GAINS IN ITALY

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25001, 18 September 1944, Page 5

GAINS IN ITALY

SOUTH OF- RIMINI FIERCE GERMAN RESISTANCE (Rccd. 6.30 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 17 The Eighth Army in the Adriatic sector in Italy has enlarged the area it holds south of Rimini, in spite of fierce German resistance. The Germans had no time to build strongpoints, but they were well dug in, and our troops met heavy mortar and machine-gun fire. The Eighth Army continues to advance on the whole Adriatic front, says the Exchange Telegraph's Rome correspondent. Greek troops reached the edge of Rimini airfield, three miles from the town. Fighting continues four miles south-west of Rimini itself. Germans taken' prisoner since the start of the Adriatic offensive total 5500. A British official wireless message says that the Allies have made important, if not spectacular, progress in the Adriatic sector, where they have established bridgeheads over the Marano River. Beyond the river, several ridges further north have still to be negotiated before the Allies debouch into .the Lombardy Plain. American, United Kingdom and Indian troops are fighting fiercely in the face of the Gothic Line north _of Florence. The Germans are fighting back grimly from behind mines and wire, and they hold complete observation of the'surrounding country from the hills. EXTRADITION DEMAND FORMER VICHY MINISTERS LONDON, Sept. 10 The Provisional Government of France has decided to demand, immediately after the armistice, the extradition from Germany of Laval, Petain and other prominent Vichy officials, says the Associated Press correspondent in Paris. Four former Vichy Ministers have already been brought back from Algiers for trial in Paris. They are Pierre Flandin, former Foreign Minister; Marcel Peyrouton, former Governor of Algeria and former Minister of the Interior; General Bergeret, former Minister of Air; and Tixier Vignancourt, formerly chief of Vichy broadcasting. FINANCES OF FRANCE CONFIDENCE IN FRANC (Reed. 5.35 p.m.) PARIS, Sept. 16 Four, years of German occupation have cost France £4,500,000,000, says a statement by the Minister of Finance, M. Le Percq. Public credit, however, is intact. The liberation of France brought immediate relief from the Germans' steady financial drain, which was estimated at £4,000,000 daily, apart from extraordinary imposts. M. Le Percq said he had received encouraging news about the resumption of tax payments. Bonds were holding firm on the Bourse, and a speculative rise in stocks was a happy sign that the public had regained confidence in the money value of the franc. _ Money in the country would recover its purchasing power as increased production helped the supply situation. The ! Allies had imposed stringent measures to restrict purchases by their troops in order to relievo the strain on the nation's supplies. > STRIKE IN DENMARK (Reed. 8.40 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 17 The Danish news service says that, as a protest against the Gestapo's execution of 23 Danes, the Danish Freedom Council declared a general strike from noon yesterday to noon tomorrow.