The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-08-16
| THE WAR ON ! MANY FRONTS
lRY United PreSsl

Triumphant Allied armies raced today toward an early conclusion of the sicilian campaign - five weeks and three days after landing on .he island.
 Tho American Seventh Army on the left flank and the British Eighth on the right converged upon their ultimate objective-Messina- as fast as men and weapons could pc carried over the mine -strewn coastal roads.
 Allied Forces had captured prac- sically every important military ob- jective barring the way. The port of Milazzo on the northern coast still was in Axis hands but the Americans were nearing it and were reported to have cut off Axis es- cape from 1t by sea. Milazzo is only l6 miles west of Messina.
 Taormina Captured
 British Tommies had captured Taormina on the east coast and were only about 25 miles below Mes hna.
 The Axis escape route over the Messina Straits was an inferno of exploding bombs from Allied planes.
 The Sicilian campaign was being fought to victorious finish to the accompaniment of thunderous air bombardment of Italy and northern Europe.
 Third Heaviest Raid
 Milan in northern Italy had its third and perhaps heaviest raid in 72 hours last night when Britain's heavy bombers dumped block bus ters on an already frenzied popu- lace. A Swiss dispatch said that Mi- Ian had another air raid alert this morning.
 RAF Mosquito bombers attacked Berlin during the night, also for the third time in 72 hours, and Amer 1can Flying Fortresses droned from English bases over the continent to- day.
 Allied planes based in Africa continued to lay waste military tar gets in southern and central Italy. The Italian seaplane base at Lake Bracciano. eight miles north of Rome, and railroads south of the capital were attacked.
 Declaration Not Accepted
 The Italian governments declara- ton Saturday designating Rome an open city had not ben accepted by the Allied governments pending evil dence that the city is not being used for military purposes.
 American bombers dealt crippling blows yesterday to seven German airdromes in France and Holland from which intercepter operations have ben directed against Allied bombers heading for Germany.
 RuSsia's unbridled offensive con- tinued to sweep the Germans back ward over 8 500-mile front extend ing from the Spas Demensk sector on the northern end of Kharkov on the south.
 Reds Going Along
 The Red Army stormed through Karachev over the weekend and drove to within 20 miles of Bryansk. strongest Axis bastion on the cen- tral front. Two other Soviet col umns were advancing on Bryansk from the northeast and southeast
 Bitter nd-to-hand fighting was in progress in the suburbs of Khar- kov and the fourth Russian city was nearer encirclement by the Red Army with the capture of three more towns in the Chuguev area.
 48 Jap Planes
 A weekend toll of 48 Japanese planes and 19 barges and third straight heavy raid on Salamaua were announced at southwest Paci- f1c headquarters.
 Thirty-two enemy planes were shot down over the Solomons and the remainder over New Guinea in dogfights that cost American forces only five aircraft.
 Allie dtroops waited short dis tance from Salamaua for the air assault to soften 1t for seizure.
 Ground troops advancing on Bair- oko harbor, on New Georgis Is- land, were held up by a pocket of resistance at zeita village. four and one half npes from the enemy garrison.