SWAYING BATTLE

New Zealand Herald, Volume 80, Issue 24760, 7 December 1943, Page 3

SWAYING BATTLE

TILLAGE* WON AND LOST CAPTURE OF SAN VITO j LONDON, Dec. 5 A fierce battle for the village of Orsogna, on the Eighth Army front in Italy, which the Allies took and the Germans recaptured in a strong counter-attack, is still going on. Bitter fighting is also proceeding for Guardiagrele, south-west of Orsogna. Active patrolling is being carried out by General Montgomery's men in the mountainous disI trict. Street fighting 'went on in the streets of San Vito yesterday morning, when j the Germans made a desperate effort I to hold this town on the Adriatic coast, states a war correspondent with the Eighth Army. The enemy had blown up the bridges and put down mines in the approaches to San Vito, but sappers, working through the night, found a way for the Allied tanks to get through, and shortly after dawn tanks, supported by infantry, went in to attack the town. The Germans tried using mortars and field guns as our forces swept into San Vito, but tanks, with infantry riding on them, rumbled down the streets, wiping out nests of machine-gunners and snipers in upper storeys of houses, but suddenly the enemy firing stopped and the remaining 40 unwounded Germans walked out and surrendered. Both armies in Italy continue to press forward against determined resistance, states an Allied communique. Enemy losses in killed, wounded and prisoners have been heavy. The Eighth Army advance has continued in all sectors along the coast. San Vito, five miles south of Ortona, has been captured and our troops are moving ori to the Moro River. Desperate enemy resistance continues in the Orsogna area. Fifth Army troops have consolidated newly-won positions while advancing further against strongly prepared positions in the mountainous area.