America at war! (1941--) -- Part 2

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Editorial: Invasion of Sicily launches critical campaigns of war

The biggest thrill that Americans have had since we entered the war is the news of the invasion of Sicily and especially the fact that the landings were carried out successfully, that airfields have been captured and the Allied troops continue to press forward to all their immediate objectives.

Although Sicily is an island, it is an important part of metropolitan Italy so the attack upon it is really the beginning of the long-discussed invasion of Hitler’s so-called fortress of Europe.

It is being described as the greatest seaborne maneuver of all time. Over 2,000 ships of all sorts are said to have participated – everything from tiny landing barges to huge battleships. Only a few vessels are said to have been lost and none of these was large or important.

Too much, however, should not be taken for granted. The difficulties in the path of our men and their Allies are tremendous. An army of over 300,000 men is said to be battling to check our progress. Some estimates say a half-million Allied troops are involved. The part played by paratroops was spectacularly successful. The way in which Axis shore positions were pulverized by the combination of airplane bombing and shelling by warships is most heartening and tends to indicate that there has been considerable exaggeration about the in vulnerability of Axis defenses along the shores of Europe. The northern coast of the continent, however, is said to be more heavily guarded.

Incidentally, it is interesting to note that the move on Sicily began on the 581st day of American participation in the war. The armistice was signed in the last war on the 584th day of our participation in that struggle. This is obviously going to be a far longer and harder war than that of a quarter of a century ago.

For Sicily is just the beginning of the series of great campaigns which must be pressed through to victory before our armies can march into Berlin. The period we are now entering will be that of the greatest losses, the period when the largest supplies of gasoline and food and munitions will be required to keep our soldiers going.

We suspect that the critics of the planning of our military leaders will not be satisfied with this move and will deny that it is a real second front. But it should be clear that this was the necessary next step and we have no doubt it will be followed up in due course by invasion on other vital sectors.

Meanwhile, those who planned the expedition and those who carried out the plans – from Gen. Eisenhower down to the lowliest private – deserve the warmest praise. For the operations have been marked by efficiency, speed and courage.

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The Pittsburgh Press (July 10, 1943)

Ernie Pyle V Norman

Roving Reporter

By Ernie Pyle

Last of five articles on the WACs.

North Africa –
The WACs in North Africa say they use about the same military slang the Army uses. No battlefield language of their own has grown up. They grouse mostly about the same thing soldiers do – their officers, their work, their food – yet actually they don’t find any of these very bad.

The WACs have not lived the rough-and-tumble life of Army nurses. They don’t have to wear G.I. underwear nor heavy field shoes. They eat at tables, take regular baths, and always look crisp and neat.

The only real danger they have been in was air raids on their city, and now these seem to have stopped.

Now and then, you hear some officer or soldier say:

Well, I always said a woman’s place was in the home, and I still think so.

But the bulk of the Army which comes in contact with the WACs doesn’t feel that way at all. The Army knows how well the girls can work, and the enlisted men appreciate that it is not easy for a girl to leave her home and country and come far across the ocean to live. They feel a sort of camaraderie with the WACs.

The WACs themselves are much prouder of being over here, I believe, than the men are. I doubt if even a handful of them would go home if given a chance.

The most soldierly of all the WACs I’ve seen is Anne Bradley of Philadelphia. Furthermore, she is so good-looking it makes you hurt. In addition, she had a personality that breaks you down, without resistance, and to top off the indignity of one small person having all these blessings, she’s got brains as well.

Sgt. Bradley so definitely should be an officer that I asked her boss about it, and the reply was this:

She would be an officer now if she had stayed in America, but she passed up that chance in order to get overseas, and we can’t promote in the field the way the Army does. If I could just put a second lieutenant’s bars on Bradley right now, my worries would be over.

The sergeant is so photogenic that she is on some of the WAC recruiting posters. But she has never pretended to be a professional beauty. Actually, she is a career woman. She is only 24, yet before enlisting, she was personnel director of the Beechnut Packing Company.

She runs her half of the company with gay-hearted quips that have a terrible firmness. When she walks, it’s like an animated statue, she’s so straight.

Margaret Miller of Stow, Ohio, is what is known as company artificer. That means carpenter and jack of all trades. Margaret is short, dark and stubby, has a boyish bob, wears overalls, carries a hammer, and goes by the name “Butch.”

She does all the fixing around the joint, repairs the plumbing, moves furniture, patches holes in the floor, and puts up wooden crosses to hold mosquito nets over beds.

Butch says that for the two years previous to joining the WACs, she was a combination bartender and bouncer in a saloon. She gets her really heavy work done by saving it up till the garbagemen come past. She gives them a bottle of wine and some fast talk, and presto, everything is moved.

