Evening star., 1943-08-04
Sicily
Continued From First Page.)

in an attempt to prevent the re-
treat of Axis ground forces from
turning into a rout.
'Mr. Boyle quoted military
spokesman with the 7th Army
as saying that reinforcement of
Axis troops through Cape Or
lando and Messina had ceased
The correspondent reported that
the newly arrived German planes
were trying to knock out heavy
Allied artillery, but their aim
was bad"
"a corps officer said the Ger
man flyers as we'll as the ground
forces were markedly inferior to
the enemy forces met and con-
quered in North Africa
Rip Axis Infantry.
Not only bombers but several
types OF fighters and fighter bomb
ers ranged over the German and
Italian ground forces. dropping high
explosives at point blank range and
ripping Axis infantry with cannon
shells and machine-gun bullets.
A frontline witness said "the roar
in the sky is deafening. It's a reg
ular traffic jam up there"
Adrano. at the western base of
Mount Etna, and the gun positions
and roads in that area were the
focal point of the aerial destruction.
and 30. enemy trucks were reported
destroyed and 100 damaged.
RAF Wellingtons attacked Naples.
sWamping the defenses with a con-
centrated bombing.
The crews said the Naples anti
aircraft gunners held their fire until
the last moment and then let loose
simultaneously. But the fire failed
to divert the bomber feet and a
tornado of explosives left the tar
get looking like a f1attened Christ
mas tree" one airman said.
The Allied land advances tore new
gaps in the Etna line and threatened
the Adrano-Catania highway skirt
ing the base of Mount Etna,
Suicidal Resistance.
The gains were scored in the face
OF a suicidal resistance in which the
Germans lavishly poured in men in
an effort to hold off the push in the
central sector particularly.
The fact that only patrol activity
was reported directly south of Ca
tania seemed to indicate that the
main assault on that city was COM
ing in an enveloping movement
from the west, and the Germans
were determined to prevent it.
"a German radio broadcast to-
day said from three to four Allied
divisions were making the push
against German ridge positions
in that sectorJ
The area around Agira on the
western edge OF the Cstania plain
was the scene of the fiercest re-
sistanc and it was officially disclosed
that the place changed hands
many times" before Canadian
troops finally secured the position.
To the southeast, around Catena-
nuova, the British manhandled the
first big German counterattack with
tanks in more than a week. knock
ing out Cotton Tiger tank and two
smaller ones and cutting the accom-
panylng infantry assault to pieces.
Then the British 18th and 5lst
Infantry Divisions advanced over
ground strewn with enemy dead.
Five Miles From Road.
The capture Of Centuripe put the
British within miles of the Adrano-
Catania road. A terrific artillery
barrage already was taking a heavy
toll of German supplies and rein
forcements moving along the vital
artery.
A shattering naval bombardment,
coupled with blanket of fire from
field artillery, was blasting the way.
In other air action, Beaufighters
hit another enemy merchant ship in
the Strait Of Bonifacio, between
Sardinia and Corsica.
(The German radio in a broad
cast declared 1879 Allied planes
had been shot down in the Medi-
terranean theater from the be-
ginning of the Sicihan invasion to
July 81, and that 300 Allied tanks
had been destroyedD
In all the air activity four enemy
planes were destroyed at a cost of
two Allied aircraft, the air COM
munique said.
Close in on Triangle.
With the Axis defense line around
the base of Mount Etna already
cracked in numerous places, the 7th
and 9Th Armies were closing in on
the last tiny triangle of land which
barred the way to the Italian main
land.
THE Italian communiaue,
broadcast from Rome today and
recorded by the Associated Press,
said "a battle which has been
raging for four days in Sicily has
developed particularly bitterly In
the area between Regalbuto and