Great Tank Battle Raging in Alban Hills

Manawatu Times, Volume 69, Issue 128, 2 June 1944, Page 5

Great Tank Battle Raging in Alban Hills

LONDON, May 31. A great tank battle for Borne is now raging on the southern elopes of the Alban Hills, stated a British United Press correspondent in a message dispatched 16 miles from Borne. He added: The fighting Is fantastically close and heavy; for instance, Allied tanks in some sectors have smashed their way into enemy territory, nosing out pillboxes and crushing dugouts. Where some tanks were knocked out of action, their crews jumped out and pinned down and captured numbers of prisoners. Then, as some Allied tanks rolled back they picked up the crews of the disabled tanks, with their prisoners, and went off with the extra passengers riding outside. The German snipers left in dugouts and foxholes popped up and. although close enough to see some of their own men on the tanks, fired, causing soms to topple off —killed by German bullets. This heavy fighting, which is going on all day, has brought the Allied forces another mile nearer to Borne. They aro now within 16 miles of the city. As our forces had nosed up the slopes, the German High Command concentrated tanks to meet us. The forces clashed and fought bitterly, but the weight of the Allied attack could not be denied, and in the end the enemy moved back a mile.

The correspondent continues to describe how some American units pushed forward parallel with Velletri. “From a hill I could see artillery smoke which appeared to indicate that some of the units had already passed beyond Velletrl. by-passing the town itself. ‘British units continue to make con siderable advances along the highway running north of Anzio, through Carroceto, but the Germans have made the town of Lanuvio their main defence Point in this area. They have not only fortified it as best they could, but are fighting thereabouts more bitterly than throughout the campaign, throwing in all sorts of reserve artillery, including antiaircraft guns, which they are using as antitank weapons.*' TERRIFIC POUNDING Or GERMAN TRANSPORT German transport behind the Eighth Army front is now leaving Highway Six at Frosinone and making its way over tortuous secondary roads running northwards from Rome to Avozzano. The natural bottleneck on this road is the little town of Subiaco, nearly 30 miles east of Rome. Here last week a block made by medium bombers started a traffic jamb that gave the fighterbombers their first day of transport blitzing Early yesterday morning a Kitty bomber squadron of tbe Desert Air Force found a big German convoy halted near Subiaco. The bombers made craters in tbe road at both ends of the convoy to prevent attempts at escape. Then, with Mustangs, they waded into the convoy, destroying 97 vehicles and damaging scores of others. Bostons later joined'in and, with fighter and light bombers, destroyed over 100 more in the battle area and north of Rome, where they also hit bridges, command posts and bivouac areas, further dislocating German road movements. Marauders bombed five bridges along the Tiber above and below Rome Luftwaffe opposition was again very light. Wellingtons last night added to the chaos at Subiaco