Evening star., 1943-09-09
Americans and Nazis
Battle Near Naples;
Italians Seize Pass
Continued From First Page

outside Rome.
Official reports said the town
nearly every building of which was
occupied by Gereman officers, was
leveled. The town, with popula-
tion of about 10000, is famous for
its wine.
mactic phases, other breaking
developments included:
l. The Swedish newspaper Svenska
Dagbladet said the Allies had landed
on Sardinia, last major Axis bastion
in the Western Mediterranean
Dummy Fascist Government.
?. Berlin announced the forma
tion of a dummy national Fascist
government in the name of Mus
solini" in Germany and beamed
appeals to Italian soldiers mot to
obey the false orders of treason"
g. Radio France in Algiers indi-
Gated that Allied occupation of Axis
held Corsica was imminent, telling
CorSlcanS in a broadcast that they
were ION the threshold of liberia
ton"
The status of the Italian naval
and merchant fleets still remained
In doubt. Under the terms of un-
conditional surrender, Gen. Sir
Henry Maitland Wilson, Allied COM
mander in chief in the Middle East,
directed all Italian ships in the East
ern Mediterranean to proceed to
Alexandria and Palestine
The landing operations TODAY
putting Americans into combat in
Italy for the first time, initiated
what was likely to prove the grim
NEST campaign yet fought in the
Mediterranean theater>
5th Army Units in Action.
The makeup OF Gen. Clarks force
was not announced in the Allied
headquarters communique. In
Washington Secretary of War Stim-
son said the landing near Naples
included units of the American 5th
Army. which had been commanded
by Gen. Clark in North Africa. The
9th Army as whole had never been
in action before.
Swiss and Swedish radio reports
said 1t was the American 7th Army
which was engaged in the Naples
area.
The opening of the new italian
front in the Naples area promised
the seizure of Naples, Italy's sec
ond greatest port, and also put the
Germans in Southern Italy under
pressure from two directions as the
British 9th Army under Gen. Sir
Bernard L. Montgomery continued
to drive up the italian toe.
While other Allied forces executed
q second landing early yesterday at
Vibo Valentia on the Gulf of Eufe-
mia, 30 miles north of Palmi the 9th
Army, it was announced, swept for
ward until it held the road running
across the peninsula from Locri to
Gioia. This gave the Allies complete
possession of about 40 miles of the
length of the toe
Here the Allies were being steadily
reinforced.
The German plan apparently was
to fight stubborn delaying action
in Southern Italy as long as possible
until their main defense line is
reached in the mountains south of
the Pc Valley.
Role In Battle Not Clear.
Although italian armed forces
were under orders not to fight the
Allies, reports had not yet made
clear whether all Italian units were
abandoning the fight German
broadcasts announced that new
Fascist government had been formed
apparently sort of German
sponsored government-in-ex exile to
hold Italians in the fight.
The Italian Stefani news agency,
in broadcast recorded by United
States Government monitors, gave
this summary of the situation
around Naples and Genoa:
Exits from the port and indus
trial region are blown up by German
troops. Three principal, !, arteries
leading to and from Genoa also are
blocked. There is a rumor that
three German armored divisions are
moving toward Genoa"
Stefani also broadcast another
rumor that the British feet is off
the port of Genoa, and it is said that
German forces have occupied the
heights of San ,Giuliano and also the
barracks of Sturla. German
lorries full of troops are passing at
full speed through the streets"
Swiss radio reports said Allied
planes in hundreds were descending
on newly obtained Italian airfieldS.
Rumors Of Other Landings.
Aside from the landings in the
Naples area, rumors few of Allied
landings all along the western coast
of the Italian peninsula.
Stockholm newspapers said the
Allies were attacking from bridge
heads at two places on both sides of
Rome, at Civitavecchia, 40 miles
north of the capital and at Gaeta,
rs miles to the south of the capital.
These reports said landing attempts
also were under way at Genoa.
The Germans claimed that Italian
troops in Greece had been ordered
to surrender their arms and go TO
the coast to await further German
orders.
Events in Italy were moving at a
dizzy speed since the Kingdom S
capitalization was announced yes
terday, as the Allies rushed men
and guns TO the peninsula in a race
against German forces.
British and American warShips
added to the assaults by lombard
ments Of the Germans along the
coasts
Proclamation Rebrcadcast.
Critical as was the Italian situa-
ton, Marshal Badoglio's proclama-
tlon calling on Italians to lay down
their arms against the Allies was
a ct - q IL :