GERMANY TN TAM

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 August 1943, Page 3

GERMANY TN TAM

MUST KEEP ITALY IN WAR GENERAL ALEXANDER’S SURVEY. POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, August 21. “We are closing in on the enemy. We have just got to keep going,” said General Alexander to Reuter’s correspondent in Sicily.

“Germany is in a jam, and must keep Italy in the war. Italian capitulation would be a fearful blow to her. 'The Germans cannot possibily undertake the coastal defence of the Italian mainland. That must be done by the Italians. “If 'the Germans withdraw to northern Jfcsly, then the Italian divisions in the Balkans will want to come —divisions which Germany must replace. If southern Italy is taken, it means that we shall have linked hands with the Balkans and be in touch with southern France.”

General Alexander added that there were 300,000 Axis troops in Sicily when the Allies landed, but many Sicilians immediately demobilised themselves by putting on civilian clothes and returning to their farms. He said that our casualties were fewer than expected. To August 17 the figures were: Eighth Army, 11,835; Seventh Army, 7,400; Canadians, 2,388. The withdrawal of German units from Reggio di Calabria is continuing. The bulk of these forces were reported yesterday to be about 40 miles from the town.

The Italians have implicit faith in Britain, on which their hopes for the future are based, says Reuter’s Zurich correspondent, quoting a traveller who has recently arrived from Italy. The traveller said that Italy was forcibly compelled to continue the war. Italians, while bombs dropped on their cities, cursed their own Government and not Britain, who was now regarded as the only possible deliverer. The correspondent adds that reports from the frontier indicate that the Badoglio Government is increasingly unpopular and that the King’s position is weakening. The “Tribune de Geneve,” in a leading article, says: “The Italians are cruelly disappointed in Marshal Badoglio, who had a splendid opportunity for making peace. Badoglio’s subtle diplomatic game, which probably aimed at allowing the Germans to withdraw to the north before starting peace talks goes hand in hand with Spanish policy, which is also l preparing for a retreat. The National Broadcasting Company picked up a Berlin radio commentator who said that recent events have chastened the extremists in Germany and bv their very seriousness might make a just peace more acceptable to the German people. He added: “This does not mean unconditional surrender. Able and fair-minded statesmen could draft a reasonable, just and honest peace.”