Evening star., 1943-07-23
Speed Of Advance
In Sicily Requires
Quick Decisions
BY DON WHITEHEAD,

Associated Press War Correspondent.
CALTANISSETTA. Sicily, July 81
Delayed The battalion colonel
and his company commanders hud-
died about lamp in an old house
not far from Caltanissetta, a key
city in the enemy's defense of Sicily.
There was a terrain map on the
table.
The light revealed the lines of IA
tigue in their faces. for they and
their troops had been fighting for
eight days with little sleep. They
had fought their way across the
beaches of Sicily, across the ridges
and valleys by day and night. and
now they were before the strategic
city of Caltanissetta.
we must be ready to attack at
2 o'clock" the colonel said. It's
now IA minutes to II and you must
get your men into the line by IL: 30
Our objective is here to the east
of Caltanissetta. We have to cross
this river bed. move across this table
land and then seize this hill. We
hit them from three sides.
Engineers at Work.
"A bridge is blown at this point
and the engineers already are work.
ing on a crossing for our vehicles.
When you get to the table land move
across fast We must take our OBJ
jective by daybreak"
A few minutes later the troops
were on the march in the bright
moonlight. The Canadians were at
tacking on Cur right and an Amer
lean division to our left. The Allies
were closing in on the Caltanissetta
and Emma area.
With all of us pushing some
things got to fall" the colonel said.
We walked through an orchard
and down through a wheatfield to
the road leading to the valley below
Caltanissetta. Troops carrying
Tommyguns. machineguns and
heavy boxes of ammunition were
moving on the road.
Il wonder said First 1t Robert
Dutt of Akron. Ohio, ''how many
more fights We are going to have on
this damned island. This may be
the last big one We are out to
wade in and kick hell out of them
Shells Ignite Straw.
On the hills ahead of us fires were
burning in the wheat straw ignited
by bursting shells which bonged over
our head from our artillery.
From the hills to our right came
bursts of machinegun fire and the
crackle of small arms fire. Our
troops had run into an enemy
strongpoint andshad set about re-
ducing it with rocket guns, grenades
and machinegun fire Along most
of the front the enemy had with
drawn.
1t was dawn when the first Amer
lean troops marched into Caltanis-
setta. Their faces were gray with
dirt as they marched through the
rubble and wreckage and kept
marching to the north in pursuit of
the enemy.
The city was Quilted by bombs and
artillery. Days before We had land
ed Allied bombers had swept over
to pound enemy storage dumps.
troop concentrations and communi-
cations. The frightened inhabi-
tants had fed to caves in the noun
tains or flocked into the homes of
friends in the country.
Caribinieri in khaki and blue uni
forms patrolled the streets while
slim, miserable looking people strag-
gled back into the city.
Given Wine in Restaurant.
With two other correspondents l
went into the Roma Restaurant.
Once it had been a show place Now
the floors were deep with debris.
Tables still covered with cloth were
scattered about the place and in the
middle of the Wreckage stood Roman
Carmelo, the proprietor.
'Da beega boss" one of the men
whispered.
Carmelo brought us wine and
seemed to bear no resentment that
American bGmbers had helped wreck
his restaurant. He gave lis warm
welcome and he and his friends all
spoke of relatives they had in Amer
ica.
Il gotta two brothers in Lowell,
Mass" said Giano Ariangelo. Me,
1 work in Lawrence, Mass. wood
mill and six months in South Port
land. Some day I 60 back"
Carmello refused payment for his
wine.
In an old amusement park where
two or three hundred Italian prison.
ers were lounging about on merrygo-
round swings and carnival rides.
Pvt. Franko Pinto of the Bronx.
N. Y. stood guard. He had arrived
with the first occupation troops.
Glad to BE Taken Prisoners.
Il marched about 10 miles last
night" Pinto said. There was some
sniping in our sector, but we did not
have much trouble"
Pinto said the prisoners told him
they were glad the Americans had
arrived and they hoped the war
would soon be over.
What do they think will happen
to Mussolini?" he was asked.
They say Mussolini will shoot
himself" Pinto replied.
Corpl. McClain c. Sullivan OF
Burns, Tenn, took two rifles from