Show UNIS rUNIS L. L TAKEN TAKE Africa Beach Stand Looms Looms' for Axis i Forces Isolated Heavy eavy Allied Air Support Wreaks Havoc Among Axis Columns Headed For Final Stand in Cap Bon Hills ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN NORTH AFRICA May 7 I 7 INS Allied INS Allied tr troops ops Friday captured capture the enemy nemy bastions of Tunis and allied headquarters announced Tunis was captured at 4 p. p m. m 10 a. a m. m ewt the official official cial announcement stated The city fell feU after four lour h hours urs of heavy street fighting it was indicated since allied fo forces ces first entered th city at noon ALLIED HEADQUARTERS North Africa May lay 7 UP UP- UP Delayed reports revealed that allied planes dropped pounds of bombs on axis targets Thursday sank 25 ships hips and destroyed 25 planes in the biggest day of aerial activity during the north African campaign By y Virgil Pinkley ALLIED HEADQUARTERS North Africa May 7 UP UP- UP American forces smashed into the outskirts outskirts' of and the British First army captured the suburbs of Tunis Friday in lightning lightning lightning light light- ning thrusts that pinned the axis back against the beaches of Tunisia Despite fierce German resistance the end of scale big fighting fighting fighting fight fight- ing in north Africa appeared imminent A tremendous weight af of allied air and land power converged on the beaten enemy who was being driven back toward a Dunkerque on the beaches beacheS' Americans Seize Ferryville on Drive to The Second Second U. U S. S corps in the north seized Ferryville an important part of the naval base installations and battled battled bat bat- tied forward nine miles mil s to the suburbs of the city of itself British First army tanks crashed a a dozen n miles iles across the rolling loning roiling plains plains to seize the town of Le Bardo site of the palace the of-the Bey only a smile and a half from th the h capital capita and the race track only four miles from the he heart rt of of city i Y l Heavy fighting lighting raged in the outskirts of Tunis early Friday afternoon I bri i Overhead a mighty allied l i d air armada again gave th the gro offensive powerful support blasting a path through the remnants remnants remnants rem rem- nants of axis armored units and spreading death and nd destruction destruction tion Lion among clogged enemy transport columns which apparently were trying to fall back for a fL last stand in the h hills ll of Cap Bon east of Tunis Axis Front Cut in Two and Enemy Drops Back The town of Ferryville on the southwest of corner of Lake LakeI I fell to an American armored reconnaissance unit at 1255 p. p m. m Friday The Americans immediately swung on to which also was under attack by Americans and French from the coastal sector north of Lake The outskirts of the town were penetrated and cra a short time later The axis front in Tunisia was cut jn n n two with isolated isolated isolated iso iso- from Tunis Enemy transport columns were falling back before allied infantry and were being pounded furiously from the air Many prisoners were taken by bythe bythe bythe the allied forces as they seized the racetrack at t Tun Tunis Tunis only s only four miles from the heart of the city city city- I cut up isolated enemy rear-guards rear and pinned the remnants of a once- once powerful axis army back against the beaches of Tunis and The victory c came just one day less than six months after the Americans Americans Ameri Amen cans and Br British Brish iSh invaded north Africa NJ The British First army tank advance advance advance ad ad- vance started after a. a m. m Friday Friday Friday Fri Fri- day on the heights near St. St Cyprien Cy- Cy prien 10 miles from Tunis unis and carried to the capital outskirts by noon Instructed by General Sir Harold Hanold Harold Har Han old Alexander in an order of the day day to to drive the enemy enemy axis axis forces into the se sea allied infantry artillery artil artil- lery armor and air forces united in out all-out blows that collapsed the main nain axis axis' hill The Americans and French In Inthe Inthe inthe the north captured another 1000 prisoners took four Important hill bill features hammered at the road Junction to Ferryville after mopping mopping mopping mop mop- ping up a end bitter-end German garrison garrison garrison gar gar- rison on a near-by near hill hilt They also seized south of Lake and cleared the hills southwest of the vital pass only six abc miles northwest of which is now threatened threat threat- coed ened from three sides The fall of appeared imminent The British First army had pushed an overwhelming weight of armor through the captured town on Page pae Six Column On Oce Y Yanks anks Smash Smash Into Bi Outskirts As British Reach Tunis Suburbs Continued from P Page o One Oae f of t on the central plains plain and surged on eastward toward St St. Cyprien to within easy artillery range of ot Tunis which was no noI I longer i ger protected by any form form- dable natural barrier moth th Americans and British were closing In on the Junction of from which the enemy apparently was withdrawing Alexanders Alexander's orders were for all- all V out that