BATTLE AGAINST CREAM OF PINNED DOWN NAZI ARMY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 85, 11 April 1945, Page 5

BATTLE AGAINST CREAM OF PINNED DOWN NAZI ARMY

The Eighth Army's attack across the Senio River at Lugo, TS miles west of Ravenna and 3§ miles west of Bagnacavallo,, was preceded by the greatest air bombardment the Italian theatre has seen, cables a correspondent on the Italian front quoted by British Official Wireless. Heavy fighting is taking place and the battle will probably be the greatest that has yet taken place in "Italy against the cream of the pinned down German Army. When the attack was launched yesterday after weeks of preparation strong forces of heavy bombers operated in close support of the ground forces, bombing enemy positions on the far bank of the Senio. This was the first time heavy bombers had been used in Italy for close support since Cassino, and this time it was even closer and in greater strength. The enemy had had time to prepare formidable defences along the Senio, where he had been installed for four months, and all our patrols operating during the past weeks have found the Germans extremely alert. The terrain is difficult, but the Eighth Army are as well seasoned troops as any fighting on any front to-day. Just before Kesselring left Italy he issued a statement warning the Germans that not one inch of ground must be given up without the bitterest struggle, as they were defending the Fatherland itself in Italy. The German troops engaged in Italy, numbering 25 divisions, are all highly experienced, many of them veterans of Stalingrad. Some are probably superior to any forces the enemy possesses in Germany itself. They have had all the winter to recover from their defeats of last year and their numbers are probably greater than those of the divisions engaged on other fronts. The fact that they cannot escape will force them to fight. The Po Valley is flat, but is covered with canals, and over each one a battle will have to be fought. There is as yet no indication of the exact extent of the progress made.