The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1944-05-13
The War On
MonyFronts
9th UsAAF photo from NEA)
BY LOUIS F. KEEMLE
UNITED Press War Edit0r)

Heavy fighting ragged on the 25-
mile front from above Casino to
the Tyrrhenian sea today as the OPP
posing forces in Italy swayed back
and forth in the first onslaught Of
the 1914 Allied campaign to crush
Germany.
The great aerial offensive from
Britain against Northwestern Eu-
rope went on uninterrupted with
large forces Of Allied daylight bomb
ers again over the continent after
night during which the Raj
dropped some 1000 tons Of bombs
on the railway networks Of France
and Belgium, concentrating their
heaviest attack on the functions OF
Louvain and Hasselt in Belgium.
The Allied Fifth and Eighth ar
mics in Italy drove well into the
outer defenses Of the German Gus
tav line but met with the fierce re-
sistance and had difficulty holding
some of their preliminary gains. It
was announced that they had taken
at least three towns and five hills.
London reported that in some plac-
es the Allies had advanced two to
three miles but had been checked
in others.
Fall Back
Fifth Army trops were forced to
fall back to the outskirts Of one
town they had penetrated, while the
Eighth Army at Casino yielded a
foothold 1t had gained at heavy
cost on Hill $50 overlooking Mon
astery Hill, after beating off six
counter attacks.
The Germans were fighting from
strongly prepared positions in the
hills above and below Casino and
across the Rapido and Gariglianc
rivers. Some of the heaviest fight
ing was around Castelforte towards
the seward end Of the line, where
American troops of the Fifth Army
captured four hills and the French
another.
In addition to an umbrella Of
air cover, the troops were supported
by Allied naval forces. A com.
nunique disclosed that British
cruiser and American destroyers
operating behind the enemy lines
had bombarded artillery position:
in the Gulf of Gaeta area along the
Appian way leading to Rome.
In the Air
In the air war against Europe
large forces of daylight bombers
swept across the channel to carry
on the night work of the Raj or
the 9th day of the uninterrupted
offensive. More than 500 British
heavy bombers were engaged in the
night operations, which followed
yesterdays smashing attack by
about 1000 American fortresses, Lib.
orators and fighters on five syn.
thetic oil plants in Germany ano
Czechoslovakia which are Of vita
Importance to the German war ma
chine. They were part of a force
which in all totalled nearly S.
900 planes and harried coastal for
tifications and transport lines over
wide area.
On the Russian front, Moscow re-
ported that German attacks against
the Soviet bridgehead across the
lower Dnestr river near Chisnau
Bessarabia, had been beaten off
The Germans lost 1900 man anc
100 tanks in two days. Moscow also
announced that he last enemy re.
sistance outside captured Sevastopo
had been broken and that in the
entire Crimean campaign the en-.
envy lost more than 11l,000 mer
killed or captured.
In the Pacific, it was disclosed
that four American Air Forces hac
been thrown into the campaign II
knock out Truk and its outlying
bases in the Carolines. Truk was
attacked for the 45th time by Ian.
based bombers of the Seventh Army
Air Force. Planes from the Fifth
and 18th Army Forces and the
18th Army forces and the Nays
fleet arriving No. also are en-.
gaging in the Caroline assault.