would give the enemy n nemy my no opportunity to catch his bre breath tl and drive him back to a a. 1 t D Dunkerque on the Mediterranean H V beaches F We have reached the final phase he told the army V V fro group P. P The worlds world's eyes are on oni i you yat Forward to victory c Alexander's Alexanders order of the day left no doub doubt that the Germans were we're were ber being smashed back to the Tunis beaches encircled and cut up and that the enemy front might soon I be split by the isolation of American troops were hamm hammering I J wedges into the enemy lines south Blithe naval base in an effort to communications but the axis I one road from B rte to Tunis We have got them just where e want them with them with their backs a the wall Alexanders Alexander's order This final battle will be bet fierce fierce t r e but you will win the whole of north Africa The enemy suffered tremendous losses on land w vile le allied planes ranging northward as far as Italy sank a a. destroyer and 11 small ships destroyed 40 enemy planes and hit a a. second destroyer as well as many other vessels The concentrated concentrated concentrated con con- aerial attacks stopped virtually all enemy reinforcements and supplies to Tunisia American infantry and armor was smashing the enemy defenses of into small isolated areas as the British fanned out cut on the plain before Tunis from heights only two or three miles west of St. St Cyprien The American and FIen French h columns columns columns col col- on the north coast pushed forward over easier ground on the north side of Lake Lak and dug dugIn In within less than nine miles grilles of the big naval base South of Lake they were thrusting close cloe cloeo to o the outskirts of Ferryville Traps Threatened Still farther south in sweeps against the enemy lines lines' southeast of they were reported threatening to trap enemy rearguard rearguard rear rear- guard units in the Teb urba hills hillsand hillsand and ind had thrown out a spearhead I toward which lies east of and only 13 miles from rom Tunis The German acknowledged acknowledged ac- ac that s superior allied infantry tank and air formations had achieved a a. deep penetration in Tunisia The Italian n que said that Reggio De Calabria Trap nt Marsala and the island of f Favignana had been bombed by allied motored four-motored planes Many axis prisoners prisoner were taken but no po count had yet been made and mopping up operations still were in progress at many points The Americans striking southeast south- south southeast east ast from cleared the hills hUls four our miles south of despite despite de- de spite pite strong resistance They pressed on toward Front Trent dispatches said the enemy withdrawals were mostly in the direction of Tunis indicating the Germans planned to make a stand standon on n Cap Bon peninsula east of Tunis For more than 36 hours the allIed Hied offensive had hadeen been een gaining momentum and the axis appeared to be too badly beaten eaten to hold m much ch hope of stopp stopping stopping stop stop- ping p ng it short of Cap Bon t The main attack on Thursday was on a mile 10 front where th the British First army broke through h the last mountain barriers east o of El Bab EI-Bab EI and fl flooded oded out o othe othe on the rolling plain pushing beyond in a sudden lightning thrust Infantry Cheers The break break through through was mad made possible by an all out all allied aerial aeria assault that sometimes brought brough infantry leaping out of foxholes foxhole es esto to cheer and shout at the bombers bomber sweeping cl close e together over th the e enemy positions and unloading unloading- ml mighty cargoes cargoes cargoes' that shook th the hills For nine consecutive hours on Thursday there were four planes plane over the through break-through sector every minute something never neve before seen in warfare of this nature The aerial offensive made possible possible possible pos pos- I sible by the brilliant work of Britain's Britain's Britain's Brit Brit- ains ain's Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Arthur Arthur Ar Ar- thur W W. Tedder and his American deputy Lieutenant General Carl Car A. A Spaatz was followed by a drive to the Tunis plain which captured four miles southwest southwest southwest south south- west of Other infantry followed through clearing the way for British armor while British artillery on c captured Bou hammered back all enemy efforts to reorganize reorganize reorganize for a counter attack Then the tanks roared through They raced down own the slopes anc and were at last on the Tunis plain plain plain- and ahead of them were what was left of the German armor Tank Remnants Thirty five axis tanks were grouped on the south side of the them m main in road to Tunis North of the road were 25 others They were a pitiful remnant of what was once Marshal Erwin Rommel's hard hard- hitting panzers in the Afrika Korps The British armor attacked im im- mediately There was sharp fighting as the Germans fell back after suffering serious losses Preliminary reports said at least six enemy tanks were destro destroyed destroyed de de- ed but it was believed the final toll would be larger |