BATTLE RACING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25428, 8 January 1944, Page 5

BATTLE RACING

FIFTH ARMY FRONT POSSESSION OF SAN VITTORE (Rec. 1 a.m.) LONDON, Jan. 7. The Americans of the Fifth Army are slowly but surely winning the battle for San Vittore, the German stronghold guarding the highway to Cassino. Bitter lighting raged all through the daylight hours yesterday, the Americans slogging their way from house to house in the face of stubborn resistance. - Only three strongpoints are left to the Germans in the village, however, and although their artillery in the hills is laying down a heavy barrage, their positions are weakening. The struggle continues all along the 10-mile snow-covered front, with San Vittore as. the pivot, and further small advances have been made in the second day of the attack. Four miles to the north-east of San Vittore the Americans have captured a 34'JOft mountain and now threaten the enemy’s subsidiary lines of comhiimication with San Vittore.

A communique says that British destroyers on Monday night bombarded Pesaro, a railway-served Adriatic port about 80 miles due east of Florence. Light bombers on Tuesday night attacked chemical works at Torre de Piassiera, and fires were left burning. Bad weather yesterday limited air operations, but fighter-bombers attacked enemy gun positions in the Cervara area. One of our aircraft is missing. A new type of fighter-bomber, named Invader, is mentioned in the news from the Fifth Army front. It is an adaption of the Mustang, suited for dive-bombing and carrying two 5001 b bombs. Invaders attacking the Cervaro area used new tactics. Instead of dive-bombing, they roared through the narrow valleys as close to the ground as possible, gunning the German positions at 300 miles an hour.