I asked the sergeant if Butch had any boyfriends, and she said:

Does she! The first week we were here, one G.I. wrote several times a day threatening to blow his brains out if she didn’t tell him she loved him. And she wouldn’t, because she didn’t.

There is an anti-aircraft battery near Butch’s barracks and she is always taking hot coffee out to the boys. One evening, Butch didn’t show up at “lights out,” so they sent some of the girls to look for her. Butch had delivered her coffee and started home all right, but got tired and lay down in the grass for a while. The searching party found her there, fast asleep.

Ernie Pyle has informed us from Africa that he will not be sending any dispatches for a few days.

5507

so does that mean he will going to Italy?!

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5508

Yes, he’s going there :slight_smile:

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5509

Nice!

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5510

Völkischer Beobachter (July 13, 1943)

Hohe Beutezahlen aus der Schlacht im Osten –
Bisher 28.000 Gefangene, 1640 Panzer, 1400 Geschütze

Deutsch-italienische Gegenangriffe auf Sizilien im Gange

vb. Wien, 12. Juli –
Die erste Woche der Schlacht im Raume von Kursk ist vollständig zugunsten der deutschen Wehrmacht verlaufen. Obwohl der Feind in ununterbrochenem Masseneinsatz alles in die Schlacht geworfen hat, was er für seine eigene Offensive versammelt hatte, behielt die Führung das Gesetz des Handelns eisern in der Hand. 1640 Panzer, 1400 Geschütze und über 1200 Flugzeuge vernichtet oder erbeutet – diese Zahlen zeigen deutlicher als Worte es vermöchten, in welch weitem Ausmaße schon jetzt der Zweck der deutschen Initiative, die Zerschlagung der bolschewistischen Angriffsarmeen, erreicht worden ist.

Der Erfolg wurde errungen in einem Gelände, das schon von Natur aus große Schwierigkeiten bietet, vor allem für den Panzereinsatz. Der Gegner, der den Raum um Kursk als Sprungbrett für seine Sommeroffensive gegen die Mitte der europäischen Ostfront auf das stärkste ausgebaut hatte, konnte sich dabei an die vielen starken Geländewellen anlehnen, die besonders für die Gegend von Orel charakteristisch sind, und fand in den tief eingeschnittenen, durch das Schmelzwasser ausgefressenen Schluchten natürliche Panzergräben in großer Zahl vor. Er hatte hier, wie früher schon berichtet, auch seine neuesten und schwersten Waffen massiert und sie seinen sogenannten Gardedivisionen, das heißt den besten ihm zur Verfügung stehenden Truppenverbänden anvertraut. Diese Umstände illustrieren das Maß des Erfolges in der ersten Woche der deutschen „offensiven Defensive.“

Der Fuchs und die Trauben

Es ist bemerkenswert, daß die feindliche Berichterstattung emsig bemüht ist, die beiden Schlachten im Osten und im Süden als zwei Ereignisse hinzustellen, die nichts miteinander zu tun hätten. Dabei besteht nicht der geringste Zweifel daran, daß die Landung in Sizilien und der Angriff der sowjetischen Stoßarmeen gleichzeitig erfolgen und sich gegenseitig durch Bindung der europäischen Streitkräfte unterstützen sollten. Wenn die englische Nachrichtenpolitik nun heute deutlich zu verstehen gibt, daß „die Sizilieninvasion kaum Rückwirkungen auf die Lage an der Ostfront haben werde und zu diesem Zeitpunkt auch keine Entlastung für die Sowjets bringen könne,“ so haben wir hier nichts anderes vor uns als die alte Geschichte vom Fuchs und den sauren Trauben!

Wie peinlich dem Feind der unerwartete Gang der Dinge in der Ostschlacht ist, verrät er selbst durch Betrachtungen, die mit der obigen Londoner Lesart in schärfstem, Gegensatz stehen. So erklärt zum Beispiel der Moskauer Reuter-Korrespondent, in Moskau stelle jedermann die Frage, ob die anglo-amerikanische Landung im Süden wirklich zu einer alliierten Intervention großen Stiles auf dem europäischen Kontinent führen und Deutschland zwingen werde, starke Kräfte von der Ostfront abzuziehen. Schwedische Berichterstatter melden aus London, daß man dort „nicht mit einem Blitzsieg rechne und daß die Nachrichten von der Ostfront vom Standpunkt Englands und Amerikas aus durchaus nicht günstig“ lauteten. Beachtenswert ist in diesem Zusammenhang auch eine noch vor Beginn der Schlacht von Kursk erschienene Betrachtung des Economist, die sich auf Grund des bisherigen deutschen Stillhaltens noch der Illusion hingab, daß:

…das deutsche Oberkommando davon abgeschreckt worden ist, größere Operationen zu beginnen.

