Evening star., 1943-09-04
Invasion
Continued From First PageD

Southern Italy yesterday and the
night before
The italians claimed 81 Allied
planes were shot down.
An Allied air commlmique also
announced that Allied airmen sup
porting the invading forces had
: blasted Catanzaro in the arch of the
italian boot and also had swept
across the Tyrrhenian Sea to bomb
Southern Sardinia.
Enemy airfields were attacked by
Allied bombers last night at Capua
and Capo Dichino, headquarters an
nounced. Capua lies northeast of
Naples. All the bombers returned.
In Southern Sardinia enemy radio
installations were attacked by fight
q bombers and fighters.
In addition to Catanzaro, medium
and light bombers and fighter bomb
ers hit enemy communications at
Cosenza, on the west coast of Italy
just above the instep of the boot.
Cunningham Watches Smelling.
Admiral Sir Andrew Browne Cum
ningham, commander of the Medi-
terranean feet, watched from a de-
stroyer the Thursday bombardment
of the Cape del Armi area by the
warships Warspite and Valiant, with
their 15-inch guns firing one-ton
shells.
The village of Calico Marina.
halfway between Reggie Calabria
and San Giovanni, was the focal
point of the initial landings and
was the first community on con-
tinental Europe to fall into Allied
hands.
Landings also were made imme-
diately north and south of Reggie
Calabria, and the Axis air base out
side the town was quickly seized.
It has 1,600-foot runway, two
hangers and workshops. No enemy
planes or armor were encountered.
Many batteries of field guns, in
Guiding American units, on the
shore of Sicily covered the landings,
supplemented by the heavy British
machineguns firing streamlined bull
lets and capable of placing a cur
tain of fire on the mainland. One
2 big enemy shore gun opened fire
curing the crossing of the strait.
but was silenced by British war
ships.
Italians Admit Withdrawal.
1talys high command said British
and Canadian troops, attacking with
snaval support and overwhelming
superiority III the air" had sue
zceeded in establishing several bridge
heads on the extreme southern tip
OF the Cslabrian Peninsula. which
lies across the two-mile wide Strait
sof MeSsina from conquered Sicily.
! After bitter fighting during
which severe losses were inflicted
son the enemy by our defending
: troops, San Giovanni. Reggie Gala
: brta and the area of Melito had to
( be evacuated" the Italian COM
munique SAID.
: eyewitness accounts said Italian
{ troops were surrendering in num-
bers. as in Sicily. and even rowed
: across the straits in small boats
( to surrender before the invasion
began.
F. Italian civilians at Reggie Calabria
waved white flags and cheered oc-
cupying troops. In other parts of
the coastal area the civilians. ap-
parently as weary of war as the
Sicilians, received the invaders with
friendly air.
The United Nations radio at Al
giers said that in addition to the
British battleships Valiant and
W6rspite, two cruisers, six DESTROY
eks, two monitors and two gunboats
Aere engaged in the covering opera
Zion. The broadcast added that the
Italian fleet had not yet been sighted.
German Troops in Action.
Ross Munro, Canadian press war
correspondent, reported in a de-
layed dispatch written after he had
been ashore in the Reggie Calabria
area for two hours that he had not
seen casualty UP to that time.
The lone mention of German
troops in action came in a Berlin
report that British tanks were en-
gaglng German armor north of
Reggie Calabria, and this suggested
that once again the Nazis were
leaving the hapless Italians to bear
the brunt of rearguard protection
as they did in Egypt, Libya, Tripoli-
tania, Tunisia and Sicily.
Still no word was Forthcoming on
1t. Gen. George S. Patton's Amer
ican 7th Army, but German gar
risons were reported keeping ner-
vous vigil along the Mediterranean
shores OF Southern France for a
possible thrust in that direction.
Reports received in London indi-
Gated that the entire Strait OF Mes
sina had been cleared of the enemy
The cleanup of the strait, first OBJ.
1ective of the Allied command
opened the waters to Allied ship.
ping, no longer under menace from
! what had been strong Axis artillery
batteries, and greatly simplified Al