The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-06-08
Axis Claim Raid on Medi>
terranean Isle Com
plete Failure
LESS THAN THOUSAND
SOLDIERS PARTICIPATE
Action Lasts Less Thav
Hour; Allies Silent Pend
ing Full Reports
BY WILLIAM B. DICKINSON
United Press Staff Correspondent

BY WILLIAM b. DlChINSON
United Press Staff Correspondent
London, June 8. - (UP) =
British Commando troops.
about five companies strong
landed on the Italian Medi-
terranean island of Lampe-
dusa, Axis communicates re-
ported today, in an operation
that may have been the first
short Allied jab to test enemy
defense against invasion OF
southern Europe.
A German voice broadcast refer
red to the Lampedusa landing an
"Allied" attack and as British
American attempt to land on 1tal-
ian soil that has been foiled quickly
and thoroughly but did not defi-
nitely make clear whether Amer1-
can troops actually participated.
(T'his might indicate that few
Americans accompanied the British
forces as they did at Dieppe)
The action on the island lasted
only few hours, according to the
Axis version, which claimed that
the raid was complete failure"
but failed to make clear what hap
pened except that the Italians re-
main In possession Of the little is
land. Allied sources, as expected,
offered no information pending full
reports.
The Axis version of the Lam
pedusa raid indicated that 1t was a
commando type thrust, although
both Rome and Berlin called it an
attack" in an effort TO make it
appear that an Allied invasion stab
had been repulsed. The fact that
only about five companies or less
than 1000 men participated, how
ever, indicated that it was merely a
raid from which the British with
drew according to schedule.
1t was recalled that the Axis de-
scribed the Dieppe raid on the
French coast last year as an I'm
vasion" attempt, although it was a
strictly limited operation.
Attack Repulsed?
German reports claimed that all
OF the attacking force was wiped
out" or repulsed and that several
barges were sunk.
A United Press dispatch from
Stockholm, quoting Berlin reports,
said that the ATTACKING force to-
tailed five battalionS or about 5000
men instead of five companies as
reported by the Berlin radio. The
larger figure, however, appeared to
ben In error since the Germans said
the attack was not as large as the
commando raid on the French coast
naval base Of st. Nazaire.
THE attack was made by picked
men, all armed with machine guns"
one dispatch from Berlin to Sweden
said. Military sources describe it
as a serious attempt TO take the
island.
All italian communique broadcast
by the Rome radio said that the
landing attempt had been repulsed,
and several landing barges were
sunk.
The German high command COM
munique, broadcast by Berlin, re-
ported, however, that the italian
garrison annihilated enemy troops
who landed" and beat off the at
tempt to seize the island.
The AXis-reported attack on Lam
pedusa, which was not Immediately
confirmed by Allied sources, was
one Of the first such offensive ac-
tons reported against an enemy po-
sition In the European theater. Pre-
yiously, the British had taken small
islands off the Tunisian coast and
in the north they had raided Spitz-
bergen from which they later with
drew.
London sources said they had no
of tbs L4ampedusa at
tack and it was pointed out that the
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