CLOSING ON CORINTH

Evening Star, Issue 25301, 9 October 1944, Page 5

CLOSING ON CORINTH

BRITISH FORGES IN GREECE GERMANS IN HEADLONG FLIGHT LONDON, October 8. British forces operating on the Greek mainland are closing rapidly on Corinth, at the head of the Gulf of Corinth, and, according to Iteuter's correspondent at Mediterranean headquarters, they were on the point of occupying it yesterday. The Germans have abandoned the city in a headlong flight. The rapidity of the German flight from Peloponnesus is illustrated by the fact that a party of seven men, headed by Lieutenant-colonel Jellicoe, son of Admiral Jellicoe, in two jeeps chased the German garrison fleeing from Patras. The British were pulling a captured 75-millimetre gun. They forged far ahead of the main body of our troops and managed to get the gun into position occasionally to lob shells among the Germans who did not stop to offer a rearguard resistance to this small band. The German position in Greece is crumbling every hour. Greek guerrillas, with the support of Allied dive bombers, are constantly slowing the enemy's withdrawal to Salonika. The Allies will fly medical suppliec to Greece and rush food supplies by ship. A great part of Peloponnesus is now considered clear of the Germans, says Reuter's correspondent at Allied headquarters in the Mediterranean. A report reaching Greek circles in London says that fighting has been going on in the centre of Athens for several days. The Germans barricaded all the roads leading to the capital. The situation in Salonika, where the Bulgarians and Germans are savagely terrorising the population, is also grave. it is estimated that 1,300 villages and towns in Greece have been burned and pillaged.by : the Germans during their three years' occupation, states the Associated Press correspondent at Patras. The most brutal massacre occurred at Kalavryta, a large district capital. 50 milesfrom Patras. The Germans there machine-gunned the entire male population, consisting of 700 men and boys. The Germans failed to cremate the women and girls, because an Austrian soldier unlocked the door of the burning building in which they were herded. Fifty-six other towns" in this region suffered a similar fate as" a re. prisal for the killing of Germans. It is at present impossible to estimate how many civilians died in this manner, but thousands were made homeless and many of them died as the result of exposure, sickness, and starvation. PATRAS HARBOUR SAVED. The destruction of Patras, which is the third largest port in Greece, was prevented by _ the chief pilot of the harbour, writes a correspondent in Greece. _ The Germans had made all preparations for the complete destruction of the harbour facilities, and had placed explosives everywhere. At the last moment, when the button had to be pressed to blow the port sky high nothing happened. The chief pilot, who knew or the explosion plan, had in the meantime removed all the fuses, cut the electric wires, and stopped the supply of the electricity in the city, thus completely foiling the German plans. The Germans did not have time to start over again, as British troops were already entering the town. The result is that Patras Harbour is more intact than any taken by the Allies since Sicily. The port can handle vessels of 28,000 tons. The bay of Corinth is, however, heavily mined.