PRESSING AHEAD

New Zealand Herald, Volume 80, Issue 24775, 24 December 1943, Page 8

PRESSING AHEAD

SECOND EDITION

ALLIES IN ITALY MOUNTAIN BATTLEFIELD STIFF ORTONA BATTLE By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright (Reed. 1.50 a.m.) LONDON. Dec. 23 Infiltration by Americans in the vicinity of Acquafondata have carried spearheads within about seven miles of Cassino, says Reuter's correspondent in Algiers. The Fifth Army's battlefield is inside a snow-tipped mountain triangle of wild country with 3000 ft. peaks. The rocks are so sharp that they tear soldiers' boots and gaiters on mountain paths spiralling up to wind-swept mountain tops. The Cairo radio claimed that the Fifth Army had taken San Vittore, : a key German position at the head of Liri Valley, but this is not supported by Reuter's correspondent, who says the Americans are closing in on the town, which is clearly visible from Allied positions.

The Vichy radio reports that a vicious duel between British and German field artillery and mortars is going on around San Vittore. The Germans are concentrating all possible forces for the defence of this vital strongpoint, which is now the main target of General Clark's attacks.

Reuter's Algiers correspondent says the entire Eighth Army line on the Adriatic coastal front is pressing ahead. The battle for Ortona is one of the stillest of the Italian war.