Evening star., 1944-01-24
Italy
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prevent them from throwing their
full power into the attack on the
beachhead.
The Germans aimed their thrusts
at the British and French as well as
the Americans all along the Gustav
Line running through Casino.
Although the Americans were
thrown back across the Rapido
when their ammunition was eX-
hausted, they exacted heavy cas-
ualties, held off a German folloW-up
at the point of the bayonet and
reoccupied strong positions on their
own side of the river. =
THE Americans engaged in hand
to-hand struggles right down to the
river banks" a headquarters COM
mentator related.
The French in the mountains to
the northeast stood firm.
Ridge Regional.
The British lost the ridge COM
manding Tufo to the southwest, but
regamed it with counterattack.
The main German thrust here was
directed at Santi Cosmo e Dami-
ano Ridge near Castelforte and the
fighting was described as the hard
est the British have encountered
since they crossed the Garigliano.
'All the German assaults in this
sector were costly failures" the
commentator declared.
Allied air forces kept up their
steady pounding of German COM
munications throughout yesterday
and fighters in great strength main
tanned a constant patrol of the bat
tie front. Eleven enemy aircraft
were destroyed. Three Allied planes
were missing.
The days toll of II enemy planes
included eight enemy bombers shot
down off the northwest coast of
italy near the island of Elba
Heavy bonbers attacked railway
and road targets at Porto Civita-
nova, on the Adriatic Coast below
Ancona; at Siena, lis miles north
west of Rome, and at Ceprano, 16
miles north of Casino. Heavy
bombers also hit an airfield at Rieti,
AZ miles northeast of Rome.
Communication Lines Raided.
Fighters and fighter -bombers con-
centrated on the lines of communi-
cation in the F'ondi, Ceccano and
Seize areas inland from the new
landing beaches and between Rome
and the trans-Italy front.
(The Berlin radio declared in
a Rome dispatch yesterday that
Allied pombers had hit Castel
:Gandolfo, II miles south of
Rome, the summer residence Of
Pope Plus XII, and caused ex-
,tensive damage in the town.
Allied headquarters announced
that Flying Fortresses had bombed
a, rail junction northwest of Fras-
cati, IL miles below Rome, but Cas-
tel Gandolfo lies 5 miles southwest
of Frascati.
Today's announcement of the cap
ture of Nettuno was the first time
headquarters had given a definite
location for the landings. The Ger
mans had reported landings at sew =
eral points along this section of the
coast, and on Saturday said they
had lost Nettuno harbor.
Joins Near Rome.
From Nettuno a broad highway
leads to Rome The AnZiate Way
goes west 3 miles to Anzio, thence
due north for "a miles, joining the
Appian Way 9 miles southeast of
Rome.
Heavy attacks by American, Brit
ish and French forces along the 5th
Army front lured the German 3rd,
18th and Goth Armored Grenadiers
away from Rome last week. At the
same time Allied air attacks blocked
all railways into the capital from
the north, hindering the advance
OF reserves to fill the gaps.
Writing from a beachhead yester-
day, Associated Press War Corre-
spondent Don Whitehead declared:
ITO nonmilitary observer 1t ap-
pears that if the surprise landing
can be exploited quickly the enemy