BIG OFFENSIVE

Grey River Argus, 11 April 1945, Page 5

BIG OFFENSIVE

BEGUN IN ITALY After Air Blitz (Rec. 10.10). LONDON, April 10. The bulk of the Allied air strength based in Italy was thrown into last night’s terrific bombardment of an eight mile strip of territory in the path of the Eighth Army, pushing towards the Po River, reports an As-sociated-Press correspondent in Rome. St. Lugo, an important station on the Ravenna-Bologna railway, is within the limited area. It was literally soaked with high explosives. Saturation was so fierce that pilots reported it appeared to exceed even the devastation at Cassino. St. Lugo lies one mile west of the Senio“River, which has been the boundary line between the Germans and the Eighth Army for many months. HUGE ALLIED AIR ASSAULT (Rec. 6.30) LONDON, April 9 A Reuter correspondent at Allied Mediterranean headquarters said that 1,650 American Fortresses and Liberators and 150 medium bombers, and hundreds of fighters on Monday carried out concentrated attacks on German positions along an eight miles stretch of the Senio River barring the Eighth Army from' an advance to the valley. (Rec. 1.15) LONDON, April 10 The Eighth Army last night, launched an offensive in the Adriatic sector where it crossed the Senio River on a wide front in the vicinity of Lugo, reports a British United Press correspondent at Allied headquarters in Italy. Heavy fighting is progressing in what probably is the greatest battle thus far fought in Italy. The attack was preceded by the‘heaviest air bombardment of the Italian campaign. The bombardment continued throughout yesterday and to-day.