NORTHERN ITALY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 September 1943, Page 3

NORTHERN ITALY

GERMAN OCCUPATION APPARENTLY ALMOST Complete. REPORTS OF SAVAGE FIGHTING IN MILAN & TURIN. (By Telegraph—Frees Association— Copyright) LONDON, September 14. The German occupation of northern Italy is apparently almost complete. Reports from the Italian frontier state that German troops moved in on the Italian garrisons a few hours after the terms of the armistice were announced early on Sunday In many cases they entered the Italian quarters at night and disarmed the sleeping Italians. All communications were systematically cut, and ammunition dumps, arsenals and other military stores were seized according to plan. The Italians, though outnumbered, resisted bravely. in many cases, but the Germans often smashed their barracks by driving tanks through the walls. The Germans are reported to be in control of the Italian end of the Simplon Pass. Some Italian units have es- ' caped to the mountains. The German-controlled Oslo radio declared that the Communist rebellion in Milan and Turin assumed alarming proportions for a time, but it was sup* pressed bloodily by German troops cooperating with Italian Fascist units. The Rome radio stated that irresponsible elements opposed the German troops in Rome, but order had now been re-established The radio gave a warning that persons found in possession of arms after tomorrow would be executed. A German High Command communique states that the disarming of the Badoglio army has been completed and that on the whole the number of disarmed soldiers exceeds half a million. It add: “A growing number of units of the Italian army, particularly formations of the Fascist militia in Italy, southern France, and the Balkans, have declared their willingness to continue the fight on Germany’s side. The entire eastern coast- of the Adriatic, including Pola harbour, is now in German hands.”