Smashing Blows At South Italy

Northern Advocate, 21 August 1943, Page 3

Smashing Blows At South Italy

LONDON, August 19.

Allied armies stand poised ready for the next assault, while air and naval forces are staging one of the greatest bombardments in military history against southern Italy. There is a note of urgency in this terrific onslaught, but correspondents are left to guess where the next offensive will fall.

The Allies today scarred the toe of Italy with bombs and gunfire, blotting out enemy batteries, smashing bridges and tunnels, tearing up railways, wrecking power stations and making roads impassable for the war-weary Axis forces fleeing from Sicily. These remnants of a German army of 75,000 have been battered and blasted in the last 24 hours in one of the most intensive combined bombardments of the war. They are not being allowed time to re-group, but must trek northward menaced from the skies at every step, j The Germans already appear to have decided that Southern Italy is too hot for them to attempt to hold. Allied pilots are striking at vulnerable points where roads and railways cross bridges, machine-gunning trains and lorry convoys. Some battle-worn Axis forces have abandoned land routes for small boats on the (western coast of the mainland, hoping thus to avoid the drag-net, but our war-planes are catching them. A correspondent of the British United Press at Allied headquarters says that isolation of 80 miles of the Calabrian Peninsula from the rest of Italy has been carried a step further with attacks on railways which follow the coast along both sides of the peninsula between Messina Straits and a narrow neck of country at Catanzaro. Hounded from AirGuns of the Allied forces in Sicily co-operated in these attacks, pouring out continuous fire across three mile of straits into the Italian defences in an area around Reggio. Planes from, the North-West African Air Force, attacking objectives at thh toe, met only light opposition as they crossed the coast but this increased inland. Bombs at Angitola fell on both ends of an important railway bridge during the Mitchells' attack, while Marauders plastered similar targets at Pontedistalletti, 10 miles south of Catanzaro. Lightnings strafed railway yards and other targets at Soverato, south of Stalletti. Bostons attacked railway targets at Bagnara on the west coast, also vehicles at two places further north.. Telephone communication across the Italian frontier was still cut tonight, and trains iwere held up. Official news is non-existent and is replaced by rumour.

A correspondent of the "Daily Mail" from the frontier says that reports crossing the border support the belief that Badoglio has decided to capitulate and may already have given the word to surrender, but the news may not he known for days.

To Save Religious Centre? The only reason for declaring Rome an open city was a desire to spare the centre of Catholicism, declared Stefani’s diplomatic correspondent, according to Rome radio. "Some British and American circles of bad faith claimed that the decision was chiefly due to a desire to spare the Romans further bombing because their psychological and physical state oould no longer support it. This affirmation is only a cheap insinuation and shows cur enemies are incapable of understanding the situation and the Italians’ mentality, having made a declaration that the Italian Government is now systematically taking all measures for which international law provides." Germans Withdrawing From Toe Allied artillery, air forces and naval units, for the last 24 hours have been plastering Southern Italy in one oi the most formidable attacks ever seen, rays Algiers radio. The withdrawal of German units from Reggio ai Calabria is continuing and the bulk are now about 40 miles from the town. Widespread Air Attacks The Allied air forces are intensifying attacks against the whole centre of Italy, as far as 50 miles north of Rome. The Cairo air communique stales that a large force of United States Army Air Force Liberators yesterday successfully attacked the marshalling' yards at Foggia. A heavy weight of bombs covered the entire yards. Direct hits were scored on an overhead railway-bridge, carriage repair shops, warehouses and military barracks. A large number of carriages were seen burning in the yards. Explosions and fires started in locomotive repair shops and near the main rail-station. Liberators shot down four fighters in the course of these attacks. .Royal Air Force Halifaxes and Liberators on Wednesday night bombed marshalling yards at Crotone. starting fires. Royal Air Force Beaufighters and Wellingtons in daylight on Wednesday attacked harbour installations and shipping in the Aegean Sea. also the west coast of Greece. They scored a direct hit on a small vessel at Prevesa, and Candia harbour was also bombed. Four Allied planes are missing from these and other operations. Roads Crowded With Deserters

Highways in Central and Southern Italy are streaming with Italian deserters. Strikes are spreading and peace demonstrations are occurring throughout the country, says the Madrid correspondent of the Associated Press quoting travellers arriving from Italy by plane. The Italian army is not only anxious to quit fighting, but is being disintegrated by thousands of desertions. Vast Army Of Refugees Reliable sources estimate that more than one and a-half million bombedout Italians are wandering on the roads. The Stockholm correspondent of the British United Press says reports from Berne indicate that a vast army of refugees are wandering around Northern Italy, threatened with starvation. Their food position is already catastrophic. Italian war production has catastrophically dropped as a result of Allied bombing, states the Berne correspondent of the Stockholm "Svenska Dagbladet.” Italian military authorities estimate that during last month the war potential went down 60 per cent. No new arms or munitions can be produced henceforth by Italian war industry. Amputating Italy’s Foot Allied bombers are concentrating on ihe amputation of the foot of Italy from the remainder of the country in striking the vital communications artery in Foggia, state Allied observers, who point out that Foggia is the last big road and railway junction in southern Italy. Four roads and five railways converge on Foggia, which had to take the place of devastated Naples. Reconnaissance shows Naples marshalling yards and depots are dead after day and night pounding. The Italians apparently have not tried to repair them to restart the flow oi west coast traffic. Instead all "escape’ traffic is routed through Foggia, which occupies in east coast communication the place of Naples in the west,