Evening star., 1943-11-11
Air Force Reports
DemoIitions at
Leghorn, Pescoru
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
Fearing invasion by sea, out
flanking their Central Italian
line, the Germans have scuttled
ships and demolished docks at
Leghorn and Pescara in possible
prelude to retirement to a new
line 100 miles above Rome, an
official Allied statement disclosed
today.
Leghorn is 240 miles north of the
present Garigliano-Sangro front and
is one of Italy's principal naval
bases on the Mediterranean. The
obsolete cruiser Quacto and mer-
chant vessels were sent down at the
entrances of its fine harbor, rs miles
from Bastia, in Allied Corsica. The
Germans have reported troop masses
on that French island. Gen. George
S. Patton's American 7th Army, the
French army of Gen. Henri Giraud
and the British 1st Army are among
the unreported Allied forces in the
Italian campaign.
Pescara is directly threatened, Is
miles up the Adriatic from the Brit
lsh 9th Army, which was on the
banks of the Sangro River. The
Allied announcement from Algiers
said the demolitions at both ports
ARE similar to those performed by
the enemy several weeks before they
evacuated Naples"
Called First Tenable Position
Much military opinion has held
that the Leghorn-Pescara line was
the first.really tenable position south
OF the River Po, although German
prisoners said this week that Mar
shal Erwin Rommel had ordered
present lines held at least until the
new year.
Adding to German difficulties in
Italy, a great force of Raj bombers
attacked without loss the Mount
GEMS railway tunnel at Modane
just across the frontier in the south
of France
Meanwhile, skilled American
mountain fighters of the 5th Army
stormed up the heights and drove
the enemy from two mountains, in
cluding Mount Rotondo northwest
OF Mignano, where the main inland
road to Rome passes through the
heavily fortified line that Nazi SOL
dlers have been ordered to hold,
communique said
The Americans smashed forward
against German counterthrusts to
the peak of Mount Rotondo over
looking the broad valley leading to
Casino, miles mort hof Mignano.
Sth Army Fights in Snow.
The 9Th Army of Gen. Sir Bernard
L. Montgomery, fighting through
snoWstorms in the Apennines, ad-
vanced miles and captured Rio
nero, 10 miles northeast of Isernia
and miles south of Castel di Cam
gro on an important transpeninsular
highway.
The Germans had burned and de-
stroyed Rionero.
Meeting only light resistance, the
9th Army also swept up to the
south bank of the Sangro River.
which empties into the Adriatic, and
captured most of the territory on
the south side of that stream along
which the Germans had formed the
eastern end of their winter defense
line"
Casalanguida, IS miles inland from
the Adriatic, and Roccasicura were
taken in the advance.
The Brenner Pass railroad bottle
neck between Germany and her
southern front was believed to have
been sealed for the time being as
the result of a powerful blow by 18th
Air Force Flying Fortresses which
flew to the Alps yesterday and
smashed railway yards, buildings,
locomotive sheds and bridges in and
near Bolzano.
Bearing Plant Bombed Again.
This line to Innsbruck was
broken at Bolzano once before by
heavy bombers from this area, but
the Germans had restored the serv-
ice. This time it was believed the
damage was more serious.
At the same time, American Lib
orators from the 18th Air Force
made a repeat raid on the Villa
Perosa ball bearing works south
west of Turin, hitting that objective
for the second time in two DAYS in
an effort to knock out most of Ger
many's resources for producing
bearings for her war machines.
The American units of 1t. Gen.
Mark w. Clark's 5th Army, in ad-
dition to seizing the two hills north