Evening star., 1943-04-07
Africa
Continued From First Page. !

| that sector were only % miles from
Rommel's coastal road.
! Rommel Losses Put at II Per Cent.
/ London quarters said the capture
| of 5000 more prisoners, along with
5000 seized in the Mareth Line bat
| tie 10 days ago. meant that ROM
mel had lost about II per cent of
! his 80000-man army, not counting
/; dead and wounded
| Rommel still had a force of per-
haps 10000 troops under Col Gen.
Jurgen von Arnim in the north
however, to bolster his hard-hit AZ
rika Korps.
The Allied air war kept pace with
the furious ground action, as British
and American planes unleashed
another of their powerful daily
offensives. sinking at least II ships,
battering the enemys forward posi-
tions, scorching airfields and ham,
mering at ports on both sides Of the
! Sicilian Straits.
Shooting down q planes, they
brought their two-day toll of enemy
aircraft to 10, compared with II for
the two days lost by the Allies.
Mr.. Churchill's announcement on
the break-through at Ell Akarit. 20
miles north of Gabes and 40 miles
north of the crumbled Mareth Lit
tie Maginot" Notifications, followed
an Allied communique late yesterday
revealing that the 9th Army had
launched major new push with
developing success.
L have reports from the high
command in Tunisia that a new
victory has been gained by the desert
army" Mr.. Churchill told the House
of Commons.
Counterattacks RepuIsed.
"All counterattacks were repulsed
and the advance of the British ar
NOR was taken by nightfall to open
country.
This successful frontal attack
should enable the desert army to join
hands with United States forces
which have been pressing the enemy
increasingly from the west
Asked if Gen. Montgomery's feat
had been achieved against the main
forces of Marshal Rommel, or mere
ly against Axis rear guards, Mr.
Churchill replied: ..ey.-.,,.sersy,,.
My statement covers the whole
position. The enemy retreat did not
begin until the assault was success
full"
The Wadi Ell Akarit line collapsed
within two hours after Gen. Mont
gomery's 9th Army launched its first
assault at $50 am. Yesterday. Il
laundering Bombardment.
The infantry charge was protected
by laundering bombardment of
hundreds of guns which opened at
o'clock in one of the heaviest blows
ever dealt by Allied artillery in the
African war.
The enemy held two hills, the
Djebel Tebaga Fatnassa and Djebel
Ell Roumana, about two miles apart
and inland from the coastal high
way. These were the only high
ground in the battle area and the
British rifemen attacked them
under a blazing counterfire.
BY 6 am. both hills were in
British hands Half an hour later
the enemy tried to retake them but
met a bloody repulse. BY $50 m.
all organized opposition in the area
had ceased
There was no official information
on how far the British had pro-
gressed after that. but the desert is
fiat for 30 miles to the north and
afforded little opportunity for Rom
mel to stop and give battle.
About 80 miles to the north his
route of retreat lay between the
little salt marsh, Chott Sebkret and
the sea
Praised by Montgomery.
Gen. Montgomery was said to
have commented: My troops fought
splendidly. The fighting was as
tough as anything we have en-
countered since Ell Alamein."
Allied patrols were active every
where along the front from the
British lst Armys sector In the
north to the central sectors of
Ousseltia and Fondouk
In striking their cf1ppling blows
at Axis supply lanes, Maj. Gen.
James H Doolittle's Flying For
tresses roared over Trapani. Sicily,
at midday yesterday and sank or
damaged at least 10 ships and
dropped string of bombs across a
MAGAZINE where fire spurteH I'm
The railway station and the bar
racks also were knocked about and
three enemy planes were shot down
Another wave of fortresses at
tackled a convoy setting one large
ship to blazing and scoring a near
miss on a destroyer
In a half-hour battle with 80