NORTH ITALIAN DEFENCES

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 24052, 14 September 1943, Page 5

NORTH ITALIAN DEFENCES

MEASURES ORDERED BY ROMMEL

KESSELRING DECLARES * MARTIAL LAW

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

CRec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 13. Marshal Rommel has taken emergency measures to strengthen the defences of northern Italy, from the Riviera to the Adriatic, after a hurried tour of inspection, according to dispatches from Berlin to Stockholm. Elite troops and storm troops, with all their equipment, have been drawn from the eastern front, and German troops are reported to be moving into Italy without interruption. Authoritative Nazi quarters admit that the situation was serious for the Germans immediately after the Italian capitulation; but they claim they have now established control. The German-controlled Rome radio has broadcast a proclamation by Marshal Kesselring declaring martial law in all Italian territory under German control and providing the death penalty for organisers of strikes, saboteurs, and franctireurs. The proclamation orders the immediate resumption of train and postal services, but private correspondence is forbidden. Marshal Kesselring has asked the Italian armed forces to continue their resistance alongside the German army. A Stockholm message says that Marshal Kesselring has made all arrangements to maintain Rome's character as an open city. The Germans have taken control of Rome “in every detail.” Neutral correspondents in Stockholm say it is known that some Fascist militia have gone over to the Germans. A Berlin spokesman claims that 30 battalions and some specialist units are fighting with the Germans. The Vichy radio reports that all traffic is at a standstill in Rome. Most of the shops are closed, and food distribution is chaotic. The authorities aro doing their utmost to feed the population. German officials charge the Italians with 35 acts of sabotage against German telephone and telegraph lines in Italy. Reuter’s correspondent at Chiasso says that the Germans occupying northern Italian towns have freed the former Fascist chiefs interned after the fall of Mussolini and are now persecuting the Liberals who have recently been active. Anti-German feeling, he adds, is increasing, with civilians supporting Italian soldiers who are engaging in a full-scale battle against the Germans in Turin. The people in areas not yet occupied are feeding and sheltering thousands of British, American, South African, Greek, and Senegalese troops who escaped from prison camps.