Fortresses Raid Italian Base

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23967, 7 June 1943, Page 5

Fortresses Raid Italian Base

MORE ATTACKS ON ISLANDS a (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Pec. 11.30 p.m.) LONDON, June 6. Three of Italy’s biggest and newest battleships were hit by Flying Fortresses which yesterday flew from North Africa to bomb the naval base of Spezia, 200 miles north of Rome. It is the longest flight yet made by Allied bombers from North Africa. Reporting the attack, to-day’s communique from Allied Headquarters in North Africa says: “Yesterday a large force of Flying Fortresses of the North-west African Command attacked Spezia, in the north-west of Italy. Hits were seen in the docks and among warships and other ships. Large explosions and many fires were observed.” A communique issued in Algiers by the United States Army Air Force says: “Three of Italy’s greatest battleships, one heavy cruiser, and one merchantman were damaged when Flying Fortresses made a daylight raid yesterday on Spezia harbour. Our bombers also left great fires in oil depots and installations.” Earlier messages from correspondents at Allied Headquarters said that the main targets were the 35,000-tdn Italian battleships Littorio, Vittorio Veneto, and Roma. The raiders dropped many tons of bombs, including 30001b battleship-busters. They had to face concentrated anti-aircraft fire from warships, and fighters were sent up against them, but not one of the Allied airCi fnilAfl In vnfnrn

The communique from Allied Headouarters also said: "Marauders, escort- ■ ed by Warhawks, yesterday attacked i shipping at Portoromano, in Sardinia, and Lightnings raided airfields in Sicily and Sardinia. Marauders. Light- ; nings. and Warhawks raided PantelI leria. Six enemy aircraft were destroyed. Three of ours are missing. "Enemy battery positions in Pantelleria were again bombarded at dawn yesterday. Enemy batteries replied, but our naval forces suffered neither \ damage nor casualties," To-day’s Middle East communique reports a raid by heavy bombers on the harbour of Catania, in Sicily. Saturday’s North Africa communique l|| taid; “On Thursday night our bombers attacked targets in Italy. Sicily, and Pantelleria. and the last-named was again attacked yesterday by bombers and fighter-bombers. Two of our aircraft are missing.” \ The Middle East air communique ' laid: “Our light bombers attacked a small vessel in the Aegean Sea, off Scarpanto Island yesterday. The crew abandoned the ship. All our aircraft returned safely.” - Two New Targets Two new targets—Syracuse, in Sicily and’ Catanzaro ih Italy—have been I visited by bombers of the North-west t African Air Force, says a correspondent at Allied Headquarters. Catanzaro is the most easterly point yet attacked from North-west Africa. Wellington bombers dropped incendiaries at both places on Thursday night. Lightnings set fire to three hangars, and damaged the runway at the Milo aerodrome on Friday. They also attacked and machine-gunned positions in Favignana Island, off the western (ip of Sicily. Many 40001b block-busters were dropped on Naples on Wednesday night, says the Algiers correspondent of the National Broadcasting CorporafJon. No enemy opposition was countered, and the bombs fell in the l' target area. It was the seventy-first I Yaid on Naples. The British United Press says that the block-busters were dropped on important factories and harbour works, and the raid was one of the most concentrated for some time in the Mediterranean area. The Rome radio quotes a report published in the newspaper “Tribuna" that no building remains undamaged after the recent Allied raids on Messina, in Sicily. Thousands of persons are homeless and hundreds have been killed. Photographs reveal that 17 out of 19 oil tanks were burned out and i three gas-holders were badly damaged in the Fortress raid on Leghorn on May 28. To the battered islands of Pantelleria, Sicily, and Sardinia the Rome, tadio on Friday night sent warning of

a coming Allied attack and a call to stand fast. “Expect renewed blows against the three islands. The garrisons must await them with their feet firmly planted on the ground,” said the announcer, who went on with an assurance that the islands would fight to the last. Italian newspapers and radio stations have been pouring out invasion warnings and exhortations to the bewildered population. They are exhorting the people to fight, to the last and to emulate the people of' Britain, who refused to give up in 1940 when disaster seemed imminent. The “Daily Mail” says: “The Battle of the Italian islands appears to be about to begin. The Navy’s and the Strategic Air Force’s work in disorganising the defence of the islands would seem almost complete, and it remains for the Allied armies to sweep in to the attack. “The close attention which Allied warships and aircraft have paid to Pantelleria’s coastal guns in the last few days suggests that this fortress might be the first objective, but it would not be surprising if landings were made on all three islands simultaneously. Massing of Allied Ships “Reports have been coming for days from Axis and neutral sources of the massing of Allied shipping, including barges and landing craft, along the North African coast, Italy makes no secret of her belief that invasion is imminent and the country has been warned to expect a full-scale attack. “Some observers believe that Italy has been keeping aeroplanes in reserve for this contingency, and the Italian fleet may yet come into the picture.” Reuter says that Pantelleria has become “a permanent clay pigeon against which our naval and air forces are testing their skill with devastating results.” It is gradually being reduced to a waste land of ruins under the consistent hammering. ‘‘Pantelleria, as an invasion stepping stone, is being battered into surrender and its occupation is imminent,” says Morley Richards in the “Daily Express.” “The Royal Navy has gained superiority in the waters from Tunisia north to Sardinia and the path is open for the next phase—invasion.” No further news has been received of what, according to a report from La Linea, is one of the greatest convoys ever assembled off Gibraltar. Comprising 137 Allied ships, the convoy is said to have sailed. The ships include troop transports, tankers, freighters, and one hospital ship. The British battleships and aircraft-carriers which have been in Gibraltar Bay have also sailed, and the harbour is emptier than It has been for several months.