Das sei für die Sowjetunion sehr günstig, da der Zermürbungs- und Abnutzungskrieg ernste Folgen für deren Wirtschaftsleben gehabt habe.

Die bisherigen Sowjetverluste

Die bisherigen materiellen Verluste der Sowjets wurden von offizieller Seite auf 35.000 Geschütze, 30.000 Panzer und 23.000 Flugzeuge angegeben, und obwohl diese Lücken teilweise durch Pacht- und Leihlieferungen ausgefüllt werden könnten, sei die sowjetische Produktion durch Mangel an Arbeitern, Rohstoffen und Fabrikanlagen doch behindert – Angesichts solcher englischen Betrachtungen, die wir einem Bericht unseres Stockholmer Vertreters entnahmen, kann man sich ungefähr ausmalen, wie der neue blutige Aderlaß für die Sowjets im Lager ihrer plutokratischen Bundesgenossen beurteilt wird!

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Feind verlor 10.000-t-Kreuzer –
Neuerlich 42.000 BRT. durch U-Boote versenkt

dnb. Aus dem Führer-Hauptquartier, 12. Juli –
Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt:

In der Schlacht zwischen Bjelgorod und Orel gelang es unseren Truppen, eine größere feindliche Kräftegruppe einzuschließen und zu vernichten. Dabei wurden mehrere tausend Gefangene eingebracht, 129 Panzer abgeschossen, zahlreiche Geschütze und sonstige Waffen erbeutet.

Insgesamt wurden gestern 220 Panzer und 70 Flugzeuge vernichtet. Entlastungsangriffe, die die Sowjets östlich und nördlich Orel unternahmen, wurden abgewiesen.

Seit dem 5. Juli verlor der Feind 28.000 Gefangene, 1640 Panzer und 1400 Geschütze.

Auf Sizilien versuchten die britisch-­nordamerikanischen Landungstruppen vergeblich, den besetzten Küstenstreifen zu verbreitern. Deutsche und italienische Truppen traten gestern an bestimmten Stellen planmäßig zum Gegenangriff an und warfen den Feind in der ersten Gefechtsberührung zurück. Deutsche und Italienische Luftstreitkräfte griffen die feindlichen Schiffsansammlungen an, versenkten mehrere größere Transporter und Landungsboote. Außerdem wurden drei Kreuzer und 42 Transportschiffe beschädigt und von einem italienischen Unterseeboot ein Kreuzer von 10.000 Tonnen versenkt. Der Feind verlor gestern über Sizilien und im Seegebiet über der Insel 38 Flugzeuge. Zehn deutsche Flugzeuge werden vermißt.

Bei bewaffneter Aufklärung über dem Atlantik warfen deutsche Flugzeuge zwei feindliche Schiffe, darunter ein Fahrgastschiff von über 20.000 BRT. Größe, in Brand.

Deutsche Unterseeboote versenkten in zähem Kampf aus stark gesicherten feindlichen Geleitzügen sechs Schiffe mit 42.000 BRT.

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Erfolge der italienischen Luftwaffe –
Torpedoflugzeuge immer wieder am Feind

Screenshot 2022-07-13 063059
Aufn.: Weltbild-Gliese

tc. Rom, 12. Juli –
Der erste Einsatz der italienischen Luftwaffe bei den Kämpfen um Sizilien erfolgte in der Nacht zum 10. Juli, wie von zuständiger italienischer Seite mitgeteilt wird.

In aufeinanderfolgenden Wellen griffen schwere Kampfflugzeuge zwischen Malta und der Küste Siziliens befindliche feindliche Schiffe an. Zahlreiche Schiffe erhielten dabei Treffer und wurden schwer beschädigt. Weitere italienische Kampfflugzeuge griffen den Hafen von La Valetta auf Malta an, wo Explosionen an Bord von Frachtdampfern und Landungsfahrzeugen hervorgerufen wurden, die im Begriff standen, aus dem Hafen auszulaufen. Trotz sehr starken Abwehrfeuers griffen italienische Luftwaffenverbände im Laufe des 10. Juli im Tiefflug Schiffe, Angriffsfahrzeuge und zahlreiche Boote vor der Küste Siziliens mit Bomben und Bordwaffen an, wobei den feindlichen Streitkräften empfindliche Verluste beigebracht wurden.

Die Landungsflottillen, die sich auf die Küste zu bewegten, wurden außerdem immer von neuem von italienischen Jagdflugzeugverbänden erfolgreich angegriffen. Auf einem großen Dampfer wurden durch zwei Bomben Volltreffer erzielt und auch zwei kleinere Dampfer wurden getroffen. Im Verlauf von Luftkämpfen zwischen italienischen und britisch-nordamerikanischen Jägern wurden zwei Mitchell-Flugzeuge und mehrere „Spitfires“ abgeschossen und zehn weitere Flugzeuge schwer beschädigt.

