THE ALLIED FORCES ON LEROS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 64, Issue 33, 18 November 1943, Page 3

THE ALLIED FORCES ON LEROS.

ENEMY AIR STRENGTH TELLS. REINFORCEMENT OF GERMANS. (N.Z. Press Association —Copyright.) (Rec. 9.30 a.m.) LONDON, ,Nov. 17. The British and Italian troops on the Dodecanese island of Leros have had to give up organised resistance, chiefly because of overwhelming German air attacks. The fall of Leros is announced by a. Middle East communique, which states: “Throughout yesterday the enemy continued an overwhelming aerial bombardment of Leros. After very severe fighting and in spite of most determined resistance in the face of fresh enemy reinforcements, organised resistance ceased in the evening.’’-" The Berlin radio claims that the British and Italian garrison on Leros has capitulated, and that 3000 British and 5000 Italians have laid down their arms. The radio says that captured war material includes 130 guns. Leros, where British forces landed at the time of the surrender of Italy two months ago, fell after five days’ heavy fighting and continuous air bombardment. Owing to lack of air cover it has not been possible for British warships to afford the garrison anything like the support afforded landings in Sicily and Italy, and the subsequent operations. Any artillery support had to be short and sharp because the ships were subjected to attacks by night and day from aircraft based on Rhodes, Crete, Kos and Athens. Rhodes is barely 80 miles away, while the nearest Allied base in Africa is '4OO miles. Evidently a substantial effort was devoted to the recapture of the island, but as the weight of that effort is not known it is impossible to estimate the value to the Allied cause which it represents nor can an attempt be made to reckon the effect of this diversion of effort had on the other German campaigns.—British Official Wireless.