Evening star., 1943-09-29
Italy
Continued From First Page.)

eral advance on the entire 5th and
9th Army line.
American troops on the 5th
Army's right flank smashed their
way six miles northward against
crumbling enemy opposition and
were within seven miles of Avellino,
road and rail junction which is the
key to inland communications east
Of Naples.
The capture of Avellino would
constitute a threat to any German
effort to make a new stand any
where east or south of Naples.
Straight Line Established
Meanwhile. the 9th, Army wiped
out the deep salient on Its western
flank. previously reported, and
established straight line between
San Angelo and Malfi, while along
the Adriatic Gen. Sir Bernard l..
Montgomery's British forces stormed
northward from Margherita di
Savoia and. occupied the town of
Zappanetta on the Gulf of Manfre-
donia, due east of the great Foggia
sirbase. which was taken yesterday.
Repairs to the 13 airields in and
around Foggia were being rushed in
preparation for an all-out air assault
on Nazi targets in Southern Ger
many, Italy and the Balkans.
The last of Marshal Albert Kes-
selring's rear guard was barely
ousted from the Incoronato woods
and the grain fields of the hot Fog
gia plains before engineering units
arrived to patch the bomb-pocked
runways and rehabilitate the shops
and hangers.
Fierce Fighting at Sala. -
British troops on the extreme
southwest end of the Allied front
began the final shove against the
enemy in the mountain line north
and northwest Of Salerno and en-
countered the bitterest kind of
fighting at the town of Sala, which
already had changed hands many
times in recent weeks of the furious
struggle.
seized it and swept on. The Ger
mans. realizing that any further at
tempt to make a stand in that area
was futile, began to retreat. Lioni
and Castelnuovo had previously
fallen in this sector.
Reports from the front empha-
sized that the enemy's withdrawal
was orderly and there was no sug-
gestion that the Allies were taking
any large numbers of prisoners.
The Germans appeared to have
realized far ahead of time that they
must ultimately yield before the
sledge- e-hammer blows and accord
ingly made plans well in advance for
swift retreat.
Germans Are Bitter.
On the 9th Army front a military
spokesman reported that German
parachute troops who were captured
complained bitterly that their only
job had been to fight a rear guard
action. One prisoner said only II
men were left in his company as the
result of recent fighting.
With the advance moving ahead
from the south and east, there was
adequate evidence that Marshal
Kesselring long ago decided that
Naples would be undefendable once
the heavy, drawnout mountain fight
ing ceased
The capture of Castellammare
gives the Allies valuable shipping
center and naval base capable of
handling warships up to $50 feet
long. The town has population of
$4,000.
The air offensive against troop
concentrations and supply lines OF
the retreating Germans was ham
pered by bad weather, although some
Allied squadrons which carried out
offensive patrols encountered a few
enemy fighters and shot down one.
Planes Attack Train.
Fighters and fighter -bombers at
tackled train and small motor
transport convoy, an Allied COM
munique said, while other Allied
airmen continued to patrol the bat
tie area. No allied planes were lost
"a German communique said
continuous rains prevented major
operations in Southern Italy, but
ADDED vaguely that movements
of our own took their anticipated
course.'')
Vast fires still ragged unchecked
In Naples as the Germans rushee
the task of destroying everythin,
which might be of value to tn,
Allies. Principal damage was in tn,
port area, but Americans aboarc
warships operating off the coast saw
two fires just inside the city, which
maps indicated were in the vicinit,
OF the city's electric plant
From refugees streaming int,
Allied positions officers learned tina