The Grey River Argus WEDNESDAY, December 1, 1943. EIGHTH ARMY’S ONSET.

Grey River Argus, 1 December 1943, Page 4

The Grey River Argus WEDNESDAY, December 1, 1943. EIGHTH ARMY’S ONSET.

I Association of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force with the Eighth Army throughout its now lengthy record of campaigning in the Middle East lends particular interest to its operations in Italy. This feeling will be now heightened alike by the fact that General Montgomery’s forces are again on the offensive and that the New Zealanders once again are taking a hand in. operations. The present attack' has the appearance of something bigger than any which the Eighth Army previously has undertaken in Italy, one of the main reasons being, of course, that it is against, a stronger and a better deployed force of Germans than any hitherto tackled on the peninsula. The Germans had evidently chosen the Sangro River for the eastern sector of their winter line, just as they, picked the area north of the Volturno River for the western sector, the line thus running across the Appehnine ranges in a north-easterly direction from the western coastal terminal less I than .100 miles south of Rome. I The Eighth Army had first to 1 establish bridgeheads north of the; Sangro from which to launch on Sunday what the Commander had

termed a “colossal crack”, and from latest accounts, the advance from the two bridgeheads, on a five miles front, has had in places to be made' through very deep mud. It has had, however, the advantages both of a record artillery barrage and Allied air mastery. The result is that already the enemy’s winter line, if there should remain one, will not be where he first laid it, as there now is a great menace to his more important high positions, and also to a road behind, which is his main supply route. The use of very considerable forces by General Montgomery is indicated, the Pome radio describing them as huge, and it may be anticipated that jinitial progress will be continued sufficiently to dislodge the enemy to a considerable extent. Meantime, the Germans are apprehensive that the Fifth Army also may soon begin a fresh offensive, and they are said to be demolishing everything calculated to aid an advance in the fear that they will have to retreat. It will be remembered that an Allied spokesman recently stated that the Germans must be ousted from Rome, and implied that this might bd indirectly undertaken. Any considerable advance by the Eighth Army must render the enemy’s tenancy of Rome limited in duration, because of a danger of encirclement, but it is obviously yet too early to canvas that prospect. It stands to reason that, while they are overcoming no little difficulty in resuming afgressive tactics just now, the Allies will not ignore the climatic disadvantages, which may not yet have reached their worst. It is not the middle, of winter that they would be likely to choose for a full-scale offensive, so that the Fifth Army may await developments on the opposite side of Italy before developing a fresh offensive. The Germans have concentrated ho little strength in Italy, and they have had a choice of positions from which to conduct a defensive campaign, one in which they will sacrifice the countryside and give ground with the object of conserving men and merely delaying the Allies. The Allies, on their part, while they must run all the risks of attack, are handicapped by the soft ground, and swollen rivers, and are unable to make full use of their tanks. So long as such conditions continue, reports that a general offensive is about to be launched can be discounted. Positions here and there which will later serve as good starting points for a full-scale attack will doubtless be sought all along the front, and such positions have in fact been recently gained from time to time. It is indicated that more are in prospect, but even so they will be no more than stepping stones. So much is to be inferred from General Montgomery’s expression, a “colossal crack,” suggesting as it does that the present action is meant to be completed as quickly as it has been launched. There is a deal of mountainous country north of the Sangro River, after which the next stream to be tackled is the Pescara, where Allied amphibious forces earlier engaged in shelling operations. It is thus satisfactory that progress continues to be recorded in Italy despite adverse weather conditions, and is an augury that when there is a favourable change in those conditions faster progress is certain.