ADVANCE CONTINUES

Evening Star, Issue 24917, 15 July 1943, Page 5

ADVANCE CONTINUES

AMERICANS AND CANADIANS LINKED ALLIED AIRMEN WANT TRAFFIC CONTROL (Bee. 11.30 a.m.) (RUGBY, July 14. In Sicily correspondents report that Canadian troops have captured Modica, a town of 50,000 inhabitants, northwest of Cape Passero. The Aliles have also captured Comiso airfield, as well «s the town of Comiso, itself, also the town of Naro. The Allied advance continues all along the line, correspondents report, but the capture of Modica is not yet. officially confirmed. The town is 20 miles north-west from Cape Passero and 10 miles from the coast, on the railway between Syracuse and Kagusa. Another correspondent reports that the Allies have taken an airfield north of Gela. At Augusta we found the harbour undamaged. ', The occupation of Augusta is officially confirmed by to-day's communique. It is also confirmed that American and Canadian forces have linked up and that Ragusa is in our hands. The Allied line is now roughly in the form of an arc, with a maximum depth of ,30 miles and a minimum nowhere less than six miles inland. We have successfully landed armour and are everywhere pushing on. There are' 10,000 Axis prisoners, including the commander of the Italian 206th Division*and the whole of his staff. The division has been almost completely eliminated. GREATEST AIR BLITZ EVER. The .Allies are putting into the battle of Sicily the greatest concentrated air offensivo ever mounted, according to a broadcast from Algiers radio. The broadcaster added:" The enemy air strength in Sicily is being drained away.- When Flying Fortresses raided Catania yesterday the enemy put up only. six fighters, three of which were shot down. Other Fortresses raiding Milo airfield !met 15 enemy fighters, only two of which made attacks. One pilot described the enemy's 'position as hopeless.'' The National Broadcasting Corporation's Algiers correspondent says the air traffic over Sicily is becoming so congested that pilots are requesting traffic control. The' Air Force enormously supported the troops. Reuter's Algiers correspondent says the defenders of Sicily all yesterday underwent a tremendous ordeal, as every type of plane in the North-west Africa air force participated in the intense blitz. The daylight assault, which was unleashed with increased venom, followed a night of erlentless pounding. It is now confirmed that the Allies are operating from advanced landing grounds in Sicily. Fighters are operating in close support of the front-line troops.