Current Events December 14, 1942: AFRICA CORPS RACE ACROSS LIBYA / HEAVY BOMBARDMENT CONTINUES IN THE SOLOMONS / NAZI THRUST TURNED BACK AT STALINGRAD:

         

ALLIES PURSUING ROMMEL

            The Bakersfield Californian

             BAKERSF1ELD, CALIFORNIA, MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1942

Africa Corps Races Across Libya

Under Attack By British Armies

LONDON', Dec. 14—(UP)---The foreign office and the French National

Committee announced jointly today that the civil administration

In Madagascar recently occupied by the British, would be surrendered

to General Charles de, Giaulle's fighting French.

LONDON, Dec. 14. (AP)—From east and west British and

American forces were dealing punishing blows upon the

axis in North Africa today, sending Marshal Erwin Rommel's

Africa Corps in retreat before the land army of General

Sir Bernard L. Montgomery in Libya, and pounding

Germany's Tunisian bases with a rising crescendo of air

power. An allied headquar-

ters communique from North

Africa said British and American

artillery yesterday routed

a German motorized column

northeast of Medjcz-El-Bab,

35 miles southeast of Tunis, while

American heavy and medium bombing

planes and twin-motored lighters

delivered a shattering series of attacks

on Tunis. Bizerte, Sousse and

Sfax. Marshal Rommel's retreating

forces, too, were under the

whiplash of unprecidented

attack from the air, which 300

fighters and fighter-bombers shuttled

over USR routed columns yesterday.

Four-motored bombers set

aflame large areas of the waterfronts

of Tunis and Bizerte. Two of

the main harbors in axis hands in

Tunisia, the allied command said.

Medium two-motored bombers attacked

Sf'ax and Sousse, and twin-motored

lightning fighter

targets in the southern fighting /one.

"The enemy is retreating westward,

relentlessly pursued by leading elements

of our forces. Brltlsh Middle

East headquarters announced

in Cairo after (General Sir

Bernard L. Montgomery's forces,

brilliantly supported by American

and K

R. A. F. airmen, blasted the

foe from his strong El Agheila position

on Sunday.

RAINS SLOW

OPERATIONS IN

PACIFIC AREA

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14,

---(AP)---American air forces

in the south Pacific were reported

by the navy today to

be continuing: their heavy

bombardment of the new Japanese

base on New Georgia

island n the central Solomons.

Navy communique No. 219:

"South Pacific: (All dates are

east longitude

"1. On December 13:

"(a) Ground action on Guadalalcanal

island was limited to routine

patrol activity.

"(b)) A lone enemy plane dropped

three bombs In the vicinity of our

air field.

“(c) United State planes continued

bombing attacks on the enemy

installations and airfield at Munda.

Russ Turn

Back New

Nazi Thrust

German Attempt to

Break South Arm of

Pincers Bogs Down

Moscow Dec. 14. (U.P)

Russian troops have

smashed a German attempt

to crack the southern arm of

the Soviet pincers encircling

axis forces in the Stalingrad

area, and have penetrated the

second enemy line of defense

in the city's southern outskirts,

front dispatches said today.

The midnight communique reported

that in the southern area the

Russians had broken through the

first line of German trenches and

were now fighting in the second

lines

In a further advance, the noon

communique reported, assault troops

captured about 150 Germans and

destroyed three field guns and four

machine guns.

Attacking strongly In the northern

factory districts, the Russians were

said to have dislodged the Germans

from 11 pill boxes and several fortified

buildings with the loss of 180

men, 1 field gun, 5 machine guns. 17

sub machine guns and other equipment.

Block Houses Hit