BATTLE FOR CATANIA PLAIN

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

BATTLE FOR CATANIA PLAIN

FULL-SCALE CLASH EXPECTED LONDON, July 14. The lack of very large-scale Axis counter-attacks indicates that the Italian and German Command is unwilling to take the risk of a full-blooded action until it is satisfied that it will not be imperilled elsewhere. It is apparent, however, that the Catania plain, which in a military sense is the heart of Sicily, must be defended, since it commands the most vital approach around the side of Mount Etna to the Straits of Messina, the most favourable Allied position for a push across to the north. Axis reinforcements have already been forced to swing north around the hill mass to counter the Allied drive. This manoeuvre is constantly exposed to deadly strafing and bombing from the unchallenged Allied air force. Catania also possesses Sicily's finest string of airfields, including the Gerbini network, which had first priority in the attentions of the Allied bombers. The massive Allied salient in the southeast corner has put the Axis defenders in a perilous position. Their movement is now seriously restricted. The correspondent of the ' New York Times ' emphasises the tremendous strategic value of the British and American junction at Ragusa, as_ a result of which the Allies are holding solidly an entire corner of Sicily, with the unscathed port of Syracuse and the complete road system of the area, thus greatly reducing the enemy's chances of counter-attack. He adds that the Italians are fighting just as badly as'they did in Tunisia. Indeed, it is obvious that they do not want to fight, and, it is questionable whether they will not handicap the Germans. He concludes that the Axis forces, unless they strike within the next few days, will have finally lost their chance to take the offensive.