The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-10-19
The WurO On
Many Fronts
Rv United Press)

Allied armies in italy, spurred by
full victory in the Volturno river
battle, gained offensive momentum
in the drive for Rome today while
signs multiplied that q Balkan In
vasion would be the next great blow
at Hltler's Europe.
Troops Of the Anglo merican
Fifth and British Eighth armies
showed ahead in three to four miles
advances, firmly securing the IT.
mile length Of the Volturno from
Capua to the sea and rolling Ger
man rearguards from 20 towns and
villages, sometimes In bitter fights.
Mitchell bombers escorted by
fighters struck from italian bases
against occupied Jugoslavia, scene Of
O patriot-Nazi struggle, for the first
time. Their objective was Skplpje,
on the Nain rail line from Bel
grade to Greece.
In London, Marshal Jan @. SHUTS,
prime minister OF South Africa,
limited that q Balkan invasion was
on the Allied schedule before win
ter.
On the italian front, the major
advance was scored by the Fifth
Army against slackening resistance
from German troops who apparent
ly had realized they had been beat
en- at the Volturno and were ready
to dig In along the Garigliano, 10
miles northward, for q new stand.
The Eigth Army faced particu-
larry heavy fighting In the Campo
basso sector Of eastern Italy, the
German forcing the British to fight
hard for every mil ewhile easing
into the high Apprentices country.
Bulk Of the town and villages fell
to American forces In the central
and western sectors Of the tram
italy front, nearly 100 miles long.
The Fifth Army was bringing a
| powerful pincers to bear on the
main road to Rome from Capua.
A new devastation blow struck the
German reich last night when Brit
aims big bomber fleets unloaded
tons Of blockbuSters on Hanover.
The bombers went over Hanover
In strength for the second time this
month and the fourth time since
Sept. ~. The raids were equal to
the four that wrecked Hamburg. At
the same time. fast mosquito bomb
ers hit Berlin for the second
straight night In an harassment
raid. Seventeen bombers were lost
from all operations.
Red Army
The Red Army gained another
four to Ave miles In the push
through the southern Ukraine that
some reports indicated may force
the Germans to abandon their
stronghold at Dnepropetrovsk to
avoid isolation.
The Berlin radio admitted q Ger
man retreat before Soviet power
house drive across the Dnieper near
Kremenchug.
Elsewhere the Russian advance
was measured in yards.
New Japanese defeats on land
and In the air were revealed at Gen.
Douglas MacArthur's headquarters
which announced that Australian
troops had pushed to within 10
miles Of the enemy base at Madang,
New Guinea.
Australian troops repulsed Sec
ond Jap effort to retake Finsch-
hafen, on the New Guinea east coast.
defeating an enemy force three
miles from the base and smashing a
landing attempt on the coast.
Forty-three more enemy planes
were added to the mounting num-
bers destroyed by MacArthur's fly
ers, bringing the total since last
June 80 to more than 1000.
There were no details on the adj
vance against Madang by troops
beating through the Ramu river
valley and the adjacent Finnesterre
mountains, but the report indicated
an advance Of between IS and 20
miles.
An unidentified plane chased OF
at Pearl Harbor on Sunday was
thought TO be a japanese aircraft
launched by q submarine for re-
commissioned, Hawaiian dispatches
reported. The plane was caught In
searchlights and turned and ned.