Evening star., 1943-04-21
British Occupy Enfidovi|Ie, Enemy's Anchor
In Tunisio, and RepuIse 4 Counteruttocks
CONTINUED From First Page }

On EnIlQdVllle from Cne SOuLn, WHICH
was opened at IL o'clock Monday
night with a mighty barrage from
hundreds of guns, the British Isl
Army moved forward slightly in the
Medjez-El-Bab sector west of Tunis
communique said.
The newest assaults, aimed al
E, ,collapsing the mountain rim held
1, by Marshal Erwin Romnel and Col
Gen. Jurgen Won Arnim, were
,meshed with the Northwest African
air forces heaviest bombardments
! of Axis airfields the campaign has
seen and by violent air battles in
which 27 enemy aircraft were shot
down yesterday
Plane Toll Rises to Isl.
| Along with other planes shot down
on previous days but not previously
reported here, this score brought to
Isl the total of enemy planes de-
stroyed in the last three days.
= "Enfidaville has been occupied and
all initial objectives captured after
fierce fighting" the communique
said. -Four enemy counterattacks
have been repulsed. Fighting con-
tinues."
While hundreds of Allied planes
ranged the skies, air reconnaissance
showed that Flying Fortress at
tacks on Palermo, Sicily, had caused
tremendous damage, with the harbor
blocked by the hulks of % ships,
sunk or damaged.
The sunken shipping consisted of
five merchant vessels, a destroyer,
another naval vessel and mine
layer, an official report said, while
damaged ships included seven mer-
chant ships, two escort vessels, a
tanker and repair ship. Inactive
shipping in the harbor included four
motor ferries, at least two of which
were severely damaged; three hopper
barges, two of which were damaged;
one submarine probably damaged
and one merchant vessel.
The communique said it had been
found that 10 more Axis planes were
destroyed on Sunday, the day huge
German air transport formations
were shot up, bringing that days
aerial losses of the enemy to SO
aircraft.
An authoritative spokesman said
the 9th Army's assault was meeting
with extremely vigorous opposi-
ton.
The fact that the Germans
launched four counterattacks with
great promptness" was taken as an
indication that Rommel was de-
Tending each foot of ground to the
maximum of his ability.
Bitter Fighting Reported.
Delayed dispatches from the front
said the British were still engaged in
bitter battle for Takrouna, miles
northwest of Enfidaville and about
8 miles inland.
Takrouna, As miles south of
Tunis, was encircled, these advices
said. but Gen. Montgomerys men
had to turn back German counter
attacks before continuing their
storming of Takrouna village itself.
The whole difficult operation.
drawing on Gen. Montgomery's ex-
perience as a specialist in night in
fantry attacks, was preceded by
flying visit of Gen. Sir Harold Alex
ander, Allied ground force COM
mander, and the 9th Army COM
mander to Gen. Dwight D. Eisen-
hower's headquarters the day before
the assault was launched.
The slight advance by the British
list Army was said by spokesmen to
have resulted in the capture of the
village of Smadia, about three miles
north of Medjez-El-Bab.
Describing the Allied air offensive,
an official statement said the full
weight of the Northwest African air
forces was turned against enemy air
fields in the northwest tip of Tunisia
1t was the heaviest and most sue
cessful blow yet struck against
enemy airpower in Tunisia"
Nazi Fighters in Action.
It was an attempt to knock Ger
man fighters completely out of Tu-
nisia. The German air force now
is operating almost all its bombers
from Sicily, leaving the Tunisian
fields to fighters, and if the Tunisian
fields could be made useless Rommel
would be left without fighter sup
port. Sicily is too far away, it was
believed, for German fighters to bat
tie over Tunisia.
For the first time in weeks. how
ever, the Germans sent up their
fighters in force to meet the Allied
by Flying Fortresses,
Bostons, Wellingtons.
Spitfires, Kittyhawks, Warhawks
and Lightnings.
The airfieids of Sidi Ahmed, near
Bizerte; La Marsa, northeast of
Tunis: La Sebala, north of Tunis;
Creteville and Soliman, southeast of
Tunis, and satellite landing strips
were hit in the great day and night
assault, with fires and explosions
noted and hits recorded on gun po-
sitions, slit trenches, runways and
dispersal areas.
Fighting Hurricanes also swept
over the Tunisian beaches, shooting
up JU-52 transports which had crash
landed from the battles earlier in
the week.
Two Trains Attacked.
Coastal air force Beaufighters on
intruder patrols over Sardinia shot
up two trains and attacked Sicilian
road conveys and industrial targets
at Porto Empedocle, in Sicily.
Discussing other damage at Paler-
mo, the official reconnaissance re-
port said the freight yards and
roundhouse had been damaged by 20
or more hits, double-track railway
bridge over the Oreto River hit in it's
center Spap fo,1r u,orebo,,cec hit opd