BATTLE ORDEAL AT CASSINO

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 64, 16 March 1944, Page 4

BATTLE ORDEAL AT CASSINO

TJEAVY gales, accompanied by almost ceaseless rain, snow and sleet, have been Germany's greatest allies in the defence of the Gustav line, which they have held practically unbroken for over two months. With the dawn of better weather the battle for the line has been renewed on the Cassino front with a ferocity never seen before on so limited an objective. Within a square mile of the mountain stronghold fourteen hundred tons of high explosives were dropped between daybreak and noon yesterday, converting every strong point into a heap of rubble, and thus preparing the way for the infantry to advance upon the Liri Valley and so on to Rome. We have no indication yet of the success of the second part of the attack, and until something is learned of its progress it is idle to speculate. It is clear, however, that vitally important lessons will have been learned of the effects of so tremendous a concentration of bombs upon a position naturally strong and by months of preparation converted into an ideal fortress, with its strongest points low and well distributed, sunk below the surface and protected by the easy process of running thick concrete floors above the cellars of stone houses. Information of the effect of an unprecedented bombing upon such an area is not yet available, but the Allied leaders will know every detail before long and will be able to plan future blows accordingly.

The intensity of the attack is by implication an admission that the Anzio bridgehead did not achieve the success anticipated. That landing was an integral part of the battle for Cassino, of the attempt to open up the road to Rome, and every move in the two phases was intended to interlock for the one purpose. The aim was plainly to weaken the Germans on the south-eastern end of their line, to sever communications if possible, and to set a trap which would catch the retreating enemy driven back from Cassino in the upper end of the Liri Valley. The bridgehead did not achieve that object, nor were the Allies able to build it up into an alternative front. They have, in fact, been unable to extend it to any great depth beyond that seized in the initial onset. This is partly due to the weather making fresh landings and supplies difficult, and partly to the very favourable nature of the perimeter for defensive purposes. A few days after the assault was launched the. Commander-in-Chief, General Alexander, declared that everything was going wonderfully, that we had gained a terrific start through the advantage of complete surprise, and that we were now in a position to take the initiative. We did not take it, some of the official correspondents were ordered off the beach because they expressed doubt as to whether the best use had been made of our advantages, and in President Roosevelt's words the situation has remained "very tense" ever since. Yesterday's attack indicates that there was at least a little justification for the views which the correspondents formed on the spot, for if a great success from the operations were within sight it is hardly likely that so heavy a frontal assault on Cassino would be necessary—unless accompanied by an almost equal thrust from Nettuno to catch the enemy between two fires.

The fighting at Cassino has assumed the characteristics of trench warfare in the 1914-18 struggle. Strong points are built up and interlocked into fields of defensive fire, each covering four or five others. Guns are sited within range of these and hidden among the rock and rubble of the mountain sides, the cover of the night is used for increasing defensive strength, through thick minefields and wire patrols crawl out to test the strength of the other side, artillery barrages are set up—this time the aerial barrage is even greater than the rain of death from the big guns—reserve lines are manned, and generally all the tricks used from Flanders to Verdun are employed, with the difference that nowhere in France were such strong natural obstacles to the attacker provided as the mountains of Italy offer. Blasting such positions is a difficult job, just how difficult we will probably know in a day or two, when the results of yesterday's battle are tabulated. One of the most revealing sidelights of the attack was the absence of German air cover. That could surely only be accounted for by a lack of sufficient strength to justify the risk of further weakening the squadrons needed for the protection of Germany itself. If that is the case the Germans have yet to prove that "they can stand up to the battering they inflicted upon our men in the earlier stages of the war, when their superiority was such that they could range at will over our lines and drop bombs without fear of interception.