THE BLASTING OF PANTELLERIA

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23975, 16 June 1943, Page 3

THE BLASTING OF PANTELLERIA

“Island Stopped Functioning” GARRISON FORCED UNDERGROUND (N.Z.P.A.—8.0.W.) (Rec. 9.40 p.m.) LONDON, June 14. The blasting of Pantelleria as Pantelleria felt it is the main theme of full dispatches received from the island. “Each day,” says one correspondent, “the bombing became a little heavier. One by one the two and three-storey houses of Pantelleria village were pounded into dust, jetties were smashed, and communications were wrecked. The water distillery plant was broken, and it grew steadily more difficult to distribute supplies. “Fifteen thousand troops, mostly of the sth Infantry Regiment and Fascist militia, began to live most of the time underground. The civilian population scattered to isolated houses. “On Tuesday came the first shower of leaflets inviting surrender. Admiral Pavesi, the commander and governor, called up Rome by radio. He said: ‘The bombing is bad. but the island can hold out if it gets no worse. I need not surrender.’ Sentries were posted at intervals of 200 yards all round the island. The port was scarcely habitable. “Then came Thursday's tremendous tornado of bombs. The island simply stopped functioning. Roads were blocked and all communications were ruined. Workshops were destroyed and the airfield was pock-marked with craters. Everybody spent all day underground. One German Luftwaffe sergeant who watched from a safe loophole told me he counted more than 1800 Allied bombers in the course of the day. “General Maffei, the commander or the military force, got in touch with Romo by radio. He told me he had communicated with Mussolini. He had said: ‘The situation is unendurable. If this happens again we cannot carry on. Everything is disrupted. We cannot even resist an invasion now.’ II Duce had told General Maffei to do the best he could not to let Italy’s honour down. Approach of Allied Armada “The bombing went on all night and started again on Friday morning. At 9.50 a.m. he spied an Allied armada approaching. A little later he reported that the armada included assault craft. “Once more Admiral Pavesi called up Rome. T cannot oppose the landing,’ he said. ‘Now I must surrender, Rome gave permission. “At 11 a.m. the admiral got into radio communication with Malta, and surrendered. He said that he had no water. That was not true. There was plenty—in bottles, wells, and cisterns. Cut he wanted to salve his pnde in finding some non-military excuse. And he wanted to surrender to someone other than the invasion fleet “The Italians had left it so late that our invasion had to roll on for some time by its own momentum. The bombing programme was dragged finally to a halt, but not belore several Italian positions had been raided superfluously and Admiral Pavesi apparently bewildered by the situation, had fled into the hills They did[ not find him till 6 p.m. The Allied commander sent an emissary with an interpreter to chase him, and finally he consented to walk down to the airall went into a place that looked like the entrance to a railway tunnel, and sat down round a table. The Allied commander produced a sheet and a half of typewritten con : ditions and gave it to Admiral Pavesi to read. After suspiciously querying several items. Admiral Pavesi signed. So Pantelleria surrendered. On Mussolini’s Order “Mussolini personally ordcrcdthe surrender of Pantelleria after Admual Pavesi had reported that there was no hope of holding out, says a British United Press correspondent. uen : eral Maffei said that Admiral Pavesi sent a message to Mussolini on Thurs day stating that the garrison had 'been without food and water for three day . Mussolini replied on Friday acting the Governor to surrender for the sake of the civilian population “Admiral Pavesi signed the armistice on Friday night, after thearmistice conference had been delayed for six hours because Admiral Pavesi had fled to the hills. A British tank crew captured General Maffei shortly after landing, and then sent out a search party for Admiral Pavesi. He finally climbed from the rocks with a few staff and walked to the air correspondent adds that he saw about 50 German air technicians who scorned the Italians and seemed eager to tell their captors what they thought of their allies. One said; You would never have done this if there had been anyGcrman anti-aircraft fire or even a few hundred German troops. The first pilot to land on Pantelleria to collect the first press dispatches from correspondents who landed with the Allied forces mistook a white nag which had been used by the garnson as a sign of surrender for a landing mark, and when he came down he found the field full of bomb crateis, some of which were very deep.. However, he made a successful landing. He was able to see on the airfield some of the great destruction and damage caused by the Allied air raids. Secret Hangars “There were about 90 wrecked aeroplanes, including several German types, among them a number of Messerschmitt 109’s with Italian markings, he said. “I saw the much-discussed secret hangars which had been hewn out of the rock and which were capable of holding 90 aeroplanes and 50 trucks. They open on to the airfield, but bomb hits had jammed the huge sliding doors. I was told that 12,000 Italian soldiei’s sheltered in the hangars during the bombardment. There were sleeping quarters, and the stores held enough equipment to keep the garrison going for several months.” A description of the elaborate underground aerodromes constructed by the Italians on Pantelleria has been given by the 8.8.C.’s correspondent, who landed there with the Allied troops. The underground hangars resembled enormous railway stations. One was more than a quarter of a mile long and 120 yards wide. Running off from the main hall were numerous passages, rooms, and workshops. Above this was another hall about the same size, and below it tremendous cellars for storing petrol, ammunition, food, and other supplies. The whole place, which was blasted out of solid rock, was elaborately equipped with repair shops and tool shops. Stores left by the Italians included aircraft engines still in their crates. The underground hangars had ample accommodation for 100 air crews and ground staffs. Although it will take some time to restore order, the facilities will be very valuable to the Allies once everything is shipshape. No trace has yet been found of the underground submarine pens which Pantelleria is said to possess. Thousands of Kalian prisoners were 10-day seen streaming through the streets of Pantelleria as the round-up of the Italian garrison was continued. Among the prisoners were a number from the Luftwaffe. These had been picked up while trying to escape from the island by boats. Some correspondents describe the scene as reminiscent of the Cape Bon round-up. As a long column of Italian prisoners marched through Pantelleria op Friday they passed a wall on which was a picture of Mussolini. One of the prisoners ran from the column and gave the picture a good hearty kick. He was cheered by his compatriots. The correspondent who reported the incident said that the prisoners declared that people at home were thoroughly sick of war. The troops were furious with the Germans for leaving the island shortly before the bombardment commenced. They claimed that the Germans realised that the surrender of the island was inevitable and that they left in a hurry by night