The Evening Star MONDAY, JULY 12, 1943. INVASION OF SICILY.

Evening Star, Volume 24914, Issue 24914, 12 July 1943, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, JULY 12, 1943. INVASION OF SICILY.

The Allied landings in Sicily will to some extent" have put an end to the weeks of speculation concerning coming events in the Mediterranean and European war. Commentators who chose to be guided by the path of the bomber have been proved right in their assumption that the devastating raids on Sicilian airfields and ports were the forerunner of invasion. Apparently the German High Command was of the same opinion, for recently there has been a big influx of Nazi troops into Italy with the obvious intention of stiffening the front of their allies at the vulnerable points. It is not surprising that the British and Americans chose to strike in force at a time when the Germans had decided to involve themselves heavily on the central front in Russia. The major actions, now being fought will serve the_ twofold purpose of making inroads into the Italian defence system and of relieving the pressure on our Soviet allies. As far.as can bo judged from cabled reports, which on some points are contradictory, the main landing has taken place on 100 miles of the coast extend-, ing from Cape Passero, on the southeastern tip of Sicily, north-east towards Syracuse and westward towards Licata. Inland from the beachheads are several important enemy aerodromes, which naturally; will be numbered among , the Allies' immediate objectives. The fact that three of these have already heen captured means that General Eisenhower's first favourable reports of the course of the fighting are thoroughly justified. Of noteworthy interest is tho news that the Canadians, who have been waiting with considerable impatience for a chance to come to grips "with the enemy in real earnest, are at last seeing their wishes fulfilled. " No one doubts that the ■troops of the senior dominion w'ill acquit themselves every whit as well as the magnificent divisions that played such an important part in the defeat of Germany in 1914.-18. ; Although, it seems that a good start has been made with the offensive against Europe proper, there will be no disposition on tho part of the Allies to under-estimate t,he difficulties that lie- ahead. The prowess of the Germans, •who are reported to have 100,000 men in Sicily, is well-known, while it is also thought that the Italians "will, fight better in defence of their homeland than they did for their North African possessions. There are several factors, however, which must encourage a spirit of. optimism among the people of' the United Nations. We are nowable to put large and well-equipped armies into, the field. These armies and all their fighting weapons can be transported across the sea by ships enjoying naval supremacy. And protecting both men and ships is a mighty umbrella of bombers and fighters which, according to present indications, will _be more than a match for the opposition. The -reports so far received suggest that Allied casualties in the actual landings were slight. This can have been possiblo only by- the full and co-ordinated use of sea, and air power. The general expectation will bo that, once the Allies have landed all the troops, guns, and tanks they require, the outcome will be another Tunisia. It has been proved that even strongly-defended mountains will not stop our forces when they have all their engines of war properly massed and placed for attack. A writer in, the 'Christian Science Monitor' wrote in prophetic vein on May 14: "The-whole weight of tbe United Nations' strength in North Africa will he hurled against Italy in an attempt'to force her from the war, and many shrewd observers think that Italy cannot last more than two months." It may be argued that the Allies have a; long way to go before the whole of Italy is conquered.. On the other hand, if another Tunisia can be forced on the Axis in Sicily, the acquisition of further territory should become progressively easier.