MORE GROUND WON FROM ENEMY

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 13334, 22 December 1943, Page 3

MORE GROUND WON FROM ENEMY

BITTER FIGHTING IN ITALY COSTLY GERMAN COUNTER-ATTACKS New Zealanders Foil Desperate Efforts Allied Artillery TakingHeavy Toll Ixmdon, IX'C. 21. Both the Allied armies in Italy have wrested more ground from the Germans, but onee again the extent of the gains bears little relation to the bitterness of the lighting. On the Eighth Army front particularly heavy enemy eountier-attaeks have been launched without regard for the cost —the cost is proving high. Reports from all sectors to-day emphasise that as our men battle their way slowly forward they meet with more and more German dead. One reason for this is the efficiency of our artillery. They have developed and brought to a fine art what our men call a “stonk,” (hat is, a heavy gun Concentration on ho a limited target combined with fire from our tanks. A picture of how these stonks helped to break up a series, of counter-attacks in a New Zealand sector comes in a despatch from A. L. Curry of the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, who is with the Eighth Army. He says the enemy began a fullscale counter-attack at 3 o’clock in the morning and it was aimed at pushing us back across the lateral road. Two flame-throwers came first, belching 50 yard tongues of fire. Strong (forces of tanks and infantry followed. One flame-thrower was quickly knocked out by * our tanks and the other was outwitted by a New Zealand platoon cofaimander who had left what appeared to be our main positions completely empty and disposed his men farther away. Then the stonk opened up on the enemy with devastating effect.

The attack was completely broken and afterwards, one New Zealand major with plenty of battle experience, told Curry, “I’ve never seen so many dead Germans in one, place.’’ This counter-attack was only one of many launched in this one sector during a few hours. All of them failed and all of them were costly to the enemy. The Eighth Army is. still firmly across the lateral road to, a depth of a mile or so and troops, on the right flank were last night reported to be fighting in the streets of Ortona .

German aircraft have been out in greater strength against the Fifth Army but American anti-aircraft gunners were ready for them- During one attack on San Pietro they shot down three and damaged two more out of a force of 21. British coastal forces in the eastern Adriatic on Saturday night sank a troop-carrying ferry and three other vessels.