RAPID ADVANCE

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25177, 14 April 1945, Page 7

RAPID ADVANCE

village. Men of the 24th Battalion engaged three of them as they passed through the village, and damaged one, but the Tigers were more concerned with finding a way from the trap than with fighting. Told that a Tiger was near by, the men of the 25th Battalion groped their way through an artificial fog of dust and smoke that limited vision to a few yards. One infantryman lugging a mortar almost ran headlong into one. At Bvds he fired' into the armour-belt at the rear. Then he backed off and sent in another bomb. Oil flowed through two holes less than an inch in diameter, and the tank, its engine damaged, lurched into a bank. The crew were taken prisoner. Meanwhile, the 24th Battalion overran two enemy howitzers drawn by horses, and took the gun crews prisoner. During darkness, the Germans made repeated attempts to blow up a vital culvert, but were fought off, and finally a New Zealand corporal withdrew the charges. Across the Santerno German <,deceptions were revealed as our troops went forward, for in one area alone there were four wooden "guns," which presented a fearsome aspect at only a few yards' range. The steady, plodding advance went on yesterday afternoon and last night, but in spite of the known presence of large enemy forces, resistance did not harden. By dawn today the 24th Battalion had crossed the stopbanks of the Santerno and its attendant canal, and was establishing on the other side. The menace of a counter-attack in force is growing, but our supporting arms are well forward to meet an emer- ; gency. Behind our most forward troops the countryside is covered with the dust of traffic inching forward over almost impassable tracks. The New Zealand Division is getting mobile again.

DOMINION TROOPS | APPROACH TO THE SENIO STRONG DEFENCES BROKEN (N.Z.E.F Official War Correspondent) IN THE FIELD, April 11 After an advance of more than six miles since their storming of the Senio River 36 hour! ago, New Zealand troops of the 24th Battalion are on the formidable barrier of the Santerno River. Besides the initial crossing of the Senio, which with its 20ft stopbanks and supporting canals formed a defensive line par excellence, the New Zealanders also had to face two powerfully armed lines of pillboxes and camouflaged gun-sites. Then there weretank barriers, such as the Lugo Canal and the Scola Trattura, spaced at the best defensive intervals along the route of the advance. In spite of all these, there were few unusual incidents in the past 36 hours. Tank and duns Silenced The advance kept amazingly to schedule, and few counter-attacks worthy of the name developed. In the first few hours after the Senio crossing, Tiger tanks were reported near a little