Die Angriffe der italienischen Luftwaffe in den Gewässern Siziliens wurden auch in der Nacht zum 11. Juli mit guter Wirkung fortgesetzt. Vor allem konnten zu verschiedenen Malen auf den feindlichen Kriegsschiffen, Frachtdampfern und Landungsfahrzeugen Treffer erzielt werden. Besonders erfolgreich waren die auch im deutschen und italienischen Wehrmachtbericht erwähnten Einsätze italienischer Torpedoflugzeuge, die trotz schwerer Kämpfe mit den britisch-nordamerikanischen Nachtjägern zwei Kreuzer und einige große Dampfer schwer beschädigen konnten. Weiterhin richteten sich die Angriffe der italienischen Luftwaffe gegen die feindliche Schiffahrt in den Küstengewässern von Französisch-Nordafrika, um den Nachschub der Achsengegner zu stören. Am Sonntagabend gelang es einem italienischen Torpedoflugzeug fünf Seemeilen östlich von Kap Blanco, einen 8000-BRT.-Dampfer, der im Geleit von zehn Schiffen fuhr, durch Torpedotreffer zum Sinken zu bringen. Ein weiterer von zwei Zerstörern geleiteter 5000-BRT.-Dampfer wurde von einem zweiten Torpedoflugzeug östlich von Kap Rose versenkt.

Die Gegenangriffe im Süden

dnb. Berlin, 12. Juli –
Inzwischen sind nun, wie der heutige OKW.-Bericht meldet, die britisch-nordamerikanischen Landungstruppen in erste Gefechtsberührung mit den italienisch-deutschen Verbündeten gekommen, die am Sonntag an bestimmten Stellen planmäßig zum Gegenangriff angesetzt worden sind. Bisher hatten die Eindringlinge lediglich örtliche Küstenwachen gegenüber. Die Engländer, Nordamerikaner und Kanadier sehen sich nun vor der Aufgabe, aus der Küstenebene herauf gegen das Bergland anzutreten – eine erheblich schwerere Aufgabe als die Landung selbst, die niemand an einer so riesig langen Küste wie der Italiens und seiner Inseln genau voraussehen und sofort abwehren könnte. Die Angriffe der deutschen und italienischen Luftstreitkräfte und der Unterseeboote haben bereits schweren Zoll von der feindlichen Transportflotte und deren Kriegsschiffsschutz gefordert, wie überhaupt der Feind nun zum erstenmal mit dem Rücken gegen das Meer kämpfen muß, eine Erfahrung, die bisher im Mittelmeerraum nur den deutschen und italienischen Streitkräften Vorbehalten geblieben ist.

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Sogar London und Washington zu viel –
Was die Juden alles möchten!

…

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La Stampa (July 13, 1943)

L’imponente sforzo anglo-americano e l’inizio della nostra decisa reazione

La preparazione dell’impresa a Gibilterra in Tunisia a Malta non era sfuggita alla nostra osservazione – La vastità dei mezzi impiegati – Le condizioni tattiche per la controffensiva

Nel nostro articolo del 27 giugno avevamo prospettato come l’attacco nemico – che per tanti segni si palesava ormai imminente – sarebbe stato sferrato contro la Sicilia. Facile profezia perché le nostre argomentazioni, pur svolte allora solo in base ad clementi logici e strategici, erano in realtà suffragate da validi dati di fatto.

L’attuale ciclo operativo ha origini assai lontane. Come concezione e impostazione di piani di guerra, si deve risalire almeno all’estate 1942 quando il nemico – sotto l’imperativo di continui rovesci militari e ben conscio che in Mediterraneo era e sarà sempre la chiave del conflitto – decise di puntare tutto il peso delle sue possibilità belliche sulla carta mediterranea, pur con l’inevitabile conseguenza di dover battere il passo e di sacrificare ogni apprezzabile iniziativa su tutti gli altri scacchieri di guerra.

La posta in giuoco

Concentrando in Mediterraneo non soltanto la massima parte, ma anche il fior fiore delle sue forze aeree, navali e terrestri, il nemico è riuscito, in tempi successivi, a realizzare quella prevalenza potenziale nei vari settori, necessaria per la graduale conquista del Mediterraneo, premessa indispensabile affinché le sorti della guerra potessero prendere una piega a lui favorevole. Ma come già accennammo in altra occasione, chiave di volta al dominio del Mediterraneo è il canale di Sicilia, per cui gli anglo-americani dovevano inevitabilmente affrontare, per realizzare i loro piani, il problema della conquista integrale di questo passaggio tentando la occupazione della Sicilia.

