Important New Gains In Italy

Northern Advocate, 14 December 1943, Page 3

Important New Gains In Italy

(Rec. 11.30 a.m.) LONDON, Dec. 13. Canadian shock troops of the Eighth Army, pressing back German forces 40,000 strong massed on the 15-mile Moro front, have made important new gains, say latest despatches from the Italian front. The Eighth Army now holds dominating heights two miles south of Ortona, which is a coastal bulwark of the German line. The new successes have given the Eighth Army gun sites commanding the German positions there. Three German divisions, including one Panzer, are fighting a do-or-die action to prevent an Eighth Army breakthrough. The battle now being fought out in a three miles’ wide no-man’s land north of the Moro must vitally affect the rate of Pescara. The prize of this battle is the gerat motor road to Rome.

Stubborn Resistance Other Eighth Army forces farther westward are driving slowly but surely lor a lateral road a few miles north of the Moro. The Germans in this sector have been reinforced and are fighting fiercely to prevent the Eighth Army from reaching more manoeuvrable ground north of their present positions. Reuter reports that the Eighth Army is now dose to the Ortona-Orsogna-Guardigrele Road, preventing the Germans from using it. Reuter declares that heavy German concentrations on narrow fronts is evidence of a determination to fight a? long as possible to prevent a breakthrough to North Italy. Artillery exchanges have been general on the Fifth Army front in the past 24 hours, both sides pushing out patrols. Muddy roads and swollen streams are restricting movement. The Algiers correspondent of the Exchange Telegraph Agency says that since the invasion of Italy the Fifth and Eighth Armies have taken prisoner 6000 Germans. Strong Armoured Forces General Alexander is concentrating his main attack’ on the Adriatic front in a thrust, between Ortona and Guardiagrele, says Vichy radio. The British in this sector are advancing with strong armoured forces. Powerful British armoured units arc operating in the rear of Orsogna. Paris radio asserts that a violent Eighth Army attack on Pescara is imminent. Some reports state that General Montgomery has already launched this attack. Reuter’s Stockholm correspondent says that a German military spokesman is. reported to have told neutral correspondents in Berlin that the Allies would not reach Rome before Christmas and added that German resistance has not yet reached a climax. > Further progress has been made on the Eighth Army front in face of determined enemy resistance, states an Algiers communique. Our positions north of the'Moro were improved and widened, and strong enemy counter-attacks were thrown back. Our positions on the Fifth Army front have been farther consolidated. Patrols are active. Bad weather yesterday curtailed air operations. There was no enemy activity. Our fighters and fighter-bombers on offensive patrol, bombed ground targets and destroyed a number of motorvehicles near Chieti and also attacked Itri. Medium bombers attacked railway yards and an airfield at Terracina. None of our planes is missing. New German Trick Following an incident which occurred on Friday, the Canadian commander on the Moro River sector, sent a message to his men advising caution when 'capturing prisoners. The incident occurred north of San Leonardo. The Germans put up a stiff fight against a Canadian platoon. The Germans eventually surrendered, but when the Canadians attempted to round up prisoners, German machine-gunners opened fire from an ambush and wiped out the platoon. A war correspondent at Allied headquarters North Africa, says that since the invasion of Italy, the Fifth and Eighth armies have taken in all 6000 German prisoners. Weather on Fifth Army Front Overcast weather with the ground in very soft condition again interfered with the advance of the Fifth Army in the coastal area where the Germans are fighting desperately, states a correspondent at Allied headquarters. The Germans on the Eighth Army front have thrown in three divisions on the 15-mile defence line running from the sea through Ortona and Orsogna to the western mountains range of Maiella, which rises SOOO feet . Two anchors in this defence line are the Adriatic on the left flank and Guardiagrele on the right flank. The divisions defending it are the 19tli Panzer Grenadiers (pitted against the Canadians on the coast), the 26th Panzer Division in the centre, and the 65th Infantry Division on the right flank. In addition to these, the Germans have brought in Alpine troop units in the mountains. This is indeed a strong line. Our troops will, when they break through, find good ground for manoeuvres. We shall undoubtedly use the pick of the Eighth Army troops, including the New Zealanders and Indians, who are now in General Alexander’s army. High Ground Captured We captured yesterday- some high ground overlooking Ortona and are within two miles of this city. Further inland our advance has brought our artillery close enough to the lateral road from Ortona. to Orsogna to prevent the enemy holding it under our heavy shelling. On the Fifth Army front, both our troops and the enemy are engaged in heavy patrolling. North of Filiano, strong enemy patrols attempted to break through and were repulsed. A little further south and west, enemy forces observed approaching our line were broken up by mortar and artillery fire. Throughout the front there were exchanges of mortar and artillery fire. Rome’s Gates Threatened The German-controlled Scandinavian Telegraph Bureau, according to P w euter’s Stockholm correspondent, quotes Berlin officials saying that the Allied offensive in front of the Pontine Marshes is' seriously menacing the gates of Rome. The artillery concentration is unparalleled in the Italian war.