Evening star., 1944-03-05
Stalemate in Italy Stresses
Sea-BOrne Invasion Difficulty
Advantage Was With Nazis Who Could Shift
Large Bodies of Troops From Many
Points Quickly and at Will
Bv Constantine Br0iUn.


ports furnished It. Gen. Mark w. Clark,
commander of the 5th Army, indicated
that he would have to overcome at
Salerno the resistance of a skeleton
Nazi division of about 10000 men. In
stead, he found the reception commits
tee of no fewer than $4,000 men. 1t was
touch and co. For while it looked as
If the Allied forces would have to re-
embark. Fortunately, units Of the
American and British Navies were on
hand and their heavy guns forced the
enemy to Withdraw we'll beyond the
range Of the naval artillery.
20-to-1 Air Superiority.
We landed at Salerno on September
8 and finally reached Naples on Octo-
Der l. The principle support Of tho
relatively small Allied forces was to be
| a terrific air umbrella. We had 90
to-1 air superiority. Weather condi-
| tions and other circumstances pre-
vented us taking full advantage of our
aerial advantage. In the meantime, the
Nazis realized that if they could check
our advance they would gain at least
moral victory
Troops were rushed to the battle front
from Northern Italy and from various
sections of the Reich and France The
| Is Nazi divisions which had been re-
ported previously located between the
Po River and the Alps swelled to 20
and eventually to 26. Our aviation
tried to disrupt the lines Of commune
cations leading from the Reich into
Italy but obviously was not able to do
more than temporary harm.
The Germans continued to reinforce
their armies with men and supplies.
Geographically, the section across Italy
in which the Allies are fighting is ideal
for defensive actions. 1t is broken
country with high mountains which had
been fortified by the Nazis during the
few months preceding Mussolinis fall.
The operations of the British 9th Army,
which had occupied positions on the
Adriatic, also were slowed down by the
Nazi resistance and by the difficulties of
obtaining supplies. The transportation
problem proved a worse headache than
had been anticipated.
In the meantime, preparations for the
attack on Western Europe had pro-
gressed to such an extent that certain
high officers had to be transferred to
the new and more important prospec-
tive front. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower,
under whose overall command we had
conquered Tunisia and the principal
Italian islands in the Mediterranean,
was sent to England He was replaced
! Inv NEoi%
man reputedly with good deal of
imagination but little determination.
He was confronted with a stalemate
which had lasted much longer than had
been expected. The 5th Army, under
Gen. Clark, was bearing the brunt Of
the battle and also had become stymied.
Nazis Resist FierceIy.
The Nazis resisted fiercely and dis
puted every inch Of territory. They
were losing men, it is sure, but so were
the Allies. The Germans had the ad-
vantage of being able to bring replace
ments by road and rail from their re-
serve pool situated only few hundred
miles away. We had to replace our
losses from across the sea.
German divisions could be taken out
OF the firing line whenever they suffered
heavy losses or their men became battle
weary. Their relief arrived in a few
days. Our men had to wait sometimes
for weeks before they could be replaced
by fresh troops. 1t appears from the
ofhclal communiQues that few British
and American divisions are still avail
able as reinforcements The latest COM
muniques mention the presence of Po-
llsh, French, Indian and New Zealand
forces on the italian battle front A
complete tabulation of Allied losses in
Italy is not yet available because the
battle is still going on. American
casualties alone, up to February IT,
amounted to some 10000 men, according
to an official announcement by the
Secretary of War Stimson
Because of the stalemate which de.
veloped at Casino, the key to the road
to Rome, Gen. Wilson undertook very
DARING operation. He ordered Gen. Sir
Harold Alexander, who defeated Marshal
Erwin Rommel in Africa, to land on the
flank OF the Nazis at Nettuno and Anzio.
The Germans were taken by surprise.
The operation was highly successful at
the start.
Unfortunately, the force which landed
and defeated without trouble the small
German force was handicapped by bad
weather. The aviation could not report
the actual size of the enemy forces. Gen.
, Alexander advanced cautiously and in
this way lost precious time. Meanwhile.
the Nazis rushed fresh divisions from
wherever they could be gathered. The
front facing the British 9th Army was
: reduced to few battalions and the 10th
German Army was ordered to the front
as quickly as possible. Storms and rains
permitted the Nazi high command to
bring in fresh divisions. The offensive
OF Gen. Clark, which was timed to take
, place with our landing at Nettuno, failed
to crash through the Nazi positions at
Casino. The advantage of surprise
. wore of and the Allied troops, tenn
porarily at least, are now on the de-
fensive on the entire front.
According to the best available reports
there is no danger of our being thrown
out OF Italy But we did not open up
the Italian front to remain static It
!, has been much too costly. In order to
. overcome the Nazi resistance more
troops are needed. Whether we have
reached the bottom of the barrel, so