I preparativi nemici per tali operazioni sono pure stati di lunga durata, vista la complessità dell’operazione, la imponenza dei mezzi da impegnare e la quasi cronometrica successione e compenetrazione con cui in simili azioni devono agire i singoli elementi delle tre forze armate, pena le più gravi conseguenze in campo tattico; senza contare che il tentativo doveva rappresentare, nelle intenzioni avversarie, la prima stabile presa di terra nel continente europeo dopo il disastro di Dunkerque e il principio dell’apertura di quel «secondo fronte» sul quale sono corsi fiumi di inchiostro e di speranze.

Ma la mole stessa dei mezzi e delle forze da impegnare non poteva passare inosservata e infatti, prima ancora che finisse la campagna tunisina, la ricognizione aerea forni elementi sufficienti a dare la certezza che il nemico si stava preparando ad una futura grande operazione anfibia.

Successivamente si ebbero ripetute conferme della preparazione nemica che, sfruttando la favorevole situazione strategica, poteva essere agevolmente completata e disposta fuori del limite pratico delle nostre possibilità offensive nei lontani settori e porti dell’Algeria occidentale e del Marocco.

Il concentramento di forze

Negli ultimi mesi lo schieramento nemico si fece sempre più consistente finché nello scorso giugno raggiunse un livello tale de dare già da solo la certezza che l’operazione fosse ormai imminente. Non è ancora il caso né il momento di fare una valutazione delle forze che il nemico ha destinato all’azione, ma si può averne un’idea complessiva considerando che soltanto in fatto di forze navali sono concentrate in Mediterraneo e impiegate contro la Sicilia, sei corazzate (quattro delle quali da 35 mila tonnellate), quattro portaerei di squadra di recente costruzione, una trentina di incrociatori, qualche centinato di unità minori dei vari tipi e un imponente numero di mezzi da sbarco di ogni categoria; il tutto appoggiato da alcune migliaia di aerei.

Naturalmente quasi tutte le forze nemiche sono rimaste dislocate fino agli ultimi giorni nei settori più lontani della zona di impiego, principalmente all’estremo occidentale del Mediterraneo, anche per lasciarci, fin quando possibile, in dubbio se l’attacco sarebbe stato sferrato contro la Sardegna o contro la Sicilia. Ma i movimenti preliminari di una massa di mezzi tanto cospicua, non si possono compiere in ventiquattro ore, cosicché già a meta giugno, con lo spostamento delle forze nelle sedi operative, il nemico fu costretto a svelare – attraverso le nostre ricognizioni aeree – quale fosse il suo reale obbiettivo.

La gran massa delle forze infatti si trovava ormai dislocate nel settore tunisino orientale e a Malta, cioè in funzione di minaccia esclusiva contro la Sicilia. Negli ultimi giorni di giugno lo schieramento e i preparativi del nemico furono compiuti nei finali dettagli, per cui l’attacco si annuncio imminente. E’ nostra personale sensazione anzi, che l’attacco dovesse essere sferrato proprio a fine giugno, ma che qualcosa di imprecisabile non abbia funzionato bene negli ingranaggi anglo-americani cosi da costringere il nemico a ritardare l’azione di alcuni giorni.

Circostanze inevitabili

Poteva lo sbarco essere impedito? Solo circostanze particolarmente fortunate – che non si sono verificate – avrebbero forze potuto consentirlo. Occorre richiamarsi alla precisa definizione data dal Duce di «sbarco-penetrazione-invasione». Lo sbarco rappresenta sempre un’iniziativa del nemico, per cui pur atteso, pur essendo consentito prevedere in quali «zone» sarebbe probabilmente stato tentato, non era possibile, almeno nel caso della Sicilia, prevedere in quale «punto» il nemico avrebbe attaccato. Ne consegue che su un territorio cosi vasto come la Sicilia, con tante ampie zone costiere in cui lo sbarco avrebbe potuto verificarsi, con cosi particolare configurazione del terreno, in funzione della manovrabilità di masse di armati, era materialmente impossibile né rispondente ai canoni dell’arte militare concentrare in ogni «punto» tante forze da stroncare qualsiasi tentativo nemico. Il grosso delle forze difensive doveva necessariamente tenera in posizione più arretrate, pronto ad accorrere dopo che la manovra nemica si fosse delineata, per impegnarsi a fondo solo quando il piani nemico rivelatosi in pieno, desse un sufficiente margine di sicurezza di non aver più sorprese in altri settori. E’ ben compressibile dunque che il nemico sbarcando invece all’improvviso in qualche «punto» non precisabile, fino al momento stesso dell’azione in quel «punti» dovesse avere una tale prevalenza di forze rispetto al cordone di protezione costiera da rendere to sbarco inevitabile anche se strenuamente contrastato.

