ALLIES PRESSING ON

Waikato Times, Volume 132, Issue 22150, 23 September 1943, Page 5

ALLIES PRESSING ON

TOWNS IN ITALY CAPTURED NEW LANDINGS INDICATE FRESH OFFENSIVE FRENCH IN CORSICA—HEAVY GERMAN CASUALTIES (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) (Received Sept. 23, 11 a.m.) LONDON, Sept. 22. The Fifth Army continues to regroup anil move forward, says an Algiers communique. The twin towns of Monte Corvino and Ravalla, also San Cipriano, which is about four and a-half miles north-east of Salerno, have been captured by the Fifth Army. The Germans are putting up a determined fight for the hills covering Naples. Clouds of smo e, punctuated by explosions, cover the city, indicating extensive demolitions by the Germans. French forces, assisted by Americans, are driving the Germans into the north-eastern corner of Corsica. At least 1000 Germans have been killed. The capture of the important communications centre of Potenza by the British Eighth Army is reported in today’s Allied communique. Potenza is midway between the east and west coasts of Italy, and is a junction on the railway line running from Salerno to the Gulf of Taranto. From it a railway runs north to Foggia and several roads radiate. One road goes through Altamura to Bari, on the east coast, and another passes in a wide sweep round Naples. “ New Allied landings north of Salerno indicate a fresh Allied offensive in the direction of Naples,” says the Paris radio. Allied troops pushing through the mountains between the Gulfs of Salerno and Naples are reported to have captured more villages and to have beaten back a counter-attack. The capture of Eboli, south-east of Salerno, has forced the Germans to abandon all their positions to the south of the town. Eboli was their keypoint in the centre of the Salerno bridgehead. On the east coast Allied troops threaten the southern fringe of the broad Foggia plain with its many valuable airfields.

Battle of Naples Imminent The Germans are forming a defensive ring around Naples, says the Daily Telegraph’s correspondent at the Allied Headquarters. Blasted from the bridgehead south of Salerno and pivoting back on the hills north and north-east of that port, their new line will face south instead of west. They are now busy digging in and blocking the approaches to Naples. Large fires and demolitions continue in the city, which is covered with a pall of smoke, indicating that the German commander Kesseiring is not prepared to allow it to fall into Allied hands intact if his army cannot hold our troops in the northward drive.

Reports from neutral sources say that severe fighting is taking place in Naples between German and Italian troops. Many Italian officers and troops have been executed. The Germans are reported to have executed General Gonzaga, Italian commander of the coast defences on the Gulf of Salerno, for non-co-cperation with the German forces.

Eighth Army’s Re-appearance Front-line news from Italy this evening, supplementing the Algiers communique, enables a clearer view of the pattern of operations in which the Fifth and Eighth Armies are engaged. These are now shown to stretch from north of Salerno almost straight across Southern Italy to the opposite coast.

The Eighth Army has “re-appear-ed” with the capture of Potenza, which is almost in the centre of the southern Italian mainland and one of its most vital communication centres. The capture of the town greatly increases the mobility of the main body.

The Eighth Army is still coming up from south of Potenza, practically in line with Campagna, one of the places in the Salerno area that the Fifth Army captured. Campagna lies a few miles north-west of Buccino.

The Berlin radio’s commentator, Captain Sertorius, tonight said that the bulk of General Montgomery’s forces are on the line Buccino-Pctenza-Altamura. It is known that the Eighth Army is advancing north along the east coast road. The British United Press correspondent at Allied Headquarters says that an Allied patrol which stowed away on an Italian train and rode most of the way to Potenza, played an important part in the fall of the town. The patrol jumped off the train and moved into the hills overlooking Potenza. For four days the patrol watched the Germans and reported back to the Eighth Army. It also had a grandstand view of the Allied bombing of the town. Finally its information enabled the town to be taken with minimum trouble. The British United Press adds that there is little information of the fighting in what is called the Taranto area, though it is known that a stiff but small-scale engagement is going on somewhere north of Potenza, possibly in the Altamura area.