Evening star., 1943-05-18
hazis Assure Italy
She Will Not Be Left ID
Fight Invasion Alone
London Sees Maximum
Use Of Psychology in
Next Allied Stroke
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, May 18.-Germany
officially recognized the gravity
of Italy's position today with
assurances to her INVASION
conscious junior partner that
she would not be deserted and
left to fight alone.
The campaign of reinsurance, OBJ
viously intended to bolster weak
ened Italian morale. disclosed in
dispatches from Bern which quoted
Deutsche Diplomatische Korre-
spondenz. German foreign Office Or
gan, as saying the European south
sern front would be defended jointly.
It came as an answer to speculation
in the London press that Italy, her
usefulness to Hitler exhausted, was
about to be deserted and left to her
fate.
But even as the Axis prepared the
italian populace to meet the threat
of invasion London observers specu-
lated that Italy may be knocked
from the war quickly by minimum
of force and a maximum Of psy-
chology. .
Slow Air Advance on Rome.
Evidence of the psychology cam
paign was seen in the slow advance
of bombing raids toward Rome and
Raj flights over the eternal city
itself, designed to impress Musso-
lini and his people with the fact
that the capital is highly vulner-
able
Sicily might be stormed by Allied
land and air forces from Africa as
a show of strength and to secure
the Sicilian channel, these observers
speculated. Then an ultimatum
could be delivered to Mussolini to
surrender the italian peninsular or
have it pounded to pieces and then
occupied forcibly.
Along with the German cam
paign to steady Italian nerves came
a Rome broadcast apparently in
answer to unconhrmed rumors that
King Victor Emmanuel was about
to abdicate. The broadcast, heard
by Reuters, referred to the king
warmly.
Italy's contribution to the calming
campaign came in reminders from
the military that air power can de-
stroy but not occupy. that Italy has
the assistance of the German Air
Force and that strong defenses have
been established on the southern
coast
Atrocity Campaign Started.
In an obvious attempt to stir up
Italian hatred the Italian press and
radio loosed an atrocity campaign
aimed at British airmen, declaring
they dropped explosive pencils. lip
sticks, handbags and powder boxes
in the streets, yards and parks of
Rome Sunday night.
The radio said the British had
barbarian mentality" and warned
the people against picking up the
articles.
Similar stories have appeared in
the Italian press for weeks, reminis-
cent of the atrocity stories of the
last war
The Berlin radio broadcast a dis
patch from Rome saying that Brit
ish planes also dropped leaflets on
the Italian capital Sunday night
calling on the population for "a
f1ghtless surrender"
DNB, official German news agency,
quoted the Italian newspaper Mes
Saggero as saving.
The answer to these activities will
be that we will blow our trumpets in
order to get the whole nation on its
feet"
Internal Trouble Reported.
Meanwhile, reports of internal
troubles and rebellion against Ital-
ian occupation armies continued to
filter through.
The Moscow radio broadcast
Bern dispatch that Gen. Vittorio
Ambrosio, chief of the Italian gen.
eral staff, had resigned. The broad
cast, recorded here by the Soviet
monitor, said Mussolini had a three
hour conference with Crown Prince
Umberto, who was reported to have
insisted that several generals re-
moved by II Duce be returned.
CA Moscow broadcast recorded
by the FEC said German land
ing party had been sent to the
Italian island of Stampalia in the
Dodecanese group, where "all
hangers and ammunition dumps
had been blown IN"
(The broadcast said the Greek
population there had revolted
and disarmed Italian troops.
Growing outbreaks in Mace
donia have led to the Italian oc-
cupation Of three villages and
the shooting of several hundred
Greek hostages in reprisal, the
Algiers radio declared)