ADVANCES IN ITALY

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 September 1944, Page 6

ADVANCES IN ITALY

GOTHIC UNE ABANDONED ALLIES CAPTURE HEIGHTS LONDON, September 24. “The Allied armies in Italy continue to make important progress both on the central and Adriatic sectors,” says a Mediterranean communique. “The sth Army has kept up the pressure in the Firenzuola area and occupied important high ground north of this town. “West of Firenzoula American troops of the sth Army have widened the breach in the Gothic Line by capturing Monte Citerna and Monte Ternolao, and are now on the threshold of the Futa Pass. “On the Adriatic sector troops of the Bth Army have cleared all . resistance south of the River Marecchia, and have considerably enlarged their bridgehead north of this river. “Allied aircraft on Friday flew approximately 1600 sorties embracing targets in Southern Germany, Northern Greece and Italy. Seventeen aircraft are missing.” “Fifth Army troops advancing along the main coastal road have reached Pietra Santa, nearly halfway between Pisa and Spezia,” says Reuter’s Rome correspondent. “The German forces in the Futa Pass, according to Allied Headquarters, have become disorganised to a limited extent. “Rimini, on the Bth Army front, is now completely mopped up and prisoners continue to stream in.” NEAR BOLOGNA. LONDON, September 24. American troops of the sth Army in Italy are now 15 miles from the city of Bologna. On the Adriatic sector the Bth Army is across the Marecchia River on a wide front, and is well to the north of the coastal town of Rimini. The communique from Allied Headquarters says that the Allied forces have forced the enemy to abandon the whole of his prepared positions in the Gothic Line except in the sector west of the Futa Pass. The American troops of the sth Army have exploited their breakthrough of the Gothic Line north of Firenzoula and have seized important mountain features. On the right flank British and Indian troops are closing in on Palazzuolo. Advanced troops of the Bth Army are meeting strong German resistance outside a small town to the north of Rimini. The Germans have been counter-attacking strongly, but without result. SAN MARINO’S DECLARATION. Mitchells which attacked the Spezia naval base on Saturday heavily hit the Italian cruiser Taranto. She was burning when the bombers turned for home. “The Germans are trying to block the harbour at the Spezia naval base, which is now only a few miles from the Allied positions,” says the British United Press correspondent in Italy. “The Germans have placed the cruiser Taranto to block the harbour.”

Liberators of the Mediterranean Air Force on Thursday made a return flight of more than 1700 miles to Warsaw', where they dropped supplies of arms. Between 500 and 750 heavy bombers from Italy on Friday struck at targets in Munich and also the railway yards at Larissa, in Greece. Intense flak was encountered, but no fighters. The Republic of San Marino has declared war against Germany, and the republic’s 900 troops have been sent into action against the Germans, who were recently reported to be using San Marino as a base, states the Rome radio. “The inhabitants of San Marino, just south-west of Rimini, to-day thronged the lofty battlements of the town to watch the battle raging between them and the sea along the River Marecchia, the wide sweep of which is visible from the town,” says a correspondent with the Bth Army. “Civilian casualties in San Marino total about 200 for the last three days.” The Rome radia broadcast instructions from the Allied High Command to station patriots operating in the northern Alps and also in the Po Valley as follows:—This is the moment to strike! Turn the enemy’s retreat into a rout. GERMAN LOSSES HEAVY. RUGBY, September 24. ' The Allies in two great converging spearheads, now 50 miles apart, are striking through the last few miles that separate them from the North Italian plains. The eastern half of the Gothic Line is a thing of the past. The German losses round Rimini are reported by a correspondent to be very high. Twenty-six hundred prisoners have been taken and thousands of the enemy, caught in the Allied artillery barrage, lie dead on the battlefield. Two-thirds of the German Fourth Parachute Division were destroyed. On the Adriatic front, the Eighth Army, since August 28, have

taken over 8,000 prisoners. The total for the whole Italian front since August 26, is over 10,000. Indian troops are fighting hard west of Rimini at Sant Arcangela. Three miles south-west of the Cant Arcangelo our troops crossed the river and are fighting for a mountain village. Further south, across the Marecchia, four miles north-west of the town of San Marino, the Eighth Army attacked Scoticata, where heavy fighting is taking place. In the central mountain sector, further gains have been made on high ridges well to the north-west of Peve San Stefano.

The Fifth Army captured the wellknown Futa Pass and advanced to a point 15 miles from Bologna, after reducing the Gothic Line defensive zone to a shattered rubble. This was the strongest defensive zone yet encountered in Italy, but the Fifth Army is now well across the great Apennine watershed, with the Po Valley within view. The Gothic Line defence has crashed along 80 miles of front under the combined assaults of the Bth and sth Armies, says Reuter’s Rome correspondent. Eighth Army forces, after cutting the Rimini-Bologna road, have reached positions four miles north of Rimini. They were heavily engaged near Torrepedrera, where they took 300 Germans prisoner. Other Bth Army troops have extended their Marecchia River bridge- ' head to 30 square miles. The Germans on the Adriatic have not starter! a wholesale withdrawal, but are fighting bitterly as they are pressed back. BREAK-THROUGH TO PLAINS (Rec. 12.45 p.m.) .LONDON, Sept. 24. Allied troops in the central sector of Italy have broken right through to the northern plains, states the British United Press corrrespondent at Allied Headquarters. Fifth Army units, exploiting the break-through north of Florence, are sweeping the Germans before them as they pour down the lower northern slopes of the Apennines.

