PROGRESS IN ITALY

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLXII, Issue 15466, 29 September 1943, Page 3

PROGRESS IN ITALY

SECOND EDITION

FIFTH ARMY ADVANCES FOGG IA IN BRITISH HANDS ENEMY CAUGHT NAPPING. (British Official Wireless) (Received 10.45 a.m.) RUGBY, Sept. 28 F'oggia was littl© known in normal times but tlx© city which has a jjopulatioii of 60,000 and is now in British hands is of extreme importance today. There are dozens of airfields close by and these will be of inestimable value to the Allies. Fogg.ia was one of the Luftwaffe’s key bases jn the Mediterranean and has been the starting-pomt, for many of the Axis bombing raids on Malta and elsewhere in tyhe Mediterranean The Eighth Army’s sudden dash caught the enemy by surprise. The nature of the grand lends itself to tank battles. The Eighth Army used mechanised forces and, although German tanks gave battle, their losses were heavy and all to no purpose. Further inland, other units cf General Montgomery’s Eighth Army have advanced' 20 miles in the face of stiffening resistance. Fifth Army units are now only 50 miles due east of Naples, and British troops are fighting hard to smash the German defences around the city. Bad weather has hampered air operations in Southern Italy.