Imperial Valley press., 1943-09-05
Continued from Page y

(COntln0eu lIOHl IdsS ~
ing sJrces easily overran the crum-
Piled positions.
Throughout the day, good prog
ress was made" said a communique
issued here, the first official &C
count of the invasion since the
landing early yesterday.
A naval communique disclosed
that a force of battleships support
ed the invasion, softening the Axis
defenses in the Calabrian coastal
area with their 15-inch guns.
The 3l.000-ton British battleships
Warspite and Valiant pounded the
Axis positions in the Cape Del Armi
area at the southwestern tip Thurs
day morning. The Nelson and Rod
ney previously had battered the
Messina Straits shore line.
Eseorting ships which protected
the landing and attacked the main
land positions included the cruisers
Maritius and Orion, the Monitors
ErebuS, Roberts. and Abercrombie,
and the destroyers Quillian, Quail,
and Queensborough,
Admiral Sir Andrew Brone Cum
ningham, Allied naval commander
The Mediterranean, was aboard
ship in the Straits OF Messina
during the landing.
The first loads were cleared well
ahead of the time laid down in the
program, and by early afternoon
the second flights of craft were
moving across the straits with re-
Inducements and supplies" the ma
al communique said. This work
continues"
The invasion force landed against
only weak opposition from the shore
defenseS, mostly Italian units OF
coastal divisions.
A large number" of prisoners
were rounded up in the first day of
he expedition, most of whom were
believed to be Italian.
"a German communique said
German as we'll as Italian troops
were in action against the invad-
ers.)
The unit which landed at Reggie
hit the port from both sides and
soon overran its air field south of
the city, which was usable by
fighters.
Mass British artillery and ma
chine guns laid down a barrage
with the added strength of Ameri-
can field artillery batteries-appar-
emily the only United States parti-
cipation in the ground activity.
The italian navy failed to chal-
lenge the landing, and the continu-
GUS air umbrella provided by Am
erican, British, Canadian, an
South African planes found practi-
cally no opposition. Only five en-
emy planes were shot down during
the day. against a loss of one AL
lied plane.
Civilians in the occupied area were
found as friendly as those in Sicily.
They lined the roads and streets,
waving and cheering as the troops
moved up. Airmen over the area
saw several farmhouses with white
sheets spread on the ground in
token of a desire to surrender.
While the first troops consolidat-
ed their bridgehead with the un-
loading of supplies, ammunition,
rations, and equipment, other forces
raced inland where the slopes of
the 6O00-foot Aspromonte range.
Aloft, American Mitchell mediums
attacked airdromes in southern
Italy, while APO assault planes hit
gun positions. wellington bombers
raided air fields at Capaua and
Caop Di Chino near Naples last
night and suffered no loss.
While the northwest African air
forces smashed ut enemy commune
cations and defenSes in southern
Italy, American Liberator bombers
from middle eastern bases ranged
far to the north and spread de-
struction through railway installa-
tions at Sulmona, rs miles east of
Rome, in daylight yesterday.
Swarms of Axis fighters inter
cepted the Liberators, but 81 were
shot down. Six Allied planes were
lost in the Sulmona raid and other
u:1specified operations of the mid
dle-eastern air forces.
Front dispatches disclosed that
battle-hardened British and Cana
dian shock troops secured the first
Allied beachhead on the European
continent yesterday virtually with
out opposition. Residents of one
area said German troops stationed
there had gone north into the hills
three days before the invasion.
A few artillery salvoes from a