PRESSING ON

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 June 1944, Page 4

PRESSING ON

ALLIED ARMIES IN ITALY ENEMY ADMIT HOT PURSUIT HARD FIGHTING NORTH-EAST OF ROME I (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) (Received This Day, 10 a.m.) LONDON, June 7. The Fifth Army is pressing on to maintain contact with the retreating Germans, who .were yesterday afternoon ten miles north-west of Rome, says Reuter’s correspondent at Advanced Allied Headquarters in Italy. He adds that the Fifth Army has now taken more than 18,000 prisoners. The hardest fighting is centred northeast of Rome, where the Eighth Army is meeting the strongest resistance, but is generally continuing its northward rush through the mountains. The Germans are still strongly holding Subiaco, as a rearguard strongpoint. Enemy opposition is varying from ferocious resistance to the timid surrender of small parties. The Allied battle casualties, over the whole of the present campaign, it is stated, are ‘on a considerably lower scale than was expected.” The Berlin radio commentator, Captain Soi’torious, stated that the Allies had driven two breaches in the German rearguard screen moving up from Rome. He added: “The German retreat continues according to plan, although our■ detached rearguards are engaged in' furious struggles against the enemy, who is in hot pursuit, especially from the Rome area. The enemy has made one deep breach west of Rome, on either side of the coastal road. The other penetration is of lesser proportions. Fighting to seal off the penetrations is going bn.”

Captain Sertorious said the Allies apparently mean to make their biggest drive north and not west of Rome and are striving to break through at breakneck speed t<? the Upper Tiber valley and the Terni-Spoleto area. NEW ZEALAND ADVANCE THROUGH AREA OF MINES & DEMOLITIONS (Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) SORA. June 7. The New Zealand troops have swept forward almost unopposed along Highway 82, to about three miles beyond Balsorano. The main obstacles to the advance are mines and demolitions and [ there is much work for the engineers. It seems that the enemy is retreating as fast as we can advance.