Sunday Post - 17.10.1943, Side 1

V
ICELAND’S ONLY
AMERICAN DAILY
'ON SALE 8 A.M. EVERY DAY
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IV
203
Sunday, Oct. 17, 1943
Price 50 aurar.
Important Junctions
Captured in Italy
London, Oct. 16th.
On the Italian front both Allied armies are making good
progress. Campobasso, an important communication center, has
fallen to the Eighth Army, as has also Vinchiatura, the key road
junction which lies astride the Rome-Foggia railway.
Russians Inflict Heavy
Losses on Nazis
London, Oct. 16th.
Moscow messages today report that the greatest battles on
the Eastern Front are now raging in the Kiev sector, where the
Russians have breached the enemy’s outer defences, while other
Soviet forces are developing their great outflanking moves to
the north and the south of the city.
Allied messages today report
that the Fifth Army is making
steady progress all along the
line in face of strong resistance.
General Clark’s troops have
captured Caiazzo, nine miles
north-east, and Amarosi, 15
miles north-east of Capua. The
latter stands at the junction of
the Volturno and Calore rivers.
The advance into the diffi-
cult hill country north-east of
Capua is apparently steady but
not rapid, as the Germans have
left a large number of demoli-
tions in their wake. Reports
say that the right flank of the
Fifth has reached and taken
the town of Cerretochenista,
eight miles north-east of Ama-
rosi.
The capture of Vinchiatura
and Campobasso by the Eighth,
gives Montgomery’s men a
better position for pressing
their advance north and west
against the German Volturno
line.
Late front line dispaches
state that the direct frontal
pressure and the threat to
their flank, is already causing
the enemy to disengage their
forces in the central sector.
Enemy fighters have been
more in evidence than ever be-
fore during the Italian eam-
pagin. The Nazis are directing
their attacks mainly against
Allied bridges and crossing
points, but the raids are cost-
ing the enemy dear. Out of
about one dozen of their air-
craft which tried to destroy a
particularly vital bridge, seven
were shot down by anti aircraft
gunners, and the bridge was
not touched. Half a dozen Ger-
man aircraft were shot down
elsewhere yesterday.
Although German anti air-
craft activity has increased, it
can not compete with the Al-
lies’ air strength, but the fact
that the enemy is prepared to
throw in aircraft in some
strength, shows Hitler’s anxiety
to stop the Allied advance on
the Southern Front.
Jap Resistance
Stiffening
London, Oct. 16th.
In New Guinea, fierce fight-
ing is reported in the Finis-
terre Mountains, which run
parallel to the coast, about 40
miles inland.
The Allies have come up
against very stiff Japanese re-
sistance in their advance on
Madang, and the enemy is tak-
ing ful advantage of the diffi-
cult mountain region to fight
delaying actions.
The Allies air force has at-
tacked objectives on Timor for
the second day running, and
continues to carry out wide-
spread raids on enemy bases in
the New Britain, New Ireland
and Bougainville islands.
Continued Patriot
Successes
The HQ of the Yugoslav
Army of Liberation today an-
nounces the capture of several
important towns in Yugoslavia,
among them Andreavitch, in
Montenegro.-
Heavy fighting is reported
at Adenitze, in Bosnia, and at
Banjaluka, 90 miles south-east
The Russians are steadily
converging on Kiev from those
two directions. The Soviet
bridgeheads have been immea-
sureable strengthened, a fact
which is borne out by the Rus-
sian Headquarters having been
moved over to the west bank
of the Dniepr.
The Germans have counter- I
attacked furiously, using no
fewer than 100 tanks and two
regiments of infantry in a
single attack yesterday. By the
end of the day, 67 of the tanks
lay shattered on the battlefield,
and the Germans, half of whom
had been either killed or cap-
tured, fled in disorder, hotly
pursued by the Russians.
Picked SS troops have been
thrown into the fighting in a
vain attempt to hold the Rus-
sians, who are capturing the
German outposts one after an-
other.
Further south, the Russian
troops, who captured Zapor-
oshe, have already advanced
many miles down the railyway
towards Melitupol, 70 miles to
the south, to join the Soviet
forces already fighting inside
the town.
Street fighting has been vo-
ing on in Melitupol since the
Russians four days ago broke
into the city. The latest mes-
sages from Moscow today re-
port that already half the town
is now in Soviet hands, and
of Zagreb. Long stretches of
the railway between Ljubljana
and Zidanimost have been de-
stroyed by the Partisans, who
have derailed^ many trains, car-
rying German troops and sup-
plies.
German casualties are describ-
ed as extremely heavy, as all
the enemy’s counter-attacks,
which have been both numer-
ous and heavy, have been syste-
matically repulsed, and the
Red Army continues to gain
ground steadily.
Up on the Central front, the
battle for Gomel continues, and
Moscow reports further pro-
gress along the whole semi-
circular front in this sector.
The lew He goat
Washington. — The Navy de-
partment has revealed first in-
formation on the combat per-
formance of the new Grum-
man hellcat fighter. Navy fliers
praise it as far superior to the
Japanese Zero which it was
designed to conquer. The Hell-
cat is bigger, faster, more
maneuverable and a better
climber than its brother, the
Grumrqann Wildcat.
Jap Losing Tonnage
Washington. —- President
Roosevelt announced that the
United States Navy is sinking
Japanese ships faster than they
carl be replaced. The President
praised allied submarines for
playing a major role in de-
stroying an average of a
hundred and 30 thousand tons
of Japanese shipping monthly
for the last 6 months.. He also
announced that the massive
American attack on Germany’s
Bremen ,, and Yegesack last
week-end was the work of 8
hundred and 50 planes.