Issued F ree to the Fighting F orces
No. 46 Vol. 4 March 15, 1943
AVENGED BROTHER
AT MARETH LINE
A week after his brother was killed by a
German mine, Lieutenant John Grant, (28),
5 Louisville Avenue, Aberdeen, carrier of
ficer, took his revenge.
W ith his carrier platoon he repulsed the
first attack made by the Germans since
Alamein, and left over fifty enemy dead on
the ground.
John Grant’s brother, W illiam, was also
an officer. He took out a patrol near the
Mareth Line. On the way back they ran
into an enemy mine-field, and he was kill
ed by an A. P. mine. A corporal, though
wounded himself, took the compass from
his officer and led the patrol home.
- “I was just waiting my chance to get my
own back," John Grant told an observer,
“You can well understand how I felt, when
I learned how my young brother had met
his death.”
"HAD A BELLYFUL"
“I went out yesterday with a carrier pat
rol to form a screen, for a Rommel counter
attack was thought likely. About four
o'clock we could see about 200 men advan
cing — both Itis and Germans, I think.
“T hey hadn't much cover and were sup
ported by mortar fire, but not by artillery.
W e waited till they were within 500 yards
and then opened up with our brens. W e
mowed them down. At least fifty of them
fell, and didn’t get up again. The rest made
for the north, where they got it again from
other carriers.
“I was hoping there would be more of
them. But they had had a bellyful, and went
back. It helped me a lot, but there is still
more to be done !”
There were no casualties whatever
amongst our carricr screen...
"ROUND THE CLOCK"
The long predicted “round the clock'
bombing of Germany is well under way.
“Allied air superiority,’’ says the “New
York Tim es,” is now so great that a daily
schedule of raids may be expected — Amer
ican raids by daylight and British raids by
night. It will be a test not only for G er
many but for us. The British believe that
night bombing with heavy loads of explo
sives scattered over a wide area over a
mass objective is the most damaging yet
developed. W e have equal faith in our high
altitude precision bombing by daylight.'
B om b dam age to T ripoli. O ne o f the bom bs lan ded on the beach and blew a hole in the
sea wait, causing the ro a d an d pavem en t to sink. In background a re w recked en em y ships.
REVIEW FO R THE BLUE
Rommel Attempts An Advance East
Japs Suffer Heavy Blow in Pacific
W e d never have thought it, but these pictures' p ro v e that the C orps o f M ilitary P olice
d o possess a sense o f humour !
After his “brilliant advance westward” (according to Gobbels) from Ala
mein to Tunisia, Rommel made an abortive attempt to advance in the opposite
direction by a full scale effort to break out from the Mareth Line.
Before the Germans retired to the
ihills of Medenine their losses were
stated from London to be 45 tanks,
4,000 men and hundreds of prisoners.
The overwhelming defeat of a Japanese
convoy of 22 ships in the Huon Gulf has
tipped the balance of sea power in the Paci
fic considerably in favour of the Allies.
E very ship in the convoy was a total write
off for the Japs and 109 of the covering
planes were brought crashing into the sea.
In his communique, General MacArthur
said : “Our decisive success cannot fail to
have the most important results on the
enemy's strategic and tactical plans. His
campaign, for the time being, at least, is
completely dislocated.
W hen the Russians struck toward Rzhev
last autumn, Hitler told his commanders
that its loss would .be “equal to the loss of
half Berlin." On March 3, the Red Army
captured the town after heavy fighting. In
the north, Timoshenko pierced the German
line stretching between Lakes Ilmen and
Seligor, occupied Demyansfc, sweeping on
toward Staraya Russa, 50 miles north-west.
Tw o hundred wounded men of Eighth
Army have arrived in Britain. Sir Janies
Grigg, W a r Secretary, announced in the
House of Commons that at present shipp
ing operational needs prevented the intro
duction of any extensive scheme for home
leave for overseas troops.
It is announced from London that British
infantry units are to have their own mobile
armour penetrating guns to deal with enemy
armoured fighting vehicles. This departure,
it is stated, follows the successful exper
iment in the Middle East where infantry
men have for some time been given gun
nery instruction. The new gun, a six-poun
der, is described as having all the essentials
for anti-tank work.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has
revealed that the war is now costing
Britain £14,000,000 a day. O f each
pound, 4s. comes from ordinary taxes
and death duties, 3s. from customs and
liquor taxes, 2s. from other taxes, Is.
from various sources of revenue and the
remaining 10s. is borrowed from the na
tion in the form of war savings.
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