Allied Approach To Rome

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 126, 30 May 1944, Page 5

Allied Approach To Rome

ENEMY COUNTER-ATTACKS

LONDON, May 29. The battle south of Rome is spreading- as the Fifth Army launches the tremendous weight of its attack on the German lines in the Alban Hills and running' across Highway 6. Although there are secondary roads for the retreat of the Germans south-east of Eome, the main focus of the battle is still Valmontone, the German stronghold on Highway 6. Allied troopjs are now reported less than a mile from Valmontone. y it To the south-west American tanks are reported to have reached the slopes of the Alban Hills less than 16 miles from the outskirts of Eome, and to be attacking enemy strong-points. The Germans have flung in reinforcements. There is also heavy mining, and intense machine-gun and mortar fire, but all enemy attempts have been beaten off, the enemy leaving many dead and wounded behind. In the Liri Valley, Fifth and Eighth Army troops are closing in on the German salient. Driving up the valley,' they are pushing on beyond Ceprano and closing in on Arce, which commands one of the secondary escape roads from the valley.

Field-Marshal Kesselring has ordered up all his available men to keep open the salient in the Valmontone area. More men of the Herman Goering Division are in the battle. They have been counter-attacking vigorously with company to battalion strength, and at some points have been using flame-throwers. The beach-head army has beaten the Germans «off and mauled them badly, and the Allied front is moving forward gradually. To the left,'the offensive has made substantial progress towards Velletri, on the lower slopes of the Alban Hills, and i towards Lanvvio, four miles to the west. Nearer the sea British and American troops are attacking beyond Carrocetto. The Germans admit that they have lost Carrocetto. The attack is proceeding northwards along the road to Campoleone, which consists of a railway station and a few houses, but is nevertheless an important objective. Scottish infantry mopped up the position known as the factory at Carrocetto, the scene of such bitter fighting earlier. • All along the line of advance from Carrocetto our men are on famous and familiar ground. It was down this road that Kesselring launched an offensive last February to wipe out the beach-head, and it was here that the beach-head forces made history by hanging, on. Now the Fifth Army is closing up steadily to the ultimate prepared line of resistance before Rome. Elsewhere, French and American troops of the Fifth Army are driving

more frequent counter-attacks. The big mass of the Alban Hills, which is crowned by an extinct volcano, now splits the Fifth Army sector in half. The British United Press correspondent says everything indicates a hasty German withdrawal from Ceprano. British and Canadian tanks are racing one another in pursuit of the enemy towards Frosinone. ' Algiers radio states that a threepronged attack is developing against Frosinone, mounted by beach-head troops from the west, Eighth Army units from the east, and French troops from the south. IRONY OF CARROCETTO. The correspondent points out that it is ironical that Carrocetto, which has changed hands five times since the Anzio landing at a cost of thousands of British and German lives, fell to the British yesterday morning without a fight. Carrocetto, which at one time was Mussolini's model Fascist village, is now flattened after months of bombardment by British and American artillery. The towns of Sermoneta and Bassiano, nine, miles east of Cisterna, are reported to have been cleared of the enemy. Berlin radio's commentator, Captain Sertorius, declares that the British and American forces are employing a remarkable number of tanks, but that neither the American thrust between the Alban' and Lepini mountains nor the British and Canadian thrust from the Upper Liri have developed sufficiently to achieve an operational breakthrough. Sertorius asserts that the Allied occupation of Carrocetto does not improve their tactical position, because the new German positions in the

the Germans back through the Lepini mountains towards Highway 6, while British and Canadian troops of the Eighth Army, pressing against the head of the German salient, are advancing beyond the captured stronghold villa of San Stefano. On the right of the- Allied line, Eighth Army troops, advancing in the mountains north of Highway 6, are closing on the strong-point of Arce, which commands one of the secondary roads from the Liri Valley. It was in this region that the New Zealanders captured Belmonte. It is announced that the German 71st, 94th, and 715 th Divisions have been practically wiped out since the offensive began, apart from the losses suffered by other German units, and the total of prisoners exceeds 15,000.

Alban Hills dominate the ruins and the surrounding plain. Reuters correspondent reports that groups of men, women, and children, carrying every sort of treasured knickknack, are returning to. liberated towns. Arrangements are made immediately after' the arrival of Allied troops for the care of the inhabitants. Cori, which was occupied on Friday, had its first distribution of necessities on Sunday. Norma is receiving its first supplies today. SEA AND AIR BOMBARDMENTS. A French cruiser yesterday again bombarded artillery positions north of Anzio and' successfully neutralised hostile guns. A destroyer also bombarded targets in the same area. Fires and explosions were caused in gun positions and direct hits were obtained against mechanised transport. Considerably over 7000 rounds have been fired in many bombardments from the sea since May 12 in support of the land offensive. Medium bombers yesterday struck against railway bridges and railways in central and northern Italy. Light bombers and fighter-bombers were active against supply dumps, enemy positions, bridges, railways, roads, and motor transport in the battle area elsewhere in central Italy. Heavy bombers attacked harbour installations at Genoa and railway yards at Vercelli. Medium bombers last night attacked objectives at Porto San Stefano. Four enemy planes were destroyed for the loss of three of ours. The Mediterranean Air Force flew more than 2000 sorties.