MOUNTAIN HEIGHTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 December 1943, Page 3

MOUNTAIN HEIGHTS

FLANKING AND COMMANDING ROAD TO ROME

Stormed and Held by Fifth Army

ENEMY WEAKENED BUT STILL FIGHTING HARD

MORE PROGRESS BY EIGHTH ARMY IN ' ADRIATIC ZONE . LONDON, December 8. In Italy, the Fifth Army has captured the important summit of Mount Camino, flanking the west coast road to Rome. A dominating neighbouring peak, Mount Maggiore, is also in Allied hands and from both these positions the enemy can be seen retreating to the north. The enemy is weakened, but is still fighting hard. German pockets of resistance are still holding out in the mountains, but these are being mopped up. A correspondent states that the Fifth Army, in appallingconditions and country, has pushed the enemy back two or three miles and what were strong positions in the German wintei line. From being a fortress in his hands, these positions have now become a potential threat to the enemy. The Allies now command observation of all the enemy positions on the massif. “An impressive fact is that our forces have not only absorbed all that the Germans could throw at them in counter-attacks but have broken into the defences in depth which the enemy had prepared for months, ’ ’ says the Columbia Broadcasting System s Algiers correspondent. “It is very evident that the enemy committed most of his reserves in a final effort to maintain the winter line in the south. Once we have gained the valley we can reasonably expect an increased pace of Allied advance.’’ On the Eighth Army’s front it is raining as hard as ever. The Eighth Army has repelled several German counter-attacks and has made progress along the line of the Morro River. Prisoners captured say that heavy casualties were suffered by the Germans in recent fighting. Allied medium bombers attacked shipping on both sides of German-occupied Italy. Not one Allied plane is missing.

GROWING THREAT

TO EVERY CROSSCOUNTRY COMMUNICATION EIGHTH ARMY FIGHTING HEAVILY. RIVERS AGAIN IN FLOOD. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, December 7. Heavy counter-attacks were launched by the Germans in the coastal sector after troops of the Eighth Army had forced the crossing of the River •Morro, writes a war correspondent. Using a greater number of guns than for some time, the enemy put in coun-ter-attacks aimed at driving our forces back across the river, but without success. Prisoners were taken and casualties were inflicted. Our crossing of the river was made shortly after midnight on Sunday under cover of a barrage on positions which the enemy had hastily dug in the rough, uneven ground which stretches away from the north bank. The moon was going down from cloudladen skies when our infantry waded the river, with our guns barking behind them. They crossed on a twomile iAmt just west of the main road to Oi“na, and by dawn were firmly established on a line running from the village of Rogatti ti Villa San Leonardo, through which the main road runs. It was possible to find fords for the tanks to cross to support the infantry. It was just before midday on Monday when the enemy launched the first counter-attack, which was made by infantry supported by an artillery concentration. Through drizzling rain the German infantry tried their usual tactics of infiltrating, but our troops were ready for these attacks, and after some heavy fighting the enemy was driven back. He repeated the same tactics when making another attack early in the afternoon, but with no better results. The weather has definitely broken again, and most of the rivers are in flood. It appears that the enemy has now reorganised his forces after the confusion caused when we broke through the Sangro line, as, in addition to reinforcing near the coast, he appears to have rushed further troops to Orsogna, where our troops still threaten the last lateral road before the main PescaraRome road.