ENEMY THRUSTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25458, 12 February 1944, Page 5

ENEMY THRUSTS

ANZIO FIGHTING MAIN ATTACK TO COME ALLIED PROGRESS AT CASSINO (Rec. 11.30 p.m.) LONDON, Feb. 11. The Germans yesterday continued to probe the Allied lines in the Anzio beach-head area. This information is given in to-day’s Allied communique, which also states that further progress has been made at Cassino. Rain and snow on the Eighth Army front have limited the activity there to patrolling.

The communique states that yesterday heavy bombers gave strong support to the Allied ground forces m the beach-head area, carrying out attacks on German troop concentrations and gun positions. Pressure Slackens

“Fierce fighting, which has been raging since Monday, slackened oil appreciably yesterday afternoon, but it is too early yet to tell if the mam impetus of the enemy’s attack is spent. He may renew it, but his losses have been very heavy, judged from the number of his dead now lying in front ol our position,” says the Exchange Telegraph's correspondent at the beachhead. “There is no doubt that we arc now faced with a real attack, an aiiout enemy attempt to breach °ur positions Our troops have been heavily tried' but the enemy everywhere ha.i been'held in our outer defences. Referring to the increased activity by bombers in the beachhead area, a despatch from Allied headquarters in Italy recalls that heavy bombers, used in the same . way, turned fine scales at Salerno. Another message states that bombers and fighters _ have been switched from the Eighth Army front to pound the German posi tions in the beach-head area. The Allied forces on the Anzio beach-head are definitely on the defensive, says Reuter’s Algiers correspondent. The heaviest fighting has been occurring north and north-west of Cisterna, the Germans counter-attack-ing along the perimeter in an effort to find a weak spot. The Americans west of Cisterna withstood three attacks and then gained some ground. The Press Association’s military correspondent says the Germans are making many wild claims about the situation at the Anzio bridgehead, but the facts are that five or six days ago we withdrew from a salient which had become uncomfortable. Apart from that, as far as is ascertainable from reliable sources, the line has remained almost unaltered. The British United Press correspondent at Allied headquarters says the bridgehead battle is moving to a new crisis. Von Kesselring’s troops are massing in force after a series of punches delivered along the Allied line. Beach-head Contracting The military writer of the Daily Express says that under all-round pressure the Allied beach-head has been contracting towards the beaches at the rate of about a m;le a day for the last 48 hours, but he adds that the beachhead can contract a good deal more before General Clark’s position becomes untenable. The Columbia Broadcasting System’s correspondent reports that German heavy guns continue to pour a stream of shells into our beach-head, while our bombers continue to pound enemy troop and tank concentrations on and behind the beach-head front.

The Combined Press correspondent, cabling from Anzio last night, says the situation is possibly a little less grim as the result of the heavy casualties inflicted on the Germans. He adds: “It is impossible to speak adequately of the performance of the British, who for 15 days have ceaselessly engaged an enemy so superior numerically that even the annihilation of a German battalion has brought only temporary relief.” The Vichy radio says an Allied counter-attack is imminent. Large quantities of war material are being landed at Nettuno and Anzio, and the Allied invasion forces have been considerably reinforced in the past few days.

Although the Germans on Wednesday claimed that an affensive was launched upon the Anzio beach-head, the German overseas radio yesterday stated that the counter-attack of the past 24 hours was not intended to be a major attack, and had only local significance for the time being. Battle for Cassino Reuter’s Algiers correspondent reports that the Allies yesterday progressed slightly in the grim battle around Cassino, but the position is essentially unchanged. The Germans retain most of the town and the hilltop. Both sides are using tanks. The Germans counter-attacked American positions on the 1800-foot Mount Albanetta, overlooking the Rome road, but were beaten back after savage fighting. The British made progress north-east of Castelforte, and beat off two German counter-attacks in the Garigliano sector.