Evening star., 1943-10-23
Italy
Continued From First Page.)

continued their Balkan campaign,
medium bombers, escorted by P-38
Lightnings, striking again yesterday
at the German airfield at Athens in
Greece and other fleets reached out
in heavy support Of ground troops.
The Allied communique said 5th
Army troops had captured COM
manding heights in the central sector
Of their front and ARE exploiting
this gain," but did not identify the
area.
The heaviest fighting yesterday
occurred near Alife, captured earlier
in the drive up the bend of the
Volturno River.
Heavy Nazi Losses.
Marshal Kesselring brought up
some of his seldom-seen tanks,
backed up by infantry and artillery,
and lashed out in what 5th Army
headquarters described as "a very
active manner" But the American
big guns, which caused such great
havoc in German ranks. particularly
in the latter phases of the Tunisian
fight, brought the Nazi thrust to a
standstill with heavy losses.
There Is no question now but that
the Germans are firmly established
IN number of strongly held posi-
tions all along the 'front.'" an Al
lied officer declared.
German divisions are holding an
almost solid line along the 5th Army
front barring the approaches to
Rome, while against the 9Th Army
they have adopted a practice of
holding a series of powerfully de-
Tended heights with their guns COM
pletely controlling all the ap-
proaches.
On the whole, the land fighting
Is not on large scale as both sides
prepared for the next phase of the
campaign.
Lupara, taken by the British, is
nine miles southwest of Larino.
The swift torpedo boats, making
their first announced foray into the
waters of the neck of Italy, inter-
cepted German conveys Tuesday
and Wednesday night in the Leg
horn area. naval communicate said
Leghorn is $50 air line miles above
Rome on the west coast.
Convoy Is Attacked.
Charging in Tuesday night on a
northbcund convoy consisting of a
small tanker, an "F" lighter and
three "R" boats, the torpedo boats
scored hit on the lighter and pos
sibly on the tanker. Retaliatory fire
from the convoy was inaccurate
and they eventually engaged each
other" headquarters said.
The next night, the torpedo boats
intercepted southbound convoy of
three "F' lighters and four small
escorts, torpedoing one of the light
ers. The American craft escaped
without damage or casualties.
Operating in the Adriatic, British
destroyers sank a Yugoslav trawler
carrying German armed guard off
| the Albanian coast and in sweep
off the same area the next night
captured an enemy merchant vessel,
the communique said.
Many Fires Started.
The bombers attacking the ElevSs
airfleld at Athens set many fires
in dispersal areas Hitlers south
ern ramparts to the Balkans were
kept under two-way attack, with
RAF bombers from the Middle East
hammering airfields at Martha on
Rhodes Thursday night for the third
successive night and the 18th raid
of this month.
Other bombers hit at enemy ship
ping and harbor facilities at the
islands of Naxos and Syros. None
of the British planes was lost.
In Italy, medium bombers at
tackled railways near Grosseto, 80
miles above Rome near the Medi-
terranean coast, and Orvieto, go
miles north of the capital yesterday
Gun Positions Attacked.
German gun positions, troops and
transports were attacked by me-
dium, light and fighter -bombers and
fighters, and a direct hit was scored
on an ammunition dump south of
San Salvo. Night bombers ripped
up railroad installations at Porto
Civitanova last night.
Four German planes attacking
Allied shipping off the North African
coast were shot down Thursday
and a few Germans raided Naples
that night causing no damage, the
communique said. In all operations
five Nazi planes were downed, and
ono Allied plono Voc poiScipo