Evening star., 1944-03-04
Allies Smash
; Small Attacks
On beachhead
German Stubs Weak
After Failure of
| AII-Out Offensive
BY the Associated Press

ALLIED HEADQUARTERS,
NAPLES, Mar. 4.-Three small
German attacks against the
beachhead below Rome were
smashed yesterday and Thurs
day as the Nazis continued to
stab weakly at the Allied lines
after the failure of their latest
all-out offensive, headquarters
announced today.
A dusk assault against American
troops along the Cisterna Montello
road Thursday was beaten back by
artillery fire and three tanks were
destroyed. Two strong enemy patrols
probing British positions around
Carroceto were dispersed and in
filtration attempts in the Moletta
River area also failed.
Unfavorable weather curtailed
ground operations on all the fronts,
a communique said, with action in
the Casino area limited to normal
patrolling and exchanges of fire" !"
The 9th Army repulsed a small Nazi
thrust in the mountains.
Five Nazi Divisions Used.
Allied officers estimate at least five
Nazi divisions were used in the
recent costly offensive against the
beachhead. Three German divisions
had previously been identified
in the assault, but the Allied COM
mand later learned the crack Her.
mann Goering Panzer Division and
the 715th Infantry also were en-
ployed. The latter outfit suffered
heavy casualties in both of the last
two offensives.
Since the British and Americans
landed below Rome January % they
have taken more than $500 pris-
oners, a spokesman said.
The Allied air forces yesterday
struck slashing blows at German
communications in Northern Italy
and in Rome, blasting railways, de-
stroying number of locomotives
and cannonading shipping and dock
areas. Eleven German planes were
destroyed against loss of 10 Allied
craft.
One company of German infantry
attacked Indian troops near the
mountain village of Fallascoco,
southwest of Torricella on the 9Th
Army front, but were driven of with
casualties, leaving four prisoners in
Allied hands.
Patrols Maintain Close Contact.
On that front Allied patrols main
tanned close contact with the Ger
mans, a Canadian patrol capturing
machine gun in the Crecchio
area. Another Canadian patrol am
bushed a German party in a night
action near Orsogna, inflicting
casualties, Polish patrols also were
active
Spitfires again blasted the Yugo-
slav coast, smashing two locomotives
and Notwithstanding trains, and
wellington night bombers followed
up the blows with a smash last night
at zara, italian port on the Dali
matian coast, with two-ton bombs.
zara is one of the major intakes
for German reinforcements and sup
plies in the battle against Yugoslav
Partisans.
Bomb-strike photos showed that
about 1000 pieces of rolling stock
were in the heavily-hit Littorio
yards, about miles north of the
center of Rome. Two minor explo-
sions and fires, appearing to be in a
munitions dump, were observed at
the Tiburtina yards.
Religious Monuments Avoided.
Headquarters declared that care
was used to avoid religious and cul-
tural monuments in the Eternal City
"as in previous attacks"
Tracks were torn up in the Thur
tina yards and bombs set fire to
storage depots and hit nearby ware
houses, damaging two industrial
plants nearby.
About 30 German fighters chal-
lenged the Flying Fortresses over
the Rome area. The bomber gunners
shot down five and escorting Thun-
derbolts destroyed six.
Marauders following the heavy
bombers over Rome attacked the
Ostiense rail yards in the southern
part of the city through which Ger
man supplies to the 5th Army fronts
pass. Liberators went north Of
Rome to bomb airfields, but heavy
overcast prevented accurate observ-
alton of the results.