La seconda fase

Nemmeno sarebbe stato possibile intercettare i convogli nemici sui mare prima che giungessero alla metà, perché – come pure già accennammo – la situazione strategica navale era (ed è ancora) decisamente a favore del nemico: i convogli di sbarco infatti, come era prevedibile hanno attaccato la Sicilia partendo praticamente da Malta, perciò compiendo solo poche ore di navigazione notturna per traversare il breve tratto di mare fino alla costa siciliana, tempo assolutamente insufficiente a consentire l’intervento di nostre forze navali dalle basi in cui esse si trovano necessariamente dislocate. Era inevitabile quindi dover attendere il nemico a piè fermo sul nostro stesso suolo.

Tutto ciò è quanto in sostanza è accaduto nella giornata del 10 in cui il nemico, partito da Malta nella notte, all’alba è riuscito a prendere terra, sia pure a fronte di una violenta reazione (sono parole del bollettino anglosassone) in vari punti della fascia costiera. Ma già poche ore dopo il suo disegno era chiaramente individuato nel tentativo di «penetrare» (eccoci nella seconda fase) nelle zone racchiudenti i porti della costa orientale. Cosi già nel pomeriggio del 10 tutta la massa delle nostre forze difensive era in moto per arrestare il tentativo e già nella notte sull’11 pienamente impegnata.

Gli aventi debbono dunque essere guardati con serena fermezza e fiduciosa aspettazione perché se il nemico – come era stato previsto – ha potuto sbarcare, caso è già stato arrestato all’inizia stesso del tentativo di penetrazione. La lotta è certamente aspra, data l’imponenza delle forze impiegate dal nemico e l’importanza della posta in giuoco. Ma oggi si difende il suolo stesso della Patria e il nemico farà la dura esperienza di ciò che questo significhi per tutti gli italiani.

Marc’ Antonio Bragadin

5515

Allied HQ, North Africa (July 13, 1943)

Communiqué

During the past 24 hours, great activity has continued odd and on all the beaches as reinforcements, vehicles and supplies were being landed by the Navy and sent forward. The surf has made this work difficult in some of the more exposed positions.

The port of Syracuse is now in our hands, with its port and harbor facilities apparently undamaged. There has been some bombing of shipping by aircraft.

Augusta was bombarded early in the afternoon of July 12 by a strong force of cruisers and a monitor. Minesweepers have swept the bridgehead to this port.

The naval operations, in which more than 3,000 shipping vessels and crafts of all types., warships and merchantmen, are taking part are proceeding satisfactorily.

Good progress has again been made today, and the bridgehead has now been increased in some places to 20 miles. In the eastern sector pour troops encountered some resistance in their advance along the coast. Inland, very good progress has been made.

Palazzolo has been occupied and our patrols have reached the outskirts of Ragusa.

In the western sector, the advance continues and an early counterattack has been successfully beaten off and a large number of prisoners were taken and some tanks destroyed.

Air Communiqué

Fighter-bombers throughout yesterday continued their heavy attacks on enemy troop columns and lines of communications and destroyed or damaged large numbers of enemy motor transports.

During the night of July 11-12, our bombers attacked Sicilian ports and the Montecorvino airfields in Italy. Heavy and concentrated attacks were made by heavy bombers against focal points at Messina, Reggio Calabria and San Giovanni. Medium, light and fighter-bombers attacked airfields and focal points of communications in Sicily.

Throughout the day, our fighters carried out sweeps over our shipping, the beaches and our advancing troops. Intermittent enemy attempts to interfere with our landings and shipping were intercepted and enemy aircraft of various types were destroyed or damaged.

During the course of attacks on enemy shipping in the Tyrrhenian Sea, two merchant vessels were sunk and two destroyers were left blazing.

22 enemy aircraft were destroyed during these operations and 11 of ours are missing.

5516

Brooklyn Eagle (July 13, 1943)

Allies take Augusta, land near Catania

Sicilian naval base, 3 rail towns seized

The road to Rome

img (1)
In a series of lightning moves, Allied forces captured the Italian naval base of Augusta and seized the railroad towns of Ragusa, Palazzolo and Floridia. Further north at Catania, British troops landed on the beach.

Allied HQ, North Africa (UP) –
Allied armed forces sweeping across southeastern Sicily have captured the vital Italian naval base of Augusta, pushed 25 miles inland to seize the railroad towns of Floridia, Palazzolo and Ragusa and landed British assault troops on the beaches near Catania.

The swift offensive blows of U.S., British and Canadian troops, backed by a spreading aerial assault and a naval bombardment of Augusta, extended the Allied base for drives northward toward Messina and north westward toward Caltanissetta despite renewed Axis counterattacks.

