INTENSE ATTACK

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 31, 7 February 1944, Page 3

INTENSE ATTACK

ANZIO BRIDGEHEAD

British Forces Repulse Heavy

German Assaults N.Z. Press Association—Copyright Rec. 10 a.m. LONDON, Feb. 6. The British repulsed with heavy losses a new series of strong German counter-attacks on Friday against the beachhead area north of Carrocetta, reports Reuters correspondent in Algiers. The attacks were launched by the crack German 26th Panzer Division, which was formerly on the main Fifth Army front, and tanks were used liberally. The Algiers correspondent of the British United Press says that a new counter-offensive is aimed at cutting deep into the left flank of the British forces moving along the Albano road. Fighting has been intense. One group of British troops was- taken prisoner three times before finally escaping to their own lines.

The group suffered fewer casualties than was expected, says the Algiers correspondent of the Columbia Broadcasting System. By a sudden counter-attack it released a considerable number of British prisoners and captured their German guards. The German counter-offen-sive has yet to reach full strength, but the fact that after two days' hard fighting it failed to dent our lines is reassuring. The result of this battle will decide whether we can maintain a foothold on the beach-head. It is officially announced that the total number of German prisoners taken at the Anzio beachhead is 1500, bringing the total for the Italian campaign to over 10,000. The German High Command communiqtie claims that the Nettuno beachhead is encircled. "The enemy forces," it states, "are compressed in a narrow area. We have taken prisoner 900 British troops at this point." Main Offensive Not Begun The impression in the area, says a correspondent, is that the Germans have not yet started the main offensive. They are counter-attack-ing, patrolling and probing our defence to find a weak spot to throw in an attack. A correspondent says the enemy is now making a determined show of strength. "His troop movements into the area have increased," he says, "and in the Cisterna sector the German forces have probably doubled. The battle for the town began on Monday." One Escape Route from Cassino The British United Press correspondent at an advanced command post says that Cassino is threequarters encircled by Allied forces. The Germans, who were reinforced on Friday night, have now only one escape route between the Rapido River and Mount Cassino. A war correspondent says the battle for the town is indeed a slow process, with the defenders shooting through windows and apertures in the walls of buildings. They are protected by guns, mines and dugouts, all placed in advantageous positions. The attackers need high courage and tenacity to overcome the resistance of these more than ever determined men. With the enemy putting in counter-attacks on every possible occasion, one can get some idea of the extent of the difficulties of the task confronting the Americans.