BEYOND RIMINI

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24371, 25 September 1944, Page 4

BEYOND RIMINI

NEW ZEALANDERS ATTACK HEAVY DEMOLITIONS ENCOUNTERED (Official War Correspondent N.Z.E.F.) RIMINI, September 22. North of Rimini, up tne coast, ana for some distance inland, New Zealanders have gone into attack in strength against the hard-pressed enemy. It is not by any means a chase yet but our infantry and tanks last night crossed the Marecchia river, and by this morning had’ advanced to beyond Celle, at the junction of Highways 16 and 9. Further inland, other New Zealand formatiops have penetrated even further north. They were faced with a stubborn enemy, who took every advantage of the many houses in what was a thickly-populated area, places where he can lie concealed with Spandaus and rifles ready to meet our attack. Dug-in Panther tank turrets, with their long 75 millimetre guns, ma-chine-gun posts, and small arms nre, were what faced the motorised infantry battalion which pressed forward to the road junction' of Celle. It was a stiff encounter in which the reluctant paratroops were forced to give way, but not before a number of them had been killed or captured. It is a tricky task being undertaken by our men on the coastal sector, that of clearing the seaside villas which abound in these parts.' They have been strongly fortified and the surroundings heavily mined as a precaution against a landing from the sea. Now these defences are a serious obstacle to our advance. It is being found that the Turkoman troops by whom they are mostly manned will fight grimly until they realise the hopelessness of their position, but during last night and this morning there has been a constant flow of prisoners. Our tanks have been in close support of the infantry, and our guns are seldom silent. An abortive attempt was made by the enemy to blow up an important bridge in the town of Rimini. The charges failed to explode and otir tanks rumbled on through the town. A short distance beyond was another demolition which had completely destroyed a road bridge, but our sappers had soon bulldozed a by-pass across which, this morning, our heavy and light armour was streaming. An adjoining railway bridge had been partially destroyed. Near the coast the Marecchia river is as much as four feet deep, but further inland, where other New Zealand infantry formations and tanks crossed to a narrow bridgehead established by the Canadians, the river consists of a number of shallow waterways which formed no hazardous obstacle. The New Zealanders advanced 2000 yards or more against shelling, machine-gun and small arms fire, most of the latter from houses, but casualties were light and the enemy suffered heavily in prisoners and dead. A demolition on Highway 16 was an awkward problem for stretcher-bear-ers. The bridge was doubled up to a peak in mid-river by the force of an explosion. Up this a party of stretcherbearers, under Padre P. C. S. Sergei, of Hamilton, shouldered each other, those at the foot of the steep and slippery slope lying flat while the others clambered, over them. Those remaining below were hauled up, hanging to one another’s feet. The descent was made on the other side by what was something like a human rope ladder. All •this, with stretchers as an additional hindrance, the stretcher-bearers accomplished in darkness, while enemy fire fell round them. ,