The expected major enemy counterblows had still failed to develop although resistance was stiffening and the Americans were engaged in hard fighting on the south coast.

Augusta was captured with slight losses, according to a headquarters announcement.

U.S. and British-Canadian forces made a junction at Ragusa following the capture of Floridia and Palazzolo, which lies 25 miles inland from the east coast bridgehead.

The capture of Augusta gave the Allies one of the finest naval bases in the Mediterranean, dominating the sea and land approaches to Catania and Messina, while the old walled town of Ragusa commands important roads and railroads in the southeast.

Radio Algiers estimated the Allies had occupied 310 square miles of territory in Ragusa and Augusta.

The harbor installations at Augusta were reported intact, indicating the Italians had not had time or inclination to Sicily prior to the capture of carry out a scorched earth policy.

The thrust to Palazzolo and Ragusa completed an Allied line across the southeastern tip of Sicily, probably trapping large number of Axis soldiers. The strategy indicated was to cut off the entire sector for use as a base from which land and air forces would strike northward toward Catania and northwestward toward Caltanissetta. It would also give the Allies elbow room for maneuvering against any major Axis counteroffensive, which may be delayed because of fear of new Allied landings at other points in Sicily.

General among captives

Gen. Achille d’Havet, commander of the Italian 206th Coastal Division, was captured along with many prisoners, in addition to around 6,000 previously reported taken by the Allies.

Many counterattacks were repulsed, especially by the Americans in hard fighting near Gela, and enemy tanks (all of French origin) were destroyed.

The Italian Navy, except for submarines, had not yet been encountered in any strength and the Germans, for the moment, showed no definite signs of deciding where to throw the bulk of their armor in Sicily.

Montgomery does it again

The most sensational advance inland was made by the British and Canadians from the Syracuse bridgehead on the east coast. It was directed by Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery.

The Canadians charged along the road to Ragusa with great speed to make a junction with the Americans who had broken through stiff opposition on the south coast.

The Canadians had covered about 45 miles by road from the east coast area in order to reach Ragusa, while the Americans had advanced at least 20 miles although their starting point was not immediately known.

Ragusa is in the mountains at an elevation of 1,680 feet. Little opposition was offered along the winding roads leading to the town, according to preliminary indications. The communiqué said:

The naval operations, in which more than 3,000 shipping vessels and craft of all types, warships and merchantmen are taking part, are proceeding satisfactorily.

Swedish dispatches quoted German reports that the Allies had landed seven infantry divisions – normally 105,000 men – and two tank divisions in the first two days of the invasion. One tank division was identified as American and the other as British.

A Stockholm dispatch said the Italian press has begun to prepare the nation for the eventual loss of Sicily and Radio Morocco asserted that serious anti-war demonstrations have broken out in northern Italy.

Four Italian generals have been killed in the Sicilian fighting, Radio Algiers said, quoting reports from Rome.

The broadcast came soon after Radio Rome announced the first death of an Italian general in action on the island. He was identified as Lt. Gen. Enrico Francisci, commander of the 13th Zone of Blackshirts and general liaison officer of the Sicilian command.

Radio Algiers did not identify any of the generals by name.

Axis prisoners ragged, belongings lost in fight

Advanced base, North Africa (UP) – (July 12, delayed)
The first batch of Axis prisoners captured in Sicily – 1,000 ragged, poorly dressed and weary Italians and four Germans – arrived today under guard of U.S. soldiers.

The Italians, principally from coastal defense divisions which are apparently far from the cream of Mussolini’s army, had little to say and mostly gazed vacantly at the North African landscape.

These Axis soldiers were seized so quickly they didn’t have time to get together any personal belongings. A few had musical instruments.

Montgomery prefers walking to elevator ride

London, England (UP) –
Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery made history throughout his recent stay at the Claridge Hotel by refusing to use the elevator because:

It’s better exercise to walk.

Gen. Montgomery flew to London in May. His trip was kept officially secret to keep the Axis sweating over the whereabouts of the famous British 8th Army and its commander. Despite the attempted secrecy, the man in battle garb and black beret was recognized by thousands of persons.

By remote control

By the United Press

Premier Mussolini, according to Radio Rome, has sent the following message to his forces in Sicily:

I am with you in spirit.

It was recalled today that in August 1937, Premier Mussolini said in a speech in Sicily:

Not one enemy soldier will ever land in Sicily.

5517

Yank bombers severe Messina’s mainland link

Fortresses halt all traffic and batter industrial sections

Allied HQ, North Africa (UP) –
Allied air forces supported the land campaign in Sicily today with systematic, devastating attacks on the supply link from the Italian mainland, Sicilian airdromes, troops and trains.

U.S. Flying Fortresses bombed traffic to a standstill between the eastern Sicilian port of Messina and the nearby mainland ports of Reggio Calabria and San Giovanni.

