CAMPAIGN IN ITALY

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25021, 11 October 1944, Page 5

CAMPAIGN IN ITALY

MORE BAD WEATHER GAINS IN APENNINES , (Rccd. 11.80 p.m.) LONDON. Oct. 10 Bad weather again hampered opera- : tions in Italy yesterday, says the Allied ' communique. Activity by Eighth Army 1 troops in the Adriatic sector, where the ' ground is waterlogged, has been con- ; fined to patrols. Troops of an Indian , division south of the main road from ■ Imola to Bologna havo gained the greater part of an important ridge. ; Fifth Army troops in the Central ' Apennines have improved their forward positions, particularly on each side of 1 the main road from Florence to Bologna. s Our guns are steadily shelling the road ' from the Adriatic coast to Bologna, and are also firing on German positions on i the outskirts of Bologna. The Americana are ten miles from Bologna as a result of a two-mile advance, says Reuter's correspondent. The advance was made against the bitterest opposition in deep mud. The Germans massed heavy reinforcements on both flanks in an effort to halt the advance. German demolitions as well as the violent rainstorms are holding up largescale operations in Italy. A correspondent describes the demolitions as exceptipnal, even bv the standards of this campaign. Wnole hillsides have been blown away by the Germans, and our infantry had to clear up the German rearguards before the sappers could get on with the task of restoration. This makes the advance a slow and painful business.