GREAT BATTLE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21150, 19 July 1943, Page 3

GREAT BATTLE

KEY CATANIAN BRIDGE PARATROOPS REPULSED LATER ALLIED SUCCESS (Britiuh Official Wireless.) (11 a..m) RUGBY, July 18. A correspondent reporting from Lentini on Thursday said that a major battle was then imminent on the Catanian plain and that fact was a temporary success for the Germans. The key-point in the last 48 hours of fighting had been the Primo Sole bridge over the river halfway between Lentini and Catania. It is more than 4001 t. long and spans one of the few Sicilian rivers which do not dry in summer. To prevent the Germans destroying the bridge, we dropped parachutists the night before last, with order's to capture and hold it. While some dropped behind the enemy lines and rounded up a large number of Italian prisoners, whom they kept under cover all yesterday and finally brought across the river to our lines after dark, the main body captured the bridge and held it all yesterday against tremendous odds. For nearly Zt hours they were shelled, mortared, strafed from the air, ancl attacked on the ground by seven Italian battalions. There were less than 200 to resist this continuous onslaught, but they held out stubbornly. Three Hours Too Late

However, our relieving troops were held up by the Germans at Lentini and when at last they managed to' rush up to relieve the parachutists at the bridge they were three hours too late, for the parachutists, with only four rounds of ammunition left among them, had been forced to withdraw and the bridge was in German hands again.

Another pttempt was made to recapture the bridge and we managed to get two companies across it, but they were heavily counter-attacked and driven into the river. However, a German attempt to blow up the bridge was unsuccessful, for the parachutists had removed the charges and (hey only managed to blow a hole in it with an aerial bomb.

The enemy made good use of the respite and hundreds of his transport vehicles moved into Catania and it is known that he has numerous' tanks there. The bridge is under fire from both sides and neither is able to do anything with it. • The Germans are desperately trying to bring up all the reinforcements possible and our own strength is constantly increasing. A correspondent reported to-night that a bridge is now in our hands.