ENTERED BY GREEKS

Waikato Times, Volume 195, Issue 22461, 23 September 1944, Page 5

ENTERED BY GREEKS

GATEWAY TO PLAINS BEGINNING OF THE END (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright. LONDON, Sept. 22 Greek troops of the Eighth Army in Italy have driven the Germans from the bitterly contested Adriatic town of Rimini, gateway to the plain of Lombardy and the industrial cities of the north. For the Germans in Northern Italy the fall of Rimini marks the beginning of the end, he says. Greek troops entered the port at 8 a.m. yesterday and when the correspondents arrived they were still mopping up enemy snipers. It was a desolate scene. Heavy rain was falling and a thick sea mist hung over shattered buildings and scorched trees. Not a single Italian was left in the city. It was silent except for an occasional shot. The Greek troops deserved the honour of first entering Rimini, for they have fought hard and long on the outskirts, says the correspondent. Much credit, however, must also go to the United Kingdom and Canadian troops whose relentless pressure in an outflanking drive to the west played a big part in its capture. Fifth Army forces, pushing on beyond Florence, have captured the important road centre of Firenzuola and the high ground beyond it. Capture of Ridges The capture of the San Fortunato and Coriano ridges has completed the final stage of the month-long battle to crash through the Germans’ positions in the Apennines, says Reuter’s correspondent at the Allied Headquarters in Italy. The Fifth Army, which took Rimini, is .gradually engulfing the broadening entrances to the Lombardy Plain. Tne Exchange Telegraph’s correspondent in Italy says: Our bridgehead over the Marecchia river is about three miles inland from Rimini. German Parachute Divisions suffered heavier losses in this fighting than at Cassino. The Allied troops encountered twelve German Divisions, of which eleven were so badly cut up that some were reduced to half strength. There are no further natural obstacles in the path of the Eighth Army.