PRINCIPAL AIMS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 December 1943, Page 3

PRINCIPAL AIMS

OF THE ALLIED ARMIES IN ITALY CAPTURE OF ROME. AND OF ADDITIONAL BOMBER FIELDS. (By the Special Representative of the N.Z. Press Association, who has been touring the Mediterranean theatre or war). LONDON, December 26. The war in Italy has two major aims —the capture of Rome and the building up of a force of heavy bombers to establish a second bombing front against Germany and Austria. The capture of Rome would have an obvious moral and political significance. It would round off the whole campaign started in July with the invasion of Sicily It would mean that what Badoglio has called “the head and heart of Italy” would be freed, allowing the establishment of an Italian Government oh a considerably broader basis, with more prospect of commanding general authority. It is also believed that whoever holds Rome will hold the whole of Italy. , , But the capture .of Rome is expected to be a protracted campaign. It is governed by terrain in which a company can hold up a whole battalion and by the winter weather.' There seems to be no doubt, too, that some momentum has been lost in Italy through the fact that the Allies are now supplying fourfronts —England, the Far East, Russia and Italy. ' . Despite the fact that the Allies have air superiority over Italy and are pounding areas as much as 500 miles behind the front line, the progress of the Allied armies is slow on account of having to make a series of frontal attacks in rugged country where modern weapons give the defenders an advantage. ... These were some of the difficulties facing the Eighth Army in the battle of the Sangro River. It was the Sangro Valley (rather than the river which provided the obstacle. It is a broad valley, and on the far side theie were 2000 to 3000 yards of wet meadow, with no roads leading from it. The rivei i - self which is normally 60 to 80 feet wide, is easily affected by _ mountain rains. It rises as much as six to eight feet after heavy falls, and becomes a raging torrent. Behind this obstacle the Germans entrenched themselves in their winterline preparing positions and raying minefields, while General Montgomery brought up his supplies along a winding road where practically every bridge had to be rebuilt. It was a considerable achievement to break the line, yet even when it was done the slow tempo of the fighting gave the Germans an opportunity to build up further defences. The brighter side of the Italian campaign is the prospect of a sei r o \jd bombing front. The Allies now. hold valuable airfields, such as those in the Foggia plains. Already the first heavy raid on the Reich has been made from the Mediterranean by Flying Fortresses. It is a taste of what is to come on an increasingly heavy scale. Yet at present the weather is again an important factor.. It is believed that Germany will be hard pressed to provide the same defensive line of fighters and flak against the southern bombing front as she has done against the English front. This double attack, will have an important effect on the duration of the war. No part of Germany, and Austria will be free from heavy bombing, the Danube will be regarded as the jugular vein. The double bombing will also be an important preliminary to the promised second front. . The important position of Yugoslavia in relation to the Italian campaign should not be overlooked. It is tying up several German divisions, some of whose direct land communications have been cut by the Partisans, with the result that they have to be supplied through the Adriatic. Here the coastal air force, co-operating with the Royal Navy, has obliged the Germans to use only small craft, heavily escorted by flakships and fighters. The Gelman army’s lines of supply in Italy are heavily taxed on both sea and land.