GERMAN TERROR IN EUROPE

MASSACRE OF POLISH JEWS RIOTS IN HOLLAND REPORTED LONDON, June 4. Polish circles in London have been informed that the lethal gas chambers in Polish death camps have been enlarged to enable the Germans to speed Up the massacre of Jews to 700 at a time. Execution takes 45 minutes. Before the Jews are driven into the death chamber their hair is shaved off to be used for industrial purposes. The secret Polish radio station estimates that the Germans have murdered 90 per cent, of the Polish Jews, leaving 300,000 alive of the former 3,000,000. The station reports that numerous train loads of Jews from Bulgaria are now arriving in Poland and are being directed straight to ' the Treblinka death camp, where more than 7000 can he murdered daily in the gas chambers. One thousand people, including hwny students, were killed and injured m the riots in Holland between May 1 and May 13, The Germans, as a result of the riots, and also a strike among workers, proclaimed martial law and executed 76 students. It is learned in London that the riots began after the Germans had ordered soldiers of the Dutch Army, demobilised m 1940. to report to the German military authorities for work in Germany.

?erhn radio has stated that Laval !"r decreed that French youths called yp for labour may either go to Ger- ■ ,?, Ny °. r i° in the French legion fighta ß ain st the Russians. Jj Not one of the 485 inhabitants of »hj IC o tb e Czechoslovak town which Germans destroyed on June 10. nm • , €sc . a P e d, say reports reaching official circles in London. J une 10 German bombers ap- °^ r L‘dice and dropped inceni,. a 0 r n les ' xh e village meanwhile had th ß inl Ur u r ° unded hy tanks and When live lnha pdants tried to run for their o f -thjh j burnin 8 houses, the thpj?*! l3 ! trained the machine-guns of Witho, t ,i nks on I thern and shot them all Uhout exceptmn. For a while there ceedpri t ope that tw ° men had sucProved in K SC: ?P ,ng ' but later this ..rto be illusory.. the R-iH^ will , never he forgotten by sborp« .' vo , rkcrs - There have been and ninL simi l ar instance s of murder gone P e where ver the Nazis have Lidice st?nV ame and terrible fate of rae« *1 * d ,. as a symbol of Nazi outFor thi« r have staggered humanity Ce rlnif T ! he B . ritish trade unions ffiodel m?n- ed t V ebUi,d Lidice as a S Vlllage that shall stand the triimmVi 3 me mprial to mankind of «nd t a ! 2 Ver Nazism and Fascism as a landmark to Labour’s inter-

“CRIME TO BOMB ROME ”

ENGLISH BISHOP’S VIEWS (8.0. W.) RUGBY, June 5. “The bombing of Rome would be a crime against civilisation, a betrayal of the very things for which we are fighting,” said the Bishop of Lichfield (Dr. E. S. Woods). He added: Any military advantage we might gain thereby would not counter the moral damage to our cause throughout the world. “The air onslaught we are now making against the enemy is an inevitable part of modern war and I trust that our policy will continue to be one in which our air attack is directed against every kind of war activity and war potential and never directly and deliberately against civilian homes. “It is inevitable and deeply regrettable that civilians by thousands must have lost their lives, I nevertheless think that there is a moral distinction between attacking civilians directly and the multifarious war activities in which they are employed in dock or factory and on road or rail. "I can never forget Warsaw, Rotterdam, and Belgrade. I also know that enemy air activity against Britain at present is directed almost entirely against civilians. However, I think it would be a major moral disaster if, after enduring so splendidly thus far during the war, we allowed ourselves to become- callous and complacent about death and destruction.” ENEMY SUPPLY SHIP SUNK ATTACK BY NORWEGIAN FORCES (Rec. B p.m.) LONDON, June 5. A Norwegian naval communique says that light coastal craft manned by Norwegians attacked a large escorted German supply ship in Norwegian waters. The ship was torpedoed, and sank. The escort was engaged with gunfire, and when last seen was low in the water and attempting to make the shore. The Norwegian forces had a small number of wounded and superficial damage.

national solidarity.” This message was broadcast by the British miners’ leader (Mr W. Lawther) to the workers of Europe on the anniversary of the destruction by the Germans of Lidice. French Minister’s Death Reported.— The Berne correspondent of the National Broadcasting Corporation reports that M. Georges Mandel, former French Minister of the Interior, has died in a German concentration camp. No confirmation of this report has been received in London.—London, June 4.