Daily Post - 02.10.1943, Síða 1

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Oermans Evacuate Kaples Nazis Throw Reserves Into
After Savage Destrnction Fight For Dniepr Line
London, Oct. lst.
In Italy, the city of Naples is now in Allied hands, being
evacuated by the Germans after a sharp rearguard action as
Allied armour entered the city this morning.
The news of this success was
given out by General Eisen-
hower’s HQ three weeks after
the Allied landing at Salerno,
and was confirmed by Presi-
dent Roosevelt at a Press con-
ference to-day, when he stated
that Naples was now entirely
free of Germans.
Naples is by far the great-
est city in Southern Italy and
one of the largest ports in the
Mediterranean, ten million
tons of shipping passing in and
out a year in pre-war times.
The main body of the German
garrison moved northwards
from the city, covered by rear-
guard mortar and gun fire,
leaving Naples,—which has
been described by some as the
most beautiful city in the
world,—a mass of blazing
ruins, after having excelled all
previous records of demolition,
putting out of action such pu-
blic services as water, sewage
and electricity and blowing up
the port installations, besides
the wanton destruction of
many historical places.
Enemy controlled radios
have to-day been busy explain-
ing the fall of the city as a
mere shortening of the German
lines, similar to that now being
carried out on the Eastern
Front.
The German retreat is not
confined to the Naples area, for
the right flank of the Fifth
Army has captured Avellino,
some 30 miles north-east of
Naples. The capture of this im-
portant road and railway junc-
tion brings the Allies close to
the Voltano river, along which
fhe Germans are expected to
make their next stand.
The President also spoke of
New Badogllo
Governmeot
It was announced from Gen-
eral Eisenhower’s HQ this
morning that a new Italian
government under King Victor
Emaunel had been formed.
This had followed a confer-
ence aboard the British battle-
ship “Nelson” between Gener-
al Eisenhower, Marshal Bado-
glio and other high officials.
Marshal Badoglio is head of the
new government. The confer-
ence was mainly concerned
with how to make the most ef-
fective use of Italy’s possible '
war effort against the Ger-
mans.
New York messages report
that Count Carlo Sforza, form-
er Italian Foreign Minister, de-
clared, when interviewed on í
this new developement, that
under no circumstances would
he consider becoming a member
of the new Italian government.
Always a staunch anti-Fascist,
he felt convinced that he would
lose the confidence of and his
influence with millions of Ita-
lians if he had any truck with
those who had always com-
promised with the Fascists.
the present state of affairs in
Rome, declaring that the Vati-
can was virtually surrounded
and said he only hoped that
mounments, shrines and histor-
ical buildings would escape de-
struction.
London, Oct. lst.
On the Eastern Front the Germans are making tremendous
efforts to save the key towns of White Russia, and are advancing
fresh reserves in their effort to hold the Dniepr line.
Moscow messages to-day re- *
port fierce fíghting on the
whole Central front, where the
Germans are temporarily hold-
ing firm in their desperate ef-
fort to keep Vitebsk, Orsha,
Mogilev and Gomel, the four
bastions protecting the heart of
White Russia.
The greatest Russian gains
yesterday were between Orsha
and Gomel, where the Red
Army ironed out a German
salient, and captured a con-
siderable amount of war mat-
erial. Soviet forces were last
night reported at the gates of
Gomel, and at no point are the
Russians more than 30 miles
from any of those four cities.
The Nazis are now throwing
in jealously guarded tank and
infantry reserves, but neverthe-
less t.heir position is extremely
critical. The Swedish news-
paper “Nya Dagligt Allehanda”
this morning reports that Hit-
ler has just paid a visit to the
southern Central front and to
Fieldmarshal von Mannstein,
commanding the Ukraine front,
exhorting his Nazis to stand
fast where they are now, and
make the Dniepr line the Ger-
man winter front. Moscow cor-
respondents, however, report
that public opinion in the Rus-
sian capital does not believe
that the Nazis will be able to
fight the Red Army to a stand-
still on the western bank of the
Dniepr.
In the Kiev area the Russians
are strengthening their bridge-
heads, but from the southern
reaches of the Dniepr bend
there is little news to-day. The
Red Army has here a very
tough supply problem to con-
tend with, after having rolled
the Germans back for hundreds
New Guinea
And Bnrma
To-day’s communique from
General MacArthur’s HQ an-
nounces the capture by Aust-
ralian troops of the last Jap-
anese held high ground at
Finschaven, and reports that
Allied forces from north, south
and west are pressing into the
town. One Australian column
by-passed a Japanese post, and
completed the encirclement of
Finsehaven. Yesterday, three
Japanese eounter-attacks west
of the town were beaten back
with heavy losses to the enemy.
* * *
In Burma, U.S. Mitchells
have made widespread sweeps
over the enemy area, bombing
and shooting up barracks, rail-
way stock and tracks and Ja-
panese held ports. All the
planes returned safely. Beau-
fighters simultaneously blitzed
enemy shipþing on the Irra-
waddy, sinking an oil tanker
and three barges.
NEW LIFE BELT
Engineers of a U. S. firm
have designed a new inflatable
life belt, which will keep the
heaviest sailor or soldier afloat
indefinitely. Two small bullets
of compressed liquid carbon di-
oxide inflate the helt. Wlien
released hy a squeeze of a val-
ve lever, the linsuid expands to
450 times its stored volume —
enough to fill two balloons 8
inches in diameter.
of miles along the shore of the
Sea of Azov, all the way from
the Caucasus.