DEADLOCK IN ITALY

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 November 1944, Page 5

DEADLOCK IN ITALY

ALLIES’ OFFENSIVE HALTED GEN. ALEXANDER’S STATEMENT (Rec. 1.5) LONDON, Nov.' !._■ General Alexander, addressing a Press conference at Rome, made no effort to conceal the fact that the powerful offensive launched against the Gothic Line in August had come to almost a complete halt on the threshold of the Po Valley. "I cannot tell how long will be required to drive the Germans out, but it will be done. There is no sign of any German intention to. pull out of Italy immediately.” • x . General Alexander added that in the 14-month period, since the first landing in Italy, 51,000 square miles of Italian territory was liberated, 15 of the 30 German divisions engaged since May 11. had been destroyed, and German casualties in the same period totalled’T94,ooo, including 54.000 killed,- 56,000 taken prisoner, and 104,000 wounded. Other figures cited included 340 tanks captured or destroyed, 33’3 locomotives and 36,868 rail-trucks captured or destroyed. General Alexander admitted that Marshal Kesselring’s handling of the withdrawal in Italy on the whole had been “very good.”. He said.at no time during the Italian campaign had the Allies anything but slight; nuriierical superiority. . Referring to German counter-at-tacks south of Bologna, Reuter’s correspondent at Allied Headquarters says there were four attacks., -he Germans’ momentum twice earned them almost to the American hill positions, where hand‘to hand fighting ensued. The Germans turned on flamethrowers, but the attacks were beaten off with heavy casualties on both sides. ... A Rome correspondent says with no improvement in the ground conditions positions on the Bth Army front show little change. Meldola on the western bank of the River Ronco below Forli is now in our hands and our bridgehead has been further improved.. Further west, the Germans have withdrawn from Caminate. . Hand to hand fighting developed m a series of four fierce counter-attacks supported by flame throwers against American positions in the Vednano sector four miles south of ILghway Nine. The Germans failed similarly in the Gestelaccio area. British units on the right flank captured Monte Forcella. Brazilians in a co-ordinated attack on a hill on the eastern side of Serchio Valley captured four objectives. Polish troops compelled the Germans to abandon the dominating Caminate Rocks overlooking the plain around Forli, says Reuter’s correspondent at Allied Headquarters in Italy. With the capture of Meldola the Allies are now only two miles from the key town of Forli. FUTURE OF MONARCHY. NEW YORK, November 1. The Crown Prince Humbert, of Italy, in an interview with the New York “Times” Rome correspondent, declared: In future the Italian Government obviously must move far to the Left, but that should not conflict, in the slightest with the monarchic institution. ’ . The correspondent says: Prince Humbert realises that the weight of the past is the monarchy's greatest handicap, but he wants to demonstrate that, in future, Italy can be just as democratic under a monarchy as Linder a republic. Prince Humberts goal is a liberal democratic regime, similar-to that in England, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.