CAMPAIGN IN ITALY

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 September 1944, Page 4

CAMPAIGN IN ITALY

STRONG RESISTANCE.

LONDON, September 25.

The Bth Army in Italy is coming up against very strong resistance in its advance beyond Rimini, on the Addriatic sector. Our troops are driving up the main road leading to Bologna, and were last reported to be four miles past Rimini. Progress tovyards Bologna has also been made by the otn Army on the central sector. The Rome radio announced that Italian and French patriots are fighting togeiher against German tions on the Little Saint ciernard Pa The Eighth Army Commander, General Leese, accompanied by Mr Harold Macmillan, British Resident Minister at Allied Headquarters, visited San Marino to pay an official call on trie Captain Regent of the tiny republic? GAINS AND LOSSES (Rec. 10.50 a.m.) LONDON, Sept. 25. Fifth Army troops, yesterday, continued their smashing advance beyond the Gothic Line area and reached approximately 12 miles south of the important Bologna-Rimini highway in 'the* Po Valley, says the Exchange Telegraph Agency’s Rome correspondent. Tne Fifth Army in nine days has destroyed a defence line which took the Germans nine months to build, and now holds the most northern points reached in Italy. The advance beyond the Gothic Line increased with the capture of a dominating Apennine crest in the area of Futa Pass and important hill features north-east of Firenzuola. liiese gains were made as the result of savage fighting in the face of fierce resistance over roads, trails, bare rocks, and mountain ledges. Tne enemy destroyed, every bridge and culvert in our path, and the Fifth Army Engineers had an almost superhuman task in making accessible roads to our front line. neuter’s Rome correspondent says that, pushing 2000 yards beyond the Rimini-Bologna railway, Eighth Army troops are now within 1500 yards of the historic Rubicon.. The Germans are counter-attacking to prevent a crossing. The Canadians have advanced another mile and reached five miles north-west of Rimini.

The northernmost point which the Filth Army now holds south-east of Castel del Rio lies 21 air-line miles from Bologna, compared with yesterday’s approach to within 15 miles of the city, announced in the Allied communique. The Fifth Army met serious setbacks in some sectors because of the ferocity of the German resistance. N.Z. ENTRY INTO RIMINI. [Official War Correspondent, N.X E.F.) ADRIATIC COAST, September 21. It was cold and blustery, with rain showers not far away, Avhen the first troops of the Bth Army entered Rimini at 8 o’clock this morning. They were two officers of a Wellington armoured regiment, Second-Lieutenants C. G. E. Cross of Hamilton, and A. H. M. Maurice, of Feilding. From 2000 yards down the main road, where they had left their tanks, they walked forward to make a reconnaissance, and found the enemy gone, from tne main part of the town at least. They then .brought their tanks forward, and the creAVs on entering the outer suburbs received a Avarm welcome from such of the townspeople as had remained during the heavy bombardment of the last week or more. Not long alter the arrival of the New Zealanders, Greek infantrymen, with whom they were co-operating, entered the town by the coast road, and our forces were soon firmly established in the greater part of Rimini. Civilians reported that the Germans had withdrawn from the town last night, but sporadic bursts of Spandau fire a few streets away indicated that they had still not entirely released their hold on the place. It was a cheerless enough prospect that faced the people of Rimini when they emerged this morning from the cellars, and even sewers, in which they had been sheltering until the enemy was driven out, as the town has taken a severe battering from our artillery, as well as naval guns and bombers, and when the rain which had been threatening set in during the morning, it gave an even grimmer appearance to the ruined buildings and deserted streets, blocked here and there by piles of rubble. Many of the hotels have gaping holes in the walls, floors have caved in, trees which surrounded them have been shattered by flying shell splinters, and demolitions carried out by the retreating enemy in an effort to delay our advance have heightened the prevailing effect of destruction. Groups of refugees straggled back tc®.. wards , the town during the day Avith their few possessions on their backs or on barrows, and poked among the Avreckage of their houses to see what remained. It Avas little enough. Not a shop and few houses remained unsacked by the Germans, and what they had not been able to carry away had been strewn in wild disorder. Rimini, like so many other towns,, is an example of the price the Italian people paid for their part in the war.

RED CROSS RESPECTED.

[N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent]

RIMINI, September 23

A striking instance of respect for the Red Cross symbol, even in the heat of battle, occurred to-day during the fighting above Rimini. A carrier driver of the Wellington Motor Battalion who had come forward to pick up some of our wounded was told when he reached the line that in a house some distance away across the fields there were some German wounded. In his carrier, which bore the Red Cross sign, he drove to the house, picked up three enemy soldiers—one wounded and two dead, the latter for identification. He was just leaving to return to our lines when he noticed a group of Germans not 10 yards away. He drove on and hoped for the best. The best did happen for they watched him leave without raising a hand.

NAVAL ASSISTANCE.

RUGBY, Sept. 25

Enemy batteries, troops and storage dumps in the neighbourhood of the French-Italian frontier were again bombarded from the sea in support of land forces, says a Mediterranean communique. The areas were well covered and several explosions were observed. The United States desroyers Woolsey and Edison were both in action. There was active return fire, but our ships suffered neither casualties nor damage. In support of the Eighth Army, the British destroyer Loyal, carried out a heavy bombardment of enemy batteries and gun positions, seven miles north of Rimini. Mine-sweepers working the same area were fired upon by short batteries, but were not hit. Naval activity continues in the Gulf of Genoa, Adriatic and Aegean. MAYOR AS CONTROLLER. (Rec. 12.35 p.m.) NEW YORK, September 25. Mr. La Guardia, New York’s picturesque Mayor, is to take over the entire Allied administration of Italy, says the columnist, Drew Pearson. He adds: La Guardia, who. is of Italian stock, will be made a majorgeneral. The decision was reached by Mr. Churchill and Mr. Roosevelt at the Quebec Conference. With the conditions in Italy increasingly chaotic, Mr. Roosevelt told La

Guardia that he could go there if he would stay until the war was over and assume the job of running the entire country.