STILL FIRMLY HELD

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 120, 16 February 1944, Page 6

STILL FIRMLY HELD

Beach-head Positions In Italy (Received February lGr-4.45 a.m.) LONDON, February 15. _ The Allied positions in the Anzio beach-head were firmly maintained yesterday in the face of numerous violent counter-attacks, states Algiers radio. The deefnee belt remains intact; Paris radio reports that the Allies are landing further reinforcements at the beach-head. Reuter’s correspondent with the Fifth Army, in a delayed dispatch, says it is believed that the enemy’s main attack against the beach-nead which was launched last week only succeeded in winning very local objectives at great cost. An outstandingly important fact is that Kesselring has failed to remove the big threat to his flans. Allied forces are in a position to be reinforced, their immediate objective being to make the beachhead secure as a base of operations. Short Truce at Cassino.

Three hours truce in the Cassino battle was observed yesterday to enable the Germans to gather in their dead, reports 'Reuter’s correspondent at Allied headquarters. It was the second truce requested by the Germans in three weeks. The bodies of more than 2000 Germans were removed, including 43 picked up by Fifth Army troops immediately in front of' their positions. These were carried to a point midway between the lines. The Germans were not allowed to approach close enough to the Allied lines-to see details of our defences. . Vichy radio'says that the Americans have apparently abandoned frontal attacks in the Cassino area, intending to outflank the town, from the north-west. The radio admitted that with the improvement in the weather, Allied fighters are now strongly opposing German bomber activities.