An earlier communiqué said Allied air fleets sank or damaged five transports and two destroyers carrying Axis reinforcements to Sicily.

Two Axis supply ships were sunk, a third was damaged badly and two destroyers were left aflame from bow to stern by torpedo aircraft under the command of Air Vice Marshal Sir Hugh Pugh Lloyd.

The planes caught the ships in the Tyrrhenian Sea between Sardinia and Sicily. The destroyers were damaged so badly that they probably sank.

Two other Axis troop ships were reported hit in Sicilian waters.

Two important railway bridges were destroyed at Messina and explosions were caused in large industrial sections.

Axis airports blasted

Medium bombers covered many Axis airports in Sicily with bomb craters. Other Allied planes continued attacks on trains and troops.

Possibly because of damage to airfields, enemy fighter plane opposition was sporadic during the last 24 hours. Some Allied air units had things their own way. Of the enemy planes that ventured out, 28 were shot down, against loss of 11 Allied aircraft.

Set fire to vehicles

One formation of Lockheed Lightnings located four enemy land convoys, setting fire to 35 out of 115 vehicles and damaging others. Another Lightning formation surprised a column of gun-carrying trucks and destroyed 15. Still another flight scored two direct hits on a convoy of 40 vehicles.

Mitchell medium bombers made a daylight raid on Marsala at the western end of the island after British Wellingtons had carried out a night attack on that port.

Wellingtons also bombed Trapani in western Sicily and Mazara del Valla, 15 miles southeast of Marsala.

Dusk-to-dawn raids were carried out by the new type (A-36) Mustang diving fighter-bomber which has just been put in action in this theater. They attacked trains and motor convoys in central Sicily.

5518

Allies fighting as one, Eisenhower asserts

Finds coordination perfect – Canadians advance so fast he can’t reach them

Allied HQ, North Africa (UP) –
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower returned today from a frontline inspection in Sicily and said that:

Allied coordination could not have been better if all the land, sea and air forces had been from a single nation.

Eisenhower visited the headquarters in Sicily of Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr., commanding the new U.S. 7th Army, and of other commanders.

He attempted to confer with the Canadian advance commanders but they were advancing so rapidly that he was unable to make contact, being forced to send word to them through the Canadian rear units.

‘Ike’ introduces self

By John Gunther

Somewhere in Sicily, Italy (UP) – (July 12, delayed)
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower stepped ashore in Sicily on his personal inspection of the Allied drive, sought out an officer and said:

How do you do? I’m Gen. Eisenhower.

With those words, the Allied commander-in-chief made his presence known to the astonished troops busy consolidating newly-won beach positions.

Our first sight of Sicily came near Gela just before dawn after a quick, secret voyage across the Mediterranean. It was a scene of great activity. Cruisers were firing on the invisible enemy behind the hills. Their guns cracked, echoed and boomed across the beaches and yellow smoke lifted slowly.

Eisenhower watched the action closely and then, assisted by his naval aide, Cdr. Harry Butcher, held a breakfast conference with Gen. George S. Patton Jr., American commander, and VAdm. Harry K. Hewitt, American naval commander, and other high-ranking officers.

Wishes all good luck

Before we landed near the extreme southeastern end of Sicily, we passed various naval units and to all of them Eisenhower signaled the message:

Congratulations and good luck.

For the most part, the coastal villages looked peaceful and deserted.

Near a tomato patch I saw my first “enemy Sicilian,” a boy about 14 on a bicycle, who waved and grinned.

But it mustn’t be deduced from this that all Sicilians are friendly. Last night three British soldiers on watch had their throats cut.

Gen. Patton, Adm. Hewitt and other officers gave Eisenhower an up-to-the-minute picture of the operations, including a description of how the guns of one U.S. cruiser broke up an Axis tank attack, destroying several tanks, although miles away.

They also told him how one village was literally captured by two destroyers.

Eisenhower was pleased to receive personal confirmation from men who took part that our forces “hit almost every beach on the button.”

He learned how, in the initial stages of the operation in one sector, four Italian lieutenant colonels walked up and surrendered, explaining that the reason they were “caught” was that they were making a “personal first-line reconnaissance”.

5519

Sullivan Shipyard indicated in fraud on naval jobs

Kickback racket, $100,000 overcharges laid by U.S. to Boro firm and officers

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5520

Abby Rockefeller arrives in Reno – ‘nothing to say’

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5521

Knox: U-boat war not won, is still on

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5522

Eglin Field blast kills 17, hurts 51, in Florida

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5523

Plan to exempt pre-Pearl Harbor fathers and over-38s

Must shift to essential job, however

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5524

Brooklyn bombardier awarded four decorations in Pacific War

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