved on
toward Sbeitla. the Allied headquar-
tiers communique said. It did not
mention the occupation of Feriana.
Although the Germans continued
to throw tanks and infantry into
their northern attacks, possibly with
the idea of keeping the British oc-
cupied so they could not contribute
to the Axis defeat farther south,
the communique said these attacks
were on reduced scale and were
all thrown back with heavy losses in
enemy tanks and men.
The communique made no men,
ton of Axis gains which were re-
ported in dispatches.
Many Held in North.
The British 1st Army, grouped to
contain Gen. Jurgen Won Arnim's
forces in the area of Tunis and
Bizerte, was successful in holding
the enemy in every instance" an
Allied communique announced yes
terday.
In the course of the fighting
heavy casualties in men and mate
rials were inflicted on the enemy"
the communique said.
And as in the central sector, the
full air power Of the Allies had been
swung into commensurate. Amer
lean and British heavy. medium and
light bombers and fighter bombers
crashed their full loads of bombs
into columns of tanks and troops
and British squadron leader said
there must be bloody chaos over
there"
Meanwhile, the British 9th Army
was reported in contact with the
Axis forces just south of Mareth
in the Mareth defenses of South
ern Tunisia.
Mareth is rs miles inside Tunisia
and only about 43 miles from the
Axis supply port of Gabes where
the passable terrain narrows to
q 2O-mile bottleneck between the
coast and the salt lake of Chott
Djerid.
Air activity continued heavy in
this sector, with an Allied bomber
raid on Gabes and attacks on land
ing fields by fighter bombers
Eleven Axis planes were destroyed
In the course of this activity, at a
cost Of two Allied planes.
French troops operating on the
Cape Serrat area took $50 prisoners
and considerable war materials. and
shared another $50 AXIS prisoners in
the Medjez- Bah sector, French
communique said.
On the Ousseltia plain. some &C
miles west Of the Axis-held port OF
Sousse the communioue reported
several sharp engagements. all to
our advantage" and said the French
forces had "annihilated many enemy
patrols