Operation HUSKY (1943)

31

Roosevelt sees ‘beginning of end’

President reassures Pope on sparing of churches and on respect for the Vatican
By Bertram D. Hulen

Washington – (July 10)
The Allied invasion of Sicily looks to President Roosevelt like “the beginning of the end” for Adolf Hitler and Premier Mussolini.

This was revealed by the White House today as an intimation was given that success in Sicily would be followed by the invasion of southern Italy.

President Roosevelt stated his views in a dramatic announcement when he received word of the invasion during a dinner at the White House last night in honor of Gen. Henri-Honoré Giraud, the French Command-in-Chief.

The intimation that southern Italy might be the next objective was contained in a communication given out by the White House today from President Roosevelt to Pope Pius XII.

In it, the President promised that during the invasion of Italian soil, churches and religious institutions would “be spared the devastations of war” and the neutral status of Vatican City, as well as of Papal domains “throughout Italy,” would be respected. Mr. Roosevelt assured the Pontiff that the United States was seeking “a just and enduring peace on earth.”

Mr. Roosevelt’s views concerning the campaign in Sicily were echoed at noon by Senator Tom Connally (D-TX), chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, who discussed it with the President when he called to say goodbye before leaving for Texas.

The Senator declared as he was leaving the White House:

Our forces will sweep through Sicily. Already on the land, I don’t believe they can be stopped. The curfew has rung for Italy.

Nevertheless, there was an air of caution here today until the fighting had developed further, because of reports that the Axis has concentrated in Sicily 300,000 troops, including at least two German divisions. The rest are Italians.

The Allied forces consist of British, Canadian and U.S. units. The Americans, from indications given by military experts, are grouped in the 5th Army under the immediate command of Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark, with Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower in overall command from North African headquarters. The British and Canadians are reported probably to outnumber the Americans.

It is considered probable that some days may elapse before definite conclusions can be reached concerning the progress of the campaign, but it is clear that Allied success would mean air and sea control of the Mediterranean and open the way for the conquest of southern Italy, Sardinia and other Mediterranean points.

Although the operation is not a second front in Europe, it could open a way for such an undertaking.

These considerations were apparently in the mind of President Roosevelt when he made his dramatic announcement at the dinner last night. The details were revealed by Press Secretary Stephen F. Early today.

The guests included Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Gen. George C. Marshall (Army Chief of Staff), Adm. William D. Leahy (the President’s Chief of Staff), Adm. Ernest J. King (Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Fleet), and other military and naval officers.

Announces news of attack

President Roosevelt began receiving reports of the invasion of Sicily at about 9 o’clock. Just before 10 o’clock, as the dinner was nearing its close, he made the dramatic announcement:

I have just had word of the first attack against the soft underbelly of Europe.

He then asked the guests to say nothing about it until midnight, when simultaneous announcements would be made in North Africa, London and Washington.

He stressed that the major objective was the elimination of Germany, for once ashore our forces could go in different directions, that it certainly was to be hoped that the operation was the beginning of the end, and it could almost be said that it was.

In a toast to unified France, he promised that while this invasion was not directed at the shores of France, eventually all of France would be liberated.

After telling of the attack and landing, the President said:

This is a good illustration of the fact of planning, not the desire for planning but the fact of planning. With the commencing of the expedition in North Africa with complete cooperation between the British and ourselves, that was followed by complete cooperation with the French in North Africa. The result, after landing, was the Battle of Tunis. That was not all planning, that was cooperation. From that time on we have been working in complete harmony.

There are a great many objectives, and of course the major objective is the elimination of Germany – that goes without saying – the elimination of Germany out of the war. And as a result of this step which is in progress at this moment, we hope it is the beginning of the end. Last autumn, the Prime Minister of England called it “the end of the beginning.” I think you can almost say that this action tonight is the beginning of the end.

We are going to be ashore in a naval sense – air sense – military. Once there, we have the opportunity of going in different directions, and I want to tell Gen. Giraud that we haven’t forgotten France as one of the directions.

Pledges liberation of Paris

Even if a move is not directed at this moment to France itself, Gen. Giraud can rest assured that the ultimate objective – we will do it, and in the best way – is to liberate the people of France, not merely the southern part of France, just for a while, but the people of northern France – Paris. And in this whole operation, I should say rightly that in the enormous planning we have had the complete cooperation of the French military and naval forces in North Africa.

