THE MARCH ON ROME

Evening Star, Issue 25089, 2 February 1944, Page 5

THE MARCH ON ROME

ALLIES 16 MILES DISTANT

PUSHING INLAND FROM VETTUNO (Rec. 10.50 a.m.) UIUGBY. Feb. 1. British and American forces established round Anzio have struck inland and reached Campoleone, 16 miles south-east of Rome and 1j miles north of Anzio itself. They have also reached Cisterna, 14 miles north-east of Nettuno. Campoleone is on the railway four and a-half miles south-west of Genzano. Describing the operations in the last 48 hours, the British United Press correspondent says that the Germans fought back fiercely, but paid a heavy price. The fields arc strewn with hundreds of German dead and shattered, burnt-out enomy tanks, many of which were destroyed by self-sacrificing Americans, who blew themselves up with the tanks with hand grenades. Other tanks wero knocked out by Allied troops leaping on them and killing the crews by firing revolvers through the observation slits. Very heavy hand-to-hand fighting developed. In some sectors Allied troops, running short of ammunition, closed with the Germans, tore the weapons from their hands, and killed them with their own arms. An Allied communique states: "British and Americans attacked from positions in the Anzio beachhead and "reached the outskirts of Campoleone and Cisterna. On the main Fifth Army front, French, American, and British troops have advanced in many places despite numerous counter-at-tacks and stubborn resistance from prepared positions. Canadians advanced against the stiffest of opposition on the Adriatic coastal sector. CONSIDERABLE AIR ACTIVITY. Airfields at Klagenfurt, Aviano, and Udize were bombed yesterday by heavy bomibers, and hits were scored on the landing areas and barracks. Light bomibers attacked the railway at San Benedette. Fighters flew patrols in cooperation with the land forces, these involving over 800 sorties. " Fighters intruded over airfields in Southern France. Eighteen enemy aircraft wero destroyed in the; air, and also a number on the ground. We lost four planes. " Our naval light coastal forces operating in the Adriatic on Saturday night sank a large schooner and a small enemy tanker between Sibenik and Split. Allied aircraft on Sunday sank a supply vessel and scored a direct hit on a large vessel, causing an explosion. In the JEge&n Sea, Adamas Harbour was bombed and fire started among shipping. Sfampalia. Harbour was attacked yesterday. A Junkers 88 was destroyed in this area. Three of our aircraft are missing." " After 10 days of adventure south of Rome the feeling of elation which gripped us after the fine landing has already given way to one of determination," says the representative of the comhined American Pressat fhe Fifth Army bridgehead. "It is obvious to the world that our chance of invading and. taking Home on the heels of a general German withdrawal from all areas as far south as Cassino and Minturno has just not come true. Now it is going to be a question of hard fighting, probably weeks instead of days,' before we reach our next goal. It is no particular fault of anybody as far as we can see. The men have proved in the last few days that they can take it, and in addition give_ it, and we now have so much material here that the Germans cannot seriously think of driving us back to the sea. They at the best must hope for another Tobruk, lasting sufficiently long to embarrass our general strategy."