NAZIS WITHDRAW

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 197, 20 August 1943, Page 3

NAZIS WITHDRAW

FROM TIP OF ITALY Allied Bombardments Make Positions Untenable N.Z. Press Association—Copyright Rec. 2 p.m. LONDON, Aug. 19. According to Algiers radio, Axis forces have evacuated the coastal strip in the extreme south of Italy, where their positions have become untenable owing to Allied bombardments. They have left the ferry town of Reggio and the surrounding area for Palmi, 35 miles to the north. United States warships, in their first attack on the Italian mainland, shelled bridges and power installations at Gioja, Tautfo and Palmi, on the south-west coast of Italy. Heavy ships were involved in the bombardment. An Italian communique reports that Allied planes raided the regions of Reggio, Naples and Cagliari. Allied bombers have kept up smashing attacks against the Italian mainland 'for the past 24 hours. Pilots report that fires are burning all along the toe of Italy. Air Attacks on Reggio A correspondent in Messina says Allied aircraft are attacking the German-occupied town of Reggio, across the strait from Messina, at the rate of twice an hour. American guns are firing constantly at the town. The Germans are putting up an intense anti-aircraft barrage and their coastal guns are still shelling Messina. General Eisenhower expressed 'surprise that the Italians who had been left in Sicily to fight a rearguard action to cover the German evacuation had fought so well. He said that of the 75,000 Germans known to have been in Sicily, 24,000 were killed and wounded and 6000 or 7000 captured. How many Axis troops were killed trying to cross the Strait would never be known. He implied that it was a large figure. He said he was disappointed that a single German escaped. The German overseas news agency claimed that about 40,000 troops, including 4500 wounded, reached the mainland, also 9699 vehicles, 100 guns and 47 tanks. British and American troops are organising the captured areas and mopping up isolated groups of Axis soldiers. The air offensive was continued to the last moment of the evacuation, which was far less successful than the Germans pretend.