ON EIGHTH ARMY FRONT IN ITALY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 October 1943, Page 3

ON EIGHTH ARMY FRONT IN ITALY

Fifth Army Probing Volturno Defences

RIVER A FORMIDABLE OBSTACLE BOMBING ATTACKS CONTINUE ON AIRFIELDS IN GREECE LONDON, October 11. In Italy both the Fifth and Eighth armies are making- headway. The Eighth Army has pushed the Germans back another two or three miles all along its front and captured a town in the centre of the line. On the Fifth Army’s front more and stronger patrols have crossed the Volturno River to probe the enemy’s defences. The Volturno is still in flood. In some places the river is 100 feet across but further down it is often 100 yards wide. The banks average from eight to 12 feet in height and the depth of water is five or six feet. The countryside is open. At one point the plain is broken by a ridge of hills, on the German side. The lull on the Volturno front is not expected to last long. General Clark is going ahead with his preparations and when the attack comes it will carry a heavy punch. For the sixth day running, North-West African aircraft yesterday attacked airfields in Greece. On Saturday night Middle East bombers raided two enemy airfields on the island of Rhodes.