Wairarapa Times-Age MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 1943. THE CAMPAIGN IN SICILY.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 August 1943, Page 2

Wairarapa Times-Age MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 1943. THE CAMPAIGN IN SICILY.

ALTHOUGH it is disappointing that the Germans have been able to withdraw a substantial part of their surviving forces in Sicily across the narrow Straits of Messina to the toe of Italy, this fact in no way detracts from the brilliant achievement of the British and American forces which invaded the island justover five weeks ago. It was hardly to be expected that any means would be devised of preventing completely the escape,of enemv troops, in small craft and under cover of night, across the mile or two of water that separates Sicily from the Italian mainland.

The troops that are escaping, however, are not doing so unscathed and the circumstances of their escape bear witness to their overwhelming defeat. Their organisation is shattered, and while they are taking all the arms they can with them, they are evidently under the necessity either of destroying their heavy equipment or leaving it to be captured by the Allies. From the standpoint of the enemy, the loss of Sicily is yet another item to be added to an extending list of unrelieved and disheartening disasters —one more demonstration that the alleged invincibility of the German Army is a myth. Just how serious the loss of Sicily is to Germany may be gauged from the fact that crack German troops in considerable numbers, backed by strong air forces, were assigned to defend the island. Enemy plans to lengthen out a defensive stand appear to.have broken down hardly if at all. less completely in Sicily, however, than they did in Tunisia.

It has been reported credibly that the Germans hoped to continue the defence of Tunisia at least until the present month. In fact, however, their defence of that territory collapsed, rather ignominiously in the final stages of the campaign, over three months ago. Their preparations in Sicily obviously looked to a much longer defence of the island than they have been able to achieve. They failed badly, however, to, impose any serious check on the initial Allied landings and the gallant assaults in which the Allied troops were supported so well by naval and air forces were driven home so swiftly that many hundreds of Axis aircraft were captured undamaged on airfields.

The Allied conquest of Sicily, the completion of which, apart from mopping-up operations, now appears likely to be a matter of days, is a splendid sequel to the victorious drive across North Africa from Egypt to Tunisia and one that promises speedily to lay the enemy open to attack in any one of a number of additional areas. It has yet to be seen whether the Germans, with their troops escaping from Sicily and any reinforcements that may be available, will attempt seriously to defend the southern part of the Italian peninsula. A campaign in this region would be fought in narrow corridors, between mountains and the sea. The defenders would have some local and immediate advantages of .position, but would be handicapped by extremely vulnerable communications, not only exposed to attack by naval and air forces, but liable to be cut by Allied landings at selected points on the coast.

A great deal, of course, may depend on political developments in Italy. It is now clear that the Badoglio Government is going as far as it dares in a pro-German policy and any revolutionary upheaval thus provoked would help to paralyse German military action, at all events in Southern Italy.

With Sicily in their hands, the Allies are very much better placed than they were to develop and extend air attacks, not only on Italy while she continues to resist, but on Germany and German-occupied territory in South-Eastern Europe. A long stride has been taken, too, towards a position in which the Allies will, formidably threaten the enemy in the Balkans and elsewhere. As they stand, the results of five weeks of: hard campaigning in Sicily are spectacular and of magnificent promise.