DAWN ATTACK

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 147, 19 December 1944, Page 5

DAWN ATTACK

BRITISH TAKE OFFENSIVE Rec. 10 a.m. LONDON, Dec. 18. British troops, taking the offensive for the first time in more than a week, struck out before dawn today from both Athens and Piraeus, and met surprisingly little resistance, says a British United Press correspondent at Athens. The British, without opposition, occupied Arditos Hill, in 'the stadium area* which has been an ELAS stronghold almost since the outbreak of the hostilities. Two British forces! are operating, one pushing south from Athens and the other driving from the sea. with newly-arrived reinforcements, tanks, and armoured ears. Military circles state that the operations are designed to "raise the siege on the centre of Athens by securing lines of communications with the base in Phaleron Bay, and securing direct j lines with Piraeus." British forces imoving up the main road from Phaleron occupied a brewery from i which ELAS men have been machine-1 gunning British and Greek traffic between Athens and Piraeus.

Reuters Athens correspondent states that fierce fighting raged in Athens all last night, increasing in intensity towards dawn. There has been machine-gun fire and continuous shelling, with heavy planes droning overhead.

British paratroops who had been partially isolated on the top of the Acropolis Hill for ten days have broken out and captured a hill opposite the Parthenon. A height overlooking the road to the sea, where ELAS have been holding out since the outbreak of the fighting, has also been captured. ELAS COUNTER-ATTACK. ELAS forces counter-attacked from two directions this afternoon against the Aritos Hill, says the British United Press Athens correspondent. R.A.F. Spitfires, with cannon and machineguns, broke up the attacks. British tanks' moved in behind the attackers land one tank which rolled into the (entrance of the stadium near the hill drew fire from the grandstands, which were then sprayed with machine-guns.