Evening star., 1943-08-04
Germans in Sicily
Are Fighting for Time
BIZ Mai GEORGE FIELDING Eliot

! but the concentration Is at the center.
with the objective the breaking up of
the German road system.
OF this system, the vital artery is the
| circular road around Mount Etna. from
Catania through Faterno, Adrano,
Bronte and Randazzo, back to the sea
at Taormina. The other roads vital to
the Germans are the east coastal road
from Messina through Taormina to
Catania, the north coastal road from
Messina to Naso, and the branch road
which connects Naso with Tandazzo.
If you will look at a map of Sicily
and trace these roads with a pencil,
you will understand how necessary they
are to the Germans if their troops are
to be supplied reinforced at need and
withdrawn, if that becomes necessary.
The Allies, as already noted are strik-
Ing at the center of this road system.
The American 7th Army appears to
have shifted its main effort to its right.
and is pressing forward from Troina.
already taken, on Bronte, which is only
Il miles from Troina. The Canadians
have taken Regalbuto, and are moving
on Adrano, only 16 miles distant.
The British 9Th Amy seems to have
shifted its main effort to It's left. and
Is advancing on Paterno-as far as can
be told from available dispatches. This
latter maneuver is much like Mont
gomery's famous shift to the left In the
battle of the Mareth Line.
The result would seem to be-almost
certainly-the capture by the Allies of
the whole central section of the cir
cular Mount Etna highway. If that
happens-indeed, If even one of the
Allied forces is successful in gaining
It's objective-the Germans on the
southern slopes of Mount Etna and in
the general vicinity of Catania are cut
on from Messina except by the east coast
road which follows the very narrow
strip of shore line between Mount Etna
and the sea.
lhls road is constantly under the fire
OF Allied warships. Consequently. the
threat to the circular road forces the
Germans either to retire from their
Catania positions Immediately, or to
lose the troops and equipment there
onoer these circumstances, it Is quite
possible that reports from neutral
sources that the evacuation of Sicily
already has begun may prove to be
true. The resistance our forces are now
encountering may be no more than tho
resistance of rear guards, covering a
"ltnoraWal which must necessarily be
slow and painful process-for the
strait OF Messina, across which the with
craving troops must move. is no omen
waterway, but is constantly under the
eye ana the bombs and machine guns
OF the Allied air power.
PRISONERS taken at Sar Stefano alreadv
nave told how, in coming to Sicilv
they had to wait for hours at Repo,o
Calaorla for chance to cross-vaitino
until the air was clear of Allied bo,,h1
ers' In retreat, with our land forces
pressing hard behind, there NAV be M
liihe 10 waste in waiting. The choice
may be between trying to cross under
air attack. and surrender or destr,,c
tlon on the Sicilian shore.
Hence it seehs possible that the Cor
mans may be trying to save what thew
can OF their Sicilian forces before these
conditions become more acute,
Ii thls Is SO, it suggests further that
the Germans still control affairs In Italv
10 lhe extent that they think thew can
get thelr retreating troops north throuob
Ine peninsula before a general italian
surrender cuts them off. In part thi.
may be the reason for the German nres-
sure on the Italians, which is resulting
IN all this stalling for time on the mart
OF Marshal Badoglio's government.
Accorolng to current reports-not off,
clally conf1rmed-the Italians first Of
lereo TO quit the war on the conditions
that Italian territory should not be used
aS DaSe Tor attack on GERMANY and
thaC tne Italians should retain Albania
Next they offered to let us have Southern
Italy, with Central Italy to be a neutral
zone under the protection of the Vatican
ana the Germans left to defend Ttalv
north of the Pc.
VI course, II either of these suggestions
or both of them were offered thev could
meet only with prompt rejection bv Cen
EISENHOWER who Is interested only in
unconditional surrender. The Italians
Know that, which seems to mean that
they are stalling for time. And as there
is little italian advantage in such STALL
ing, 1t seems likely to be German advan-
tage that the Italians are seeking under
pressure and threats of all sorts from
the German high command.
Ihe Germans probably are not only
Trying TO save their Sicilian garrison. but
also to dig in somewhere in the north
perhaps on the Po, perhaps only on the
Plave and in the mountains of the Tren-
tino. They also are trying to mend their
FENCES IN the Balkans, and they may be
ruShlng forces to take over the Italian
held Aegan Islands notablv Rhodes,
ana perhaps Corsica. Thus the desper
ate rear-guard fighting in Sicily and the
equally desperate diplomatic rear-plard
action from Rome, have one and the
same purpose-to gain time for the
Germans
Gen. Eisenhower is making the onIv
possible reply to both these efforts. He
is smashing the German resistance on
Sicily, and he is smashing the Italian
resistance by bringing home to the
Italian people the grim fact that thew
are beaten and have no choice-a fact
which Is emphasized by every bomb that
falls on Naples and other Italian points
incidentally, the date line Of the last