BOMBING OF ROME

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 July 1943, Page 4

BOMBING OF ROME

QUESTION IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS GOVERNMENT STATEMENT. IMPORTANCE OF CLOSING MILITARY PASSAGE. (By Telegraph—Press Association Copy light) (Receive This Day, 11.15 a.m.) LONDON July 20. In the House of Lord's today, Viscount Fitzalan, a leading Catholic peei, asked: “Why vzas the bombing of Rome necessary? Has any damage been done other than damage to military objectives? I should like to be allowed to explain what I find to be not very generally known —that by treaty a large portion of the city of Rome belongs to Vatican City. It includes an enormous number of buildings and institutions which are the headquarters of various religious bodies throughout the world. Viscount Cranborne, replying for the Government, regretted that no detailed information had yet been received about the result of the operation. He added that the marshalling yards at Rome are a bottle-neck through which most of the railway traffic from north to south Italy must pass. It was of the first importance to prevent the passage of reinforcements to the hard-pressed southern Axis forces. > f SUGGESTIONS IN EIRE. A Dublin newspaper, the “Irish Press,” owned by Mr. de Valera, has appealed to Mussolini to declare Rome an open city. The “Irish Times suggests that Mr. de Valera use his good offices with the Italian Government to declare Rome an open city, and meantime to approach the Governments of Britain and America with a request that their bombers should be withheld, pending a reply from Rome. The Chinese Catholic newspaper, “Social Welfare,” published in Chungking, hoped the bombing of Rome would stimulate Italians to wake up and live for Italy and Roman civilisation. It advised heeding the ChurchillRoosevelt call for an honourable capitulation. TARGETS PHOTOGRAPHED GREAT MARSHALLING YARDS DESTROYED. (Received This Day, 11.5 a.m.) LONDON, July 20. Photographs show that the Littorio marshalling yards in Rome were completely destroyed in yesterday’s raid. Locomotive repair shops were also shattered. Bomb hits are shown over a width, of 400 yards and a length of two miles along the railway. The British United Press Cairo correspondent says the photographs also show that all the bombs fell within the target areas. Several hangars at the Ciampino Aerodrome were blown to pieces or burnt out and a large number of planes on the airfield were damaged by bombs or by fires. All traffic through the San Lorenzo marshalling yards has been halted at least temporarily. It is stated in Cairo that only one member of the United States Air Force lost his life over Rome during the raid. The Rome radio announced that Mario Buzzichino editor of the “Popolo d’ltalia,” was killed during the raid. The radio also stated that immediately after the bombing the Pope decided to suspend for some days all but the most urgent audiences. He received the Archbishop of Turin, Cardinal Fossatti, who reported on “huge damage to churches.” The Pope told the cardinal that the bombing of Rome was one of the most painful trials of his life. According to the Berlin radio, the Pope, while visiting bombed areas in Rome yesterday, distributed 60,000 lire among people bombed out of their homes. CITY WATER SUPPLY GREAT ACQUEDUCTS REPORTED DAMAGED. (Received This Day, 1.5 p.m.) LONDON, July 20. An Italian communique says: “The casualties so far as they are known in the Rome raid were 166 persons killed and 1,659 injured.” The first indications that Rome s two great aqueducts were .damaged in the raid, were given by the Berlin radio, which is broadcasting a statement which appeared in the “Messagero” that repair work on the Aquamarcia and the Aquavercine was begun immediately.