Evening star., 1943-11-29
9th Army Launches Italian Drive
Aided by Terrific Air Onslaught;
Attack is Reported Going Well
British Gain in
Face of Enemy
Flame Throwers
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, Al
gierS, Nov. 29.-The British 9th
Army, called on by Gen. Sir Ber-
nard L. Montgomery to hit the
Germans a colossal crack" and
to drive them north of Rome,
struck out in a new offensive in
the darkness yesterday morning
from its Sangro bridgeheads and
is making good progress in the
face of enemy flame throwers,
Allied headquarters announced
today.
The long-awaited attack, delivered
at night in typical Montgomery
style. was preceded and backed by
terrific air onslaught. 1t was
carried out by veteran British, In
dian and New Zealand divisions
rushing forward in the flashing light
of an exceptionally heavy" ar
tillery barrage.
A headquarters spokesman said
the attack was going we'll.
Before the 9th Army's drive went
westward from the bridgehead into
the enemy's hill positions toward
Rome, British destroyers laid down
a bombardment of the enemy port
of Civitonova, 20 miles south of
Ancona on the Adriatic coast.
Second Bridgehead Won.
A second bridgehead at Archi 13
miles inland from the Adriatic, was
hammered out as the attack pro-
gressed, broadening the 9th Army's
foothold on the north side of the
most serious obstacle encountered
by Gen. Montgomery since he set
foot on the Calabrian toe in Sep
tember. The previous bridgehead
had been limited to about five
miles along the Sangro from the
Adriatic.
To the southwest, a British cruiser
and destroyer also went into action,
hurting broadsides into the Min
turno area just north of the 5th
Army's front.
Americans in the right of 1t. Gen.
Mark w. Clarks front also seized
more high ground in an important
advance and broke up determined
German counterthrusts west of Ven-
afro. Activity on the 5th Army Sec
tor, however, was limited chiefly to
patrol action and heavy artillery
duels, but the headquarters commu-
nique said valuable information"
was being gathered by small patrols
penetrating enemy territory.
Liberators Bomb Viaduct.
American Liberators hew into the
Alps OF Northern Italy yesterday in
their expanding arc of operations
and bombed the railway viaduct and
tunnel at Dogma. so miles north of
Trieste, where Hitler's Italian and
Balkan fronts are linked by all
important railway communications
The 9th Army plunge penetrated
the main lines anchoring the Ger
man winter line" in the hills near
the coast in its first 24-hour rush.
Although the Germans had been
hard hit by Allied air forces, which
had thrown as many as 500 sorties
in a single day against gun posts,
artillery positions, trenches and en-
tanglements. the attack found the
enemy waiting and prepared for
fierce resistance.
The Germans threw in numerous
counterattacks, spearheaded by
tanks mounting flamethrowers.
Losses Wiped Out.
Some of these counterattacks
threw back the troops which
swarmed across the Sangro in the
Archi neighborhood but the Brit
ish bounded back to the offensive
and regained all they had lost and
more too.
They took considerable num-
Der of prisoners in the sweep for
ward, among them a considerable
proportion of Poles and Lorrainers
IRON former French territory =,
who had been impressed into the
service of the German Army.
The main penetration into the
German defensive belt was in the
direction of Castel Frentano, on
high ground five miles beyond the
river and nine miles inland where
the Germans appear to have an
chored their line.
BY crossing the river in two places.
Gen. Montgomery erected another
famous hammer and anvil setup
which he has used successfully sew
eral times before, especially in in
stances where by an overnight shift
the anvil has become the hammer
Bridgeheads 8 Miles Apart.
The inland bridgehead near Archi
was first achieved several days ago
by the famous 18th British Division
veterans of Long Stop Hill" in
Tunisia, who carved out a breach
IN the German lines and held to
their mud and water filled foxholes
for four days in sodden clothes.
Gen. Montgomery said these soldiers
rose to great heights in this
achievement.
Then simultaneous with the costal
attack. fresh troops swarmed across
the river, broadening and deepenine
the foothold in high ground.
BY dark last night, the troops
were said to have moved well along
toward their first abjectives. and
at last reports the two brideeheads
were about eight miles apart.
The artillery action on the 5th
(See ITALY, Page A-14D