ITALIAN FRONTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25514, 19 April 1944, Page 5

ITALIAN FRONTS

SMALL-SCALE ACTIVITY ENEMY PATROLS REPULSED (Rec. 1 a.m.) LONDON, Apl. 18. Ground operations in Italy were on a small scale yesterday. The Canadians on the Adriatic coast repulsed a small German attack, and enemy patrols on the main Fifth Army front and the Anzio beach-head were driven back., Not a single house in Cassino has changed hands for about three weeks, says the British United Press correspondent with the Fifth Army. It is suicide for a soldier on either side to stick his head out of his dug-out in daylight. Both sides have placed mines and barbed wire in the front line, which meanders through the town, making effective patrolling practically impossible. But after sunset the soldiers who are imprisoned in their quarters ' throughout the day come up for fresh air and exercise, and porters carrying food, water, and ammunition creep into the town. The Germans cannot see, but hear what is going on, and fill the night with shells, mortar bombs, and machine-gun fire.

Special Allied squads at present are sprinkling quicklime on piles of rubble under which scores of Germans who were killed during last month’s terrific Allied bombardment are buried.

Rome radio says American patrols yesterday attacked south-west of Carrocetto, but had to withdraw under violent German artillery fire. Some figures of German losses since the beach-head landing show that up to Friday last the Germans employed 2472 planes to carry out 277 raids on the beach-head. The Allies destroyed 176, and probably 117 more were accounted for by flak. It is estimated that 200 enemy tanks or self-propelled guns were destroyed by the Allied forces in the 12 weeks’ period, in which nearly 4000 prisoners were taken.