A LONG HOP

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 303, 22 December 1943, Page 5

A LONG HOP

FIFTH ARMY ADVANCE Half-way Through Nazi Winter Defenceg Rec. 1 p.m. LONDON, Dec. 21. The Fifth Army has fought nearly half-way through Kesselring's western winter defence line, penetrating more than 16 miles of the enemy's 40-mile deep defences, says Reuters correspondent in Naples. The enemy's winter line is really a series of defence positions stretching roughly north-west from Teano at the northern end of the Volturno Plain to Frosinone, which is the real gateway to Rome. The German defence lines, on natural features of mountain and river, of which the Germans are making skilful use, do not form a static pattern. They are frequently altered to meet the changing direction of Allied pressure. The Allies smashed the first two of these lines and the Germans are now falling back on a new line pivoting on Mount Aurinci, overlooking the Gulf of Gaeta and stretching roughly northwards to Cassino. The Fifth Army continued to advance over some portions of the mountainous country on the right of the front, says a communique. At one point they advanced one mile and a half, while elsewhere an important hill was occupied. Patrols were active in the coastal sector.