PLATOON CAPTURES “A’RMY.”' (Rec. 12 noon) LONDON, Sept. 24. The Berlin commentator, Praegner states that a German platoon took prisoner the whole army of the State of San Marino which, after British pressure, declared war against Germany.

CRUISER SUBMERGED (Rec. 12 noon). LONDON, Sept. 24. Reuter”s correspondent at Allied Headquarters and reconnaissance photographs obtained to-day, show that the old Italian cruiser,' Taranto, with which the Germans hoped to block Spezia Harbour is partially submerged as a result of the Mitchells’ attack yesterday. The Mitchells sank an 8000-ton 1 merchantman anchored beside the Taranto. WITH NEW ZEALANDERS. STRONG RESISTANCE. [N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent] RIMINI, September 22. North of Rimini, up the coast, and for some distance inland, New Zealanders have gone into attack in strength against the hard-pressed enemy. It is not by any means a chase yet, but our infantry and tanks, last night crossed the Marecchia River, and by this morning had advanced to beyond Celle, at the junction of Highways 16 and 9. , Further inland, other New Zealand formations have penetrated even further north- They were faced with a stubborn enemy, who took every advantage of the many houses in what was a thickly-populated area, places where he can lie concealed with Spandaus and rifles ready to meet our attack. Dug-in Panther tank turrets, with their long 75 millimetre guns, machine-gun posts, and small arms fire were what faced the motorised infantry battalion which pressed forward to the road junction oi. Celle. It was a stiff encounter in which the reluctant paratroops were forced to <*ive way, but not before a number of them had been killed or captured. It is a tricky task being undertaken by our men on the coastal sector, that of clearing the seaside villas which abound in these parts. They have been strongly fortified and the surroundings heavily mined as a precaution against a landing from the sea. Now these defences are a serious obstacle to our advance. It is being found that the Turkoman troops by whom they are mostly manned will fight grimlv until they realise the hopelessness of their position, but during last night and this morning there has been a constant flow of prisoners. Our tanks have been in close support of the infantry, and our guns are seldom silent. ~ , . An abortive attempt was made by the enemy to blow up an important bridge in the town of Rimini. The charges failed to explode and our tanks rumbled on through the town. A short distance beyond was another demolition which had completely destroyed a road bridge, but our sappers had soon bulldozed a by-pass across which, this morning, our heavy and light armour was streaming. An adjoining railway bridge had been partially destroyed. . Near the coast the Marecchia River is as much as four feet deep, but further inland, where other New Zealand infantry formations and tanks crossed to a narrow bridgehead established by the Canadians, the river consists of a number of shallow waterways which.formed no hazardous obstacle. The New Zealanders advanced 2000 yards or more against shelling, machine-gun and small arms fire, most of the latter from houses, but casualties were light and the enemy suffered heavily in prisoners and dead.

EX-POLICE CHIEF SHOT

LONDON, Sept. 22.

Journalists to-day witnessed the execution of the former Fascist police chief of Rome, Pietro Caruso, who was shot while sitting in a chair with his back to a firing squad. He was sentenced to death' for collaboration with the Germans and for handing men over to German execution squads. The Fascist radio announced that 20 anti-Fascists had been sentenced to death and 30 sentenced to life imprisonment in Northern Italy. This presumably is a reprisal for the execution of Caruso, reports a Reuter correspondent at Rome. The victims were described as Army officers, professional people and workers.

FASCISTS ARRESTED (Recd. 11.35 a.m.) LONDON, Sept. 24. Court Sforza, the President of the Purge Commission, has ordered the arrest of six prominent Fascists, says Reuter's Rome correspondent. This follows an earlier Fascist radio announcement that Fascists in Northern Italy had sentenced to death 20 antiFascists, presumably as a reprisal for the execution of Caruso.

The correspondent states that no comment is available in official circles in Rome, but there is no indication that the Bonomi Government intends to answer violence with further violence. The names of the six Fascists Sforza is arresting are Zenone Bebini, former Under-Secretary for Albanian Affairs; Guiseppe Bottai, former- Education Minister; Fuido Cristini, former President of the Special Tribunal; Luigi Federzoni, former President of the Senate; Gaetano Lemaitre, former President of the Special Tribunal: and Edmondo Rossoni, former Minister for Agriculture. These men are all believed to be hidden in Rome or elsewhere in liberated Italy.