Gradually the opposition cooled, and the older regime is breaking down. We have seen what has happened, or is happening at the present moment in Martinique and Guadeloupe, and becoming worse. Well, that is a very major part toward the big objective.

We want to help rearm those French forces [the President referred to the French forces in North Africa], and to build up the French strength so that when the time comes, from a military point of view, when we get into France itself and throw the Germans out, there will be a French Army and French ships working with the British and ourselves.

That is why it is a very great symbol that Gen. Giraud is here tonight – to come over here to talk to us about his military problems, toward the same objective that all the United Nations have gone – the freedom of France, and with it the unity of France.

Giraud thanks Roosevelt

Gen. Giraud, in responding, thanked the President for the support being given France and expressed gratification for American assistance in rearming the soldiers of France.

He then raised his glass in a toast to the President and “the glory of the United States,” referring to this country as:

…that great nation through which peace and freedom will be restored to the world.

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32

Invasion a blob of warships and flaming shores to flier

A U.S. airdrome, somewhere in Tunisia – (July 10)
A young American reconnaissance pilot came back with the first eyewitness account of the Allied invasion of Sicily today, describing in awed detail a sea black with ships of all sizes and a thunderous bombardment that set leaping flames far inland to protect the landing forces.

2nd Lt. Robert S. Bleile of Seaford, Delaware, said:

Someone was definitely catching hell down there – and I can give you one guess who it was.

Allied warships – battleships, cruisers and destroyers – steamed close to shore, let loose with thundering salvos and then darted back out of range of enemy shore batteries, Lt. Bleile reported. By the time he went over – about 6:20 a.m.-- Lt. Bleile said he could see a chain of smoke and flames extending 10 miles inland.

When he climbed down in fur coat and goggles from his twin-motored Lightning pursuit plane, he had completed only his second operation over enemy territory and was almost breathless from excitement as he told the story of what he had seen.

Around him in the “briefing room” were gathered other pilots waiting to go out on similar missions.

As he removed the cameras with which he took the first invasion pictures – and also one for his personal album – Lt. Bleile said:

I could see a chain of smoke and flame ten miles inland. At sea, I could see Allied warships shelling without interruption. Some warships dashed in close to shore, fired their salvos and then swooped out again. Boy, what a battle picture! I never expect to see anything like it again.

I never saw so many ships in my life. I could distinguish destroyers, like cigars weaving in the cobalt water. I saw bigger ships that looked like battlewagons with wreaths of smoke rising from their turrets. They looked as if they were letting loose with everything they had.

The landing barges looked squirming blackfish. They made a big wake and they seemed to be everywhere – waves of them dashing toward Sicily in relays and others piling in upon the beaches. The barges seemed to be everywhere. As I scanned the sea, over the horizon there seemed to be a never-ending stream of them coming over to help the first waves.

Smoke billows from inland

He was quite a few miles Sicily when he spied the first signs of a great battle – puffs of greyish-white smoke billowing up from the island.

He continued:

It was 6:30 a.m. The sun still was at the far end the island, casting shadows on the beaches. But I soon began to appreciate the tremendous battle waging below as I flew over for 30 minutes. I watched a curtain of our fire searing the coast and inland.

Roaring over the coastline I found no enemy air opposition whatever. I saw what looked like two planes far below, but their attention was being given to the invading forces.

What fascinated me as I coasted along were the antics of the attacking warships. They ran toward shore, pumped shells into the land defenses and then swung away. It was a damned good show.

A picture for the album

He said the smoke which he first saw some miles off shore looked as if it might have come from oil dumps but when he got close to the area, he saw white columns and said he then realized that “everything that could burn was alight.”

At one time he saw a “big blob of warships.”

He said:

That’s when I took one for myself – a picture for my own album. I guess that’s something that will interest the folks back home.

Both Lt. Bleile and Lt. David Fletcher, another American pilot, from Muskegon, Michigan, who came back a short time later, saw Mt. Etna, between Messina and Catania on the east coast, belching smoke but, said Lt. Fletcher:

The real blast furnace was around the landing beaches.

The pictures which both men took were developed and shortly afterward the correspondent had an opportunity to study them. They showed smoke encircling bombarded Sicily with fire spreading as flames licked the parched countryside adjoining the beaches. You could see Allied ships putting down smokescreens and firing their big guns against shore batteries and defense works.

The dramatic pictures showed the struggle raging on the sandy beaches under Sicily’s rocky headlands.

Mt. Etna adds to show

Landing barges were scattered along the shores while others, having stormed through a red curtain of fire from costal batteries, could be seen turning back to sea. Groups of destroyers were shown escorting troop transports.

Masses of barges were visible pounding through the sea toward the beaches, surrounded by puffs of shell bursts. The sea was churned up like a millrace. One picture showed a pall of smoke from Mt. Etna visible over the battlefield – but nature’s cauldron paled to a faint glow alongside the furnace stoked by the Allied assault weapons.

Pilots see ‘40 miles of boats’

Allied HQ, North Africa –
The invasion of Sicily began with the Allied forces dominating the air. That is clear from tonight’s laconic Communiqué and reports of returning fliers. Heavy and medium bombers and fighters went over by the hundreds and the opposition was negligible.

Returning fliers who had seen the landings came back lyrically enthusiastic. It clearly gave them all the thrill of their lives. It was a mission of B-26 Marauder pilots who went over just before dawn that got one of the best bird’s-eye views.

2nd Lt. N. B. Robbins of Wappinger Falls, New York, said:

It was the biggest thing I ever have seen. I think there were 40 miles of boats of all seizes. On the edges were zig-zagging destroyers and in the middle invasion barges followed by merchant ships.

1st Lt. G. F. Dore of Monson, Maine, saw:

…the whole naval force lined up in battle order over the Mediterranean.

We were just coming home from a raid and they stood out like islands in the sea. Just after we passed they all opened fire and it seemed like a volcanic eruption.

Later this morning, Flying Fortresses struck again and most heavily at the much-bombed Gerbini Airfield near Catania, and on their way back they had a wonderful view of the operations.

Col. Samuel J. Gormly of Alhambra, California, said:

The coastal waters of Sicily were black with invasion barges and supporting naval craft, and all the water between Sicily and Tunisia was full of craft shuttling back and forth as in San Francisco Harbor in the good old days of ferries.

On the way to a strafing mission Lt. Col. Robert C. Paul, of Lake City, Florida, group commander of an A-36 outfit, arrived above the coast just as a number of barges were landing. He saw troops land on the beach and deploy, but while he watched, they met no opposition. He saw no signs of firing but after advancing, “our troops seemed to pause.” At that point, he passed out of their sight.

To a pilot, Capt. Roscoe H. Johnson of Chicago, the invading ground troops looked like “a million fliers going in on the beaches.”

He added:

It was a beautiful sight.

2nd Lt. Donald S. Justier of St. Albans, New York, a bombardier, saw “ships coming in waves and out boys simply pouring on the beaches.”

He said:

It is hard to see how the Italians could do much fighting with so many aircraft in the air.

Our photographic reconnaissance brought back both reports and pictures of Northwest African Air Force fighters literally swarming over southeastern coastal regions of Sicily.

Lt. James J. Armstrong of Muskogee, Oklahoma, was incidentally one of the first to return and he brought back a remarkable series of photographs. The minute he landed, the negatives were rushed to a developing room and in less than an hour, A-36 fighter-bombers had taken off to bomb targets that his photos had revealed. Among other things, there was a 40-car freight train, which got a number of direct hits.

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33

Germans foresee all isles’ loss; say they ‘forced’ Allies to attack

London, England (AP) – (July 10)
Fierce fighting in Sicily was reported tonight by Axis broadcasts, while the German press prepared the people for the loss of all Italy’s Mediterranean islands before the summer’s end.

German propagandists made a complete turnabout on their recent declarations on the German offensive in Russia in an attempt to show that the Allies had been “forced” to invade Sicily to create a diversion on behalf of the Russians, the Office of War Information reported.

As expected, the long-awaited blow sent the Axis propaganda machine into frenzied action. German propagandists belittled the importance of the invasion and insisted that it came as no surprise. At the same time, however, the Berlin radio told of elaborate preparations for Sicily’s defense and declared that Germany and Italy were confident that the Allies would not realize their aims.

Berlin said:

The invasion forces were immediately engaged in heavy fighting that proved extraordinarily costly for them. Coastal batteries and Axis bombers sank a number of landing transports manned with troops and laden with material 33 enemy aircraft so far have been brought down in aerial combats. Enemy parachutists who bailed out during the dawn were wiped out.

Capt. Ludwig Sertorius, the Transocean