CANADIAN LANDING

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 11, 13 July 1943, Page 3

CANADIAN LANDING

ENEMY DEFENCE FOLDS UP R,ec. 2.20 p.m. , RUGBY, July 12. Slicing through the Italian coastal defences in night and dawn landings on a long crescent beach, a Canadian [assault thrust, with a crack British formation on their right flank, overran the Pachino peninsula within 24 hours and established an invasion bridgehead, according to a detailed eye-witness account just received. The correspondent continues that it was one success after another in this Canadian and British sector as the greatest combined operation in- history was launched and the Canadians advanced into hilly country northwest and west of Pachino. The coastal defenders' put up only a mild fight. In the first wave of the assault a famous-Canadian regiment landed on a sandy beach at Costadellambra, four miles south-west-'of Pachino, at' 5.15 a.m. on Saturday. The Canadian casualties on the first day were very light,, under 40 being reported.: The Italian beach defences, which folded up like a concertina, consisted merely of barbed wire and some machine-gun posts, which fired a few bursts and then gave up. ENEMY OVER-ESTIMATED. : On one: beach the enemy evidently counted, on a sand-bar 15 feet offshore as a natural defence, but the Canadians surprised them-completely by coming in in heavy surf and battling ashore through ; water <up. to the waist. Coastal batteries shelled the boats, but the firing was erratic. The Canadians went through the beach defences in a few minutes and struck.inland, mopping up: groups of Italians .en route. The Royal Navy gave the troopsmagnificent gun support. ' " ■ During; the whole day not a single enemy aircraft was seen. The beach looked like a. big traffic jam, with tanks,, guns; and trucks- ploughing through sand to the roads leading inland It was almost unbelievable to Canadians that the first stage could be so easy. At night bombers attacked troops near the beach and tried to hit ships under the glare of flares. The raid lasted only about 30 minutes and! was not effective. Our anti-aircraft fire from ships and shoi'e was terrific.

The Canadians, who were trained in Britain for the assault, sailed straight from-there to Sicily, without being attacked at any stage. They described the 2000-mile unopposed ■ journey as "fantastic."—B.O.W.