Imperial Valley press., 1943-08-15
Germans Scramble
To Escape Sicily
1Continned From Page y


Mount Ftna area. it was announced,
and may have cut off many enemy
troops in the mountains holding
rear guard positions.
Heavy attacks by the American
Seventh and British armies were
driving desperately-resisting AXIS
rearguards back along both the
Northern and Eastern coast within
35 miles of Mess1na and threatening
to trap thousands in the mountain
Gus interior.
One American column, after con-
solidating positions in newly-cap-
t,lred Randazzo on the Northwest
ern slopes of Mt. Etna, thrust seven
miles up the road to Cape Dorian
do and seized Floresta.
The American North coast col
umn advanced two miles from
Brolo and captured Piraino, six
miles East of Cape Orlando, while
British forces pounding along the
East coast advanced their line three
miles along a mile front with
the capture of Giarre, Riposto ana
Milo. all l6 miles North of Catania.
Riposto lies on the coast and
Giarre and Milo are on line due
West up the slopes of Mt. Etna.
I'VE continued our advance in all
sectors yesterday. making consider
able progress in the center" Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower's communique
said.
The communique reported that
the Allies were steadily pushing"
enemy rearguards East from Ran
dazzo. whose capture by the AM
ericans yesterday unhinged the
Axis line and split the defenders
into two columns racing desperately
for Messina and chance to escape
to the Italian mainland.
SAME SITUATION
The thrust through Randazzo
left the Axis command in a situa-
ton paralleling that in Tunisia
following the capture of Tunis and
Bizerte, observers said.
The Allies speeded up their ad-
vance on all fronts overrunning the
Axis rear guard resistance at
pace limited largely by the rugged
terrain, as the enemy write-off of
the bridgehead became evident from
the evacuation.
The wholesale withdrawal under
the telling blows of Allied planes
and warships collapsed the frame
work of the Axis defenses every
where.
The Germans massed many ships
and small boats from Italian fish
ing ports and bathing beaches after
the fall of Randazzo, the key to the
defense of the island tip, and
scrambled for the mainland with
every resource at their command.
AGO Boston assault planes ham,
mered the beaches and railways
leading to the beaches. Waves of
American and British warhaWks
adm Kittyhawk fighter bombers
wrecked at least six craft and dam
aged 16 more.
Wellingtons of the Royal air
force, taking advantage of the
moonlight, went after the troops
reaching debarkation points on the
mainland beaches.
BROKE BACKBONE
American troops broke the back
bone of Axis resistance yesterday
when they charged into Randazzo,
mountain town commanding the
pass of the same name between
Mount Etna and the Caronian
mountains.
The Germans left the town
mass of flames. 1t was full of time
bombs which exploded intermittent
" throughout the day and night
BOBBY traps of all kinds were left
in and around the town.
Details revealed that Randazzo
was taken by a hooking maneuver
by which the American 9th division
entered the town from the West
and the British 18th division from
the South.
Allied advances in all sectors in
the past 48 hours had won entire
regions of the fast shrinking Axis
bridgehead, and the total number
of prisoners had increased to be-
tween 100000 and 10000.
The great bulk of the Axis equip
ment was being left behind on the
Sicilian shores, since the Germans
were unable to use any big ships
for the dangerous passage between
Legendary Scylla and Charybdis-
the ramparts on either side of the
rats of MeSsina.