The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-07-12

Sicily in ruins. InaIS Ml
armada of over 1000 vessels, more
than twice the 850-ship fleet thai
landed Anglo American troops in
Algeria and Morocco last November
Front Now $50 Miles
(The London Daily Mail said that
the Allied front in Sicily had been
widened to $50 miles by the estab-
lishment of an important bridgehead
by Canadians near Porto Empede-
cole, q miles northwest of Licata)
(The Daily Telegraph reported
from Zurich that Carlo Scorza, gen.
eral secretary of the Fascist party.
called an urgent meeting of the
party directorate for Sunday night
while Premier Mussolini called on
King Victor Emmanuel to address
the nation, presumably in an effort
to rally the Italian people behind
the defense of their homeland The
dispatch also said that great num-
Der of persons had been arrested in
a drive to stamp out gossip in
Naples)
CA Stockholm dispatch to the
Daily Telegraph quoted a traveller
just arrived from Berlin as saying
that German troop trains were
streaming southwark through the
Bremen Pass. The remnants of "A
Hermann Goering Division" he said,
were flown to Sicily from Reggie
Calabria)
Positions Broken
American troops who sWarmed
ashore on the southern coast beat
off an enemy tank attack with the
aid of naval guns yesterday, broke
through enemy trench positions at
Celia and captured two airfields, one
on the coast and another a little
way inland.
The Allied headquarters an
nouncement reporting the American
success said that AREAS in or
around Celia" had been taken, an
| indication that at least part of the
town was in Allied hads
From Celia, roads radiate north
westward along the coast, south
eastward into beachheads captured
by British and Canadian forces, and
northWard into the spraWling plain
of Catania, largest in Sicily and
center of vast network of high
ways, railways and airdromes
military observers in London
said American, British and Canad-
ian troops have driven u to Is miles
into Sicily and an Algiers broad
cast, as relayed by Radio London,
reported that Allied forces and 30
900 Germans were locked in
fierce battle" for Ragusa, 13 miles
inland from the Sicilian southeast
ern coast.)
(Another Algiers broadcast told of
! fierce engagements" between Allied
and Axis troops along the Sicilian
coast seven miles southeast of Gela)
The northwest African and mid
dle-eastern air forces set up shut
tie service to provide an almost con-
tinuous air cover for Anglo Amer
lean Canadian troops who already
have overrun coastal defenses along
a 1OO-mile front and captured three
Sicilian airdromes and at least one
town and part of another.
Fighters Stab
Allied fighter bombers also stab
bed deep into the enemy rear to
launch what were officially de-
scribed as violent air attacks on en-
envy troop and transport concentra-
tions while bombers hammered ST.
Gillian ports and the serVlceaple air
fields still remaining in Axis hands.
Blistering Allied fighter-bomber
attacks centered all day Sunday on
enemy transports, communications
and concentrations of troops. APP
proximately 400 trucks, most Oh
them packed with troops or sup
plies. were destroyed or badly dam
aged. Pilots said the Wreckage OF
these vehicles Uttered the Slclnan
roads and greatly hampered the en-
vemy's efforts to shift mobile re-
serves to the scene of fiercest light
ing.
PICK UP s..
The new ABS fighter-bomber,
developed from the Mustang, proved
exceptionally effective, diving on
the enemy trucks at tremendous
speed with six guns blazing ana TWO
combs under the wings. One 1orm-
alton of ass planes attacked a
CONVOY of about 200 enemy trucks
and wrecked half of them.
Widespread Damage
Photographic reconnaissance by
the Raj middle-eastern command
disclosed that several airdromes IN
Sicily no longer can be used by the
Axis because of the widespread
damage inflicted in Allied air raids.
British military observers said
the Allied aerioa blitS had COM