CASSINO SET-BACK

Grey River Argus, 1 April 1944, Page 5

CASSINO SET-BACK

TRIBUTE TO N.Z. MEN Allied Move at Anzio Likely [Aus. & N.Z. Press (Rec. 12.46).” ' LONDON March 3L Mr H. Stimson, U.S. War Secre tary, speaking to Press representatives in Washington, paid a tribute to the New Zealanders who fought ( at Cassino. He said: New Zealand . ers and Indian troops in the ni is above Cassino fought bravely anvigorously. But the Germans a« ai showed that they are obstinate and effective soldiers, ‘who will not quu when ordered to hold key posts at all costs.” , The "Daily Herald’s” Cassino coirespondent reports several stories or New Zealanders. He tells how a private lying in dust and darkness naa no idea six tough panzer grenadiers were waiting in, a ruined building to ambush an Allied patrol. But oneGerman sneezed. The New Zealander immediately lobbed two grenades through a gaping roof. A New Zealand sergeant thrusting his head cautiously through a gap in the wall of the building at dawn, found himself staring straight down the barrel of a German tank gun. The tank crew sighted him when he was ,P re " paring to evacuee.. They started to run to the tank. If they reached it the New Zealand patrol would have been wiped out, but, the sergeant yelled to his men to throw grenades, which kept the Germans at bay until a Sherman tank came. Thereupon to the New Zealanders further astonishment forty German paratroopers marched stiffly from a house next door with their hands held high in surrender. Another story .is that of a German paratrooper who was raising himself cautiously to peep through a window frame, and found himself staring straight into the eyes of a Maori corporal. For one split second neither man moved. Then, as the paratrooper opened his mouth to call for help the Maori’s hands closed vicelike around his throat.. Manv German defenders of Cassino speak perfect English without a trace of accent. They confuse our troops by shouting greetings and orders in the darkness. LONDON, March 30. At his press conference in Washington, to-day, Mr. Stimson said: The simple fact is that the Germans have stopped us at Cassino. Our attack has subsided for the time being without achieving the results hoped for. ’ He added that the Nazis occupation of the steep hills, with guns covering the town, gave a continual advantage. Furthermore, ’the rubble from our bombing and shelling had provided good’ cover, and the tunnels and caves in the adjoining hills gave shelter and ease of movement. Rains limited the use of tanks and slowed down our troops climbing the hills under fire. Mr. Stimson commented that this would be a severe setback. only, if we failed to proft from the lesson. The German overseas radio stated that the Allies were regrouping at Cassino. New Zealanders had' been taken out of the line. It added that Americans yesterday determinedly attempted to cross the Mussolini Canal, but were repulsed with heavy losses. Artillery was active at Cassino and northwards on Wednesday. In the town, tanks in the vicinity of the Continental Hotel were engaged by guns during the day. Allied troops were subjected to intermittent shelling, and mortaring on Tuesday night. There was heavy mortar fire at night against our positions arodnd Monte Croce, eight and a-half miles northwest of Cassino. In the mountain area our guns silenced heavy enemy artillery and mortar fire one mile north of Cassino. South of Cassino, an enemy patrol crossed the Rapido, but withdrew when engaged. THE BEACH-HEAD. LONDON, March 31. An Allied communique from Italy says: Troops in the Anzio beachhead yesterday beat off two small German attacks. ’Patrols were active on all fronts. .. The Germans apparently consider General Alexander will transfer his main weight to the Anzio front. The Germans continue making large-scale jabs aimed at testing the beach-head strength, says Reuter's correspondent at Advanced Headquarters of the Fifth Army. Guns and small tire quickly, drove back two patrol raids yesterday. Allied guns broke up small German concentrations on the right flank and south-west of Cisterna and also dispersed a working party of 50 Germans strengthening a ravine outpost on the opposite side of the beachhead. Meanwhile Allied and German guns are tearing the ruins of Cassino apart in an intermittent but violent two-day barrage. The Rome radio declared that General Clark had been forced to realise that the road from Ca'ssino into the Liri Plain was barred to him and he, therefore, was preparing to transfer the bulk of his forces elsew|herc|.- '.‘The Cassino sector, like the Adriatic coast, will become a secondary front.” Reuter’s correspondent reports light shelling and the usual patrol incursions o n the Eighth Army front against German outposts among the fortified houses, but no major encounters.

AIR ACTIVITY. LONDON, March 30. The Allied Air Forces flexy 1000 sorties on Wednesday. They lost 11 aircraft and. 22 enemy aircraft were destroyed. Traffic is believed to have been brought to ?. standstill at the Milan railway yards, as the result of two raids within twelve hours. Tuesday night’s raid of R.A.F. heavy bombers was followed within twelve hours by the daylight raid by eighteen Liberators. The Bolozano-Turin railway yards were also temporarily blocked as the result of yesterday’s raids. Thirteen German fighters were destroyed in the course of attacks on Bolozano and Turin. Spitfires, Warhawks and Thunderbolts accounted for another seven Nazi planes in four separate engagements fought almost simultaneously at mid-afternoon in the Anzio area.

Bombing of Rome MR. CURTIN'S STATEMENT CANBERRA, March 30. The Prime Minister (Mr. Curtin) in a letter to the • Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne (Doctor Mannix) replied to the p-meal receive! through Archbishop Mannix from all Catholic Bishops in Australia, that Rome should not be bombed. Mr. Curtin’s reply says: Those m supreme charge of the armed forces of the United Nations are the sole judges of the military importance of Rome and of military mea; sures required to prevent Nazi forces from usino- it to their military advantage! No damage would be inflicted on Rome for political purposes, but only from military necessity.