Evening star., 1943-01-20
Axis Penetrates
I Miles Near
Tunisian Town
American Bombers
Blast TripoIi
And Sousse
BY The Associated Press.

Axis forces advancing south
west Of Pont du FahS on the Tu-
nisian front have scored a pene-
tration of about seven miles. an
Allied headquarters communique
from North Africa said today.
The Pont du Fahs area. about
40 miles southwest of Tunis. has
been held largely by French forces.
The advance was made by a Ger
man tank column under Gen. Won
Arnim, known as tank expert.
Military quarters said they had
definite information he had sue
ceeded Gen. Walther Nehring as
Axis commander in Tunisia.
Raj Hurricanes and Spitfres op-
Grated in close support of the British
and French ground forces resisting
the tank push, sweeping down on a
column OF vehicles and between 300
and 400 marching men. Many direct
hits were seen on the road, an
Allied spokesman said.
The communique also reported
that minor engagements continue
in the Bou Arada- -Goubellat area
further north.
British 40 Miles From Tripoii.
Meanwhile, the British 9th Army
pursuing Field Marshal Erwin
Rommels retreating Axis army to-
ward Tunisia closed in on HONS
and Tarhuna, 56 and 40 miles, re-
spectively, from Tripoli, British
communique from Cairo" said.
American B-24 Liberators bombed
Trlpoli and the Tunisian port of
Sousse by daylight yesterday from
the east, a Cairo announcement
said.
The Allied North African head
quarters also reported that Flying
Fortresses yesterday attacked the
coastal area of Sousse, where hits
were made on industrial buildings
and railway yards
Besides the heavy bombers, United
States medium bombers and fighters
ranged over most of the Tunisian
front, from the capital area in the
north to points near the Tunisian-
Libyan border in the south.
Three B-25 Mitchell medium
bombers bombed targets at Mede-
nine in the far south, the commu-
nique said; P-38 Lightning fighters
attacked column of enemy vehicles
near the frontier destroying about
20 Of them, and Monday night Al
lied medium bombers attacked roads
and railways in the Tunis- -Sousse
area, destroying train and scoring
hits On motor transport.
Enemy Bomber Destroyed.
The communique reported one en-
emy bomber destroyed Monday and
concluded, from all these opera
tions two of our aircraft are miss
ing"
Reports to Cairo from the front
said the 8th Army had reached the
crest of the Jebel Nefusa, series
of ridges which form a wide defen-
sive ring around Tripoli.
A Cairo broadcast last night said
British vanguards we're only &c
llOIil 1llpoil
The 9th Army gathered prison
ers, guns and vehicles as it moved
forward.
The northern wing of Gen. Sir
Bernard Montgomerys forces. re-
ported at Zliten yesterday, moved
| forward yesterday nearly to HONS
along the coastal road.
The southern wing, travelling an
inland road, was on the approaches
to Tarhuna at about the same time
Axis Pounded From Air.
Allied air squadrons pounded
Rommel's troops.
The Berlin radio said today that
British parachutists were being
dropped behind Rommels lines tc
harass communications The Ger
man high command reported Axis
forces had captured important posi-
tions in Tunisia and taken more
| than 1000 prisoners, but the exact
location was not given.
An official French announcement
said German parachutists had beer
| AAcPPCu 1li HlSCl AdI
| near Algiers.
A spokesman for Gen. Henr
Giraud's French headquarters an.
nounced yesterday that a French
camel corps had captured Cat anc
Serdeles, 500 miles south of Tripod
and had wiped out all Axis occupa
tion in the Sahara Desert except
Gadames, which is now threatened
| from all sides.
Gadames is the Italian fort ir
Tripolitania just across the border
from the Fort ST. Anchor of the
Mareth fortified line in Tunisia.
For the last "a hours, the British
communique said, fighter-bomber,
and bombers have maintained g
continuous pressure on the column.
moving westwards from Tarhuna.
The fact that these Axis column:
were moving westward instead OF
northwestward, might indicate the
southern flank planned to by-pas.
/ Tripoli.