Evening star., 1943-11-22
Italy
EMERGENCY
Continued From First Page.)

Marauders rained bombs on an 18-
acre area at the much-bombed rail-
way and seacoast town of Civita-
vecchia, 40 miles northwest of Rome
smashing two quays, sinking a 100
foot vessel in the harbor and de-
molishing many buildings.
Il saw our bombs hit smack in
large storage and ammunition
dump area and in five seconds the
whole place blew up in a mass of
flames, smoke and debris" said one
bombardier, Staff Sergt. Arthur A.
Wallerstedt of Chicago.
Seek to Strengthen Line.
1t was estimated that 20 'front.'
line German divisions now were de-
Tending the positions along the Ga
rigliano and Sangro Rivers, which
prisoners and deserters continued to
describe as the enemy's winter
line" Aerial reconnaissance showed
the Germans were working fever
ishily to strengthen and deepen the
positions from the Tyrrhenian to
the Adriatic.
Brisk clashes occurred yesterday
near the Adriatic coast where Brit
ish patrols continued to cross the
Sangro in probing expeditions, and
in the high ground southeast of
Alfedena
The heavy downpours, making all
movements of men and guns diff
ficult, kept 5th Army activity on the
western end of the battlefront down
to patrol atcion and artillery duels.
Lateral Highway Cleared.
Occupation of Agnone, Archi, Cas-
tel San Vincenzo and Rocchetta
were announced yesterday by Allied
headquarters in advances which
finally cleared all of the lateral
highway from Vasto on the eastern
shore to Isernia in the mountains.
BY driving into Agnone, Gen.
Montgomerys troops wiped out an
eight -mile-deep salient the enemy
had held in Allied territory. This
forward lunge shortened the line.
Gen. Montgomery-s men knocked
the Nazis out of Archi and adjoining
hill positions in sharp combat. Archi,
l3 miles in from the Adriatic and
two miles from the Sangro, repre-
sented one of the last major enemy
strongholds east Of the river on that
sector.
The German communique ad-
mitted Nazi forces had withdrawn
beyond the stream in the face of
vastly superior forces"
Three-Mile Advance.
The mountain villages of Castel
San Vincenzo and Rocchetta were
occupied in three-mile drive in the
upper Volturno region northwest of
1sernia where 1t. Gen. Mark w.
Clark's 5th Army troops are getting
set tor plunge toward the highway
center OF Castel de Sangro.
After occupying Agnone, 9th Army
troops drove steadily forward, bend
ing back the salient, engaging the
enemy in number of sharp clashes
and inflicting heavy casualties.
In a twin aerial assault on an
east coast point, Marauders dam
aged the highway and rail bridges
at Fano, 80 miles northwest of An
coma on the Adristic.
Railway Yards Bombed.
Other B-26's with P-38 Lightnings
as escort made their first attack on
the railway yards at Chiusi, a mid
way point on the main Rome
Florence railway, scoring many
direct hits in the freight yards, the
central station ana warehouses.
TWin-engined Mitchelis also scored
hits on enemy gun emplacements at
Gaeta, 9 miles beyond the 5th Army
front along the Tyrrhenian, and
WarhaWks and Kittyhawks bombed
and strafed German trenches near
Lanciano on the 9th Army front.
In sweeps across the Adriatic
again, Spitfires blasted harbor works
and railway yards at Sibenik, Yugo-
slavia, and set fire to II enemy We
hicles near Vorhe and Durazzo in
Albania.
In night forays in Italy, Bostons
bombed and strafed the east coast
ports and railway and road juno
tions at Porto Civitanova, Pedaso
and Giulianova and the landing
ground at Loreto, southwest of An
coma.