Evening star., 1943-09-13
Three Ports Seized
By Eisenhower
BIZ Maj. Georoe Fteldinu Eliol

comparable Eisenhower had outguessed
the Germans again. You will recall how
he won Sicily-by building up in the
German mind the idea that his main
landings were coming in the extreme
west of the island and then grabbing
the seaports of Syracuse and Licata,
almost without opposition. After that,
1t was all over: the Germans could fight
like cornered rats, but they had no hope
of keeping Eisenhower from taking
Sicily.
This time he seems to have pulled
slightly more complex surprise-a three
stage affair instead of a two-stage one.
He sends the British ashore in Calabria
after heavy bombing all around Ma
Piles. The Germans, fooled by him in
Sicily, react as expected. They leave
light covering forces to delay the British
by demolitions, they concentrate for the
defense of the Naples area. Indeed, they
dare not concentrate farther south for
fear of being cut off. What happens?
Eisenhower commences landing
south OF Naples with parts Of the Amer
lean 5th Army. This is no feint, but a
real threat. The Germans fight hard to
hold it back
And while they are doing it, Eisen-
hover makes an end run and seizes the
excellent, well-equipped, capacious har-
bors of Taranto and Brindisi. An un-
confirmed but very likely report says he
has Bari as we'll.
Remember that good seaport, with
docks, unloading machinery, railway
spurs and well-sheltered anchorage is
essential to land big army. In Taranto,
Brindisi. Bari are all these things. They
are among the best furnished ports in
Italy. Large ships can moor alongside
their quays and discharge cargo directly
into railway trains. They have electric
cranes and other cargo-handling de-
vices. They even have drydocks. All
this Eisenhower has gathered in. Now
wnat Will happen. 1t seems very likely
that troops of the British 1st Army and
the American 7th Army will begin COM
ing ashore over the heel of Italy, through
the two, possibly three, ports now held by
our forces. just so the main blows de-
veloped from Syracuse and Licata in
sicily. The Germans fighting our 5th
Army IN the Naples area will find them
selves threatened with attack from the
rear, or perhaps with being cut off from
the north altogether by the Allied forces
racing up the east coast from Bari,
forces which can cross the Apennines by
any OF several roads and come down on
tne west coast railways, which are the
l1elines OF the German forces in the
area Of Naples.
Ine Germans will discover the din
Guilty OF defending long, narrow pen-
tnsula against an enemy possessing full
command Of the sea and almost com.
piete air superiority. These adyan.
tages give q strategic mobility to the
attacking forces which the defender by
land' with chief reliance IN his ground
forces, cannot hope to match, The
narder the Germans try to hold back
Gen. Clark at Salerno and south Of
Naples, the more completely thew must
be engaged. They cannot break of
sucn an action when they see TT, un-
less they confine themselves to mere
harassing tactics.
Ihese are the general conditions
what will actually happen next is prob.
ably to be measured by the number of
troops which the Germans will think
nt to throw into Southern Italy. If
tney want to keep up their fight in the
Naples area, then they must put enough
troops IN to hold back our forces landing
at laramie, Brindisi. Bari They must
at all costs keep these troops from ad-
Vanclng TO Foggia and cutting across
70 Benevento and Caserta. Unless they
can do that, they must begin to with
oraw from the area of Naples at once.
But to make such a fight means risk.
ing at least u to is divisions down at
the end OF the peninsula, with very un-
certain communications behind them.
ard with the Allies in full command of
the sea on both sides, behind the Ger
man hanks. If the Germans want to
enter upon such a campaign, nothing
should be more satisfactory to Gen
EISENHOWER, who has already stated IT.
as his purpose to trap and smash" the
German Army in Italy. Nothing should
suit the Russians better either. for It.
means the throwing away of good Ger
man divisions after bad.
We are going to have some hard fight.
Ing In Italy. 1t is not going to be easy
TO trap and smash the Germans there
But we are again seeing displayed the
TACT that our forces are commanded by
general who knows how to make the
most OF his advantages. If we are going
to have a hard fight, the Germans are
obviously going to have an even harder
one
(copyrght 1e43, New York Tribune 1nc)