Daily Post - 10.12.1943, Blaðsíða 1

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242
Friday, Dec. 10, 1943
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Fifth Hrmy Tigbtensl Grip
on Rome Road
..♦.. I" ■
Germans Throw in Crack Alpine
Reserve Regiments
In Italy, the Allied Fifth Army now commands all the main
positions on Mount Camino and Mount Maggiore, but the Ger-
mans are still counter-attacking in places. On the Fifth Army
front the weather is hampering operations, but heavy fighting
is still reported in the outskirts of Orsogna.
With British and American
troops masters of all the im-
portant positions in the vital
Mount Camino-Mount Maggi-
ore sector, Allied troops now
command a stretch of the main
road to Rome betwen Mignano
and Casino.
A dispatch from Robert
Dunit, BBC reporter at Allied
Headqarters, says that the Ger-
mans are still clinging tena-
ciously to some of the lower
slopes on the fringe of hills
west of the road, but Allied
troops are now sp firmly esta-
blished that the enemy’s coun-
ter-attacks may rather be called
delaying actions than a deter-
mined attempt to regain lost
ground.
British troops, according to to-
day’s Allied communique, have
now captured Mount Croce,
some three miles beyond Cala-
brito, which Allied troops cap-
tured about a month ago. In
the heavy fighting of the last
three days, this village has
changed hands several times,
but latest front line dispatches
say that the Germans 'have now
been decisively driven out, and
that Allied troops are pushing
on towards the Garigliano.
Although the wedge thus
driven into the German defen-
ces gives Fifth Army troops
control of this stretch of road,
the Germans are still in posi-
tion of the main height beyond
Mignano. American troops are
now storming the enemy’s con-
crete pill boxes, which guard
ihis positions, and in spite of
German artillery activity they
are being reduced one by one.
Although the weather on the
Fifth Army front has cleared,
and the floods are going down,
conditions are still bad in the
east coast sector, where Mont-
gomery’s men are attack-
ing on a 15 mile front.
There is still fierce fight-
ing in the outskirts of
Orsogne, and there is no sign of
any slackening on either side.
Correspondents of the Eighth
say that heavy and constant
pressure is being maintained
against the Germans, who are
entrenched in strength, and
have the support of armour.
A late Allied disspatch says
that among the latest prisoners
to be taken in Central Italy,
some are of a famous German
Alpine regimerit, /the first sign
(that the enemy has brought
these specially trained troops
into the front line.
The main Alied air activity
has been directed against the
enemy’s front line positions,
and German comunications well
behind the battle area. These
include a raid on the viaduct
at Spoleto, north of Terni, 50
miles north of Rome, and aga-
inst points on the Rome, and
against points on the Rome-
Florence road. The docks at
Civita Vecc'hia were also hit, as
well as four railway bridges on
tlie west coast road. Long range
attacks were made by Flying
Fortresses and Liberators,
which attacked two airfields
near Athens in Greece. They
U. S. Attack
Smoke erupts from a direct hit
on a Japanese cargo ship in the
forground during an attack by
(J. S. bombers on enemy shipp-
ing in the Hansa Bay area of
New Guinea. In the bacground,
geysers mark explosions from
bombs dropped near other Jap-
anese vessels at anchor in the
Southwest Pacific harbor
illicd iirforees
ðverwiielm Japs
Enemy Sound y Brubbeá in
Marshall Battle
General MacArthur’s com-
munique disclosed today that
Allied air strength exacted sucli
a costly toll froin enemy shipp-
ing that the Japanese have con-
structed primitive log rafts.
Our light naval forces surpris-
ed a Japanese convoy and de-
stroyed eight of the log rafts
started many fires among air-
craft parked on the ground.
It has been announced that
casualties among British forces
in Italy from September 3rd.
to November 23rd total 16,074.
' Of these 3,212 were killed,
9,709 wounded, and 3,153 are
missing.
which were heavily laden with
supplies. ^
A Japanese coastal ship, at-
tempting to run a load of gas-
oline to Dutch New Guinea
was blown up by Allied heavy
bombers. In Sekar Bay, a 1500-
ton cargo ship was crippled.
General MacArthur and
Lord Louis Mountbatten are to
exchange information in the
future so that their blows at
Japan may be co-ordinated
closely, it was revealed in a
dispatch from Cairo today.
Arrangements for the inter-
change of information were
made an Anglo-American staff
conference.
Heavy fighting is reported in
the Arakan area of Burma.
Australian troops, battling
for the Japanese held New
Guinea base of Wareio, have
stormed a height on the out-
skirts of the town. Other co-
lumns are threatening Kaligia,
a town on the supply trail to
Wareio,and vital to the Japa-
nese garrison there.
The main Allied air blows in
ijhe South-West Pacific, have
once more been directed aga-
inst Cape Gloucester, on which
Liberators and Mitchells
dropped 200 _ tons of bombs,
bringing the total weight to 700
tons dropped in the last five
days.
United States troops on
Bougainville Island are report-
ed to have enlarged their
bridgehead at lEmpress Au-
gusta Bay.
❖ *-:< *
The shipping and aircraft
losses suffered by the Japanese
as a result of the recent attack
by American task forces aga-
inst the Marshall Islands in the
Mid Pacific, have now been re-
vealed.
The Japanése lost six ships
sunk, two of which were light
cruisers, one a tanker, and
three transports. Four other
enemy ships were damaged.
Enemy aircraft loses amounted
to 72 machines.
It is officialy stated that
American aircraft were light,
and only one American vessel
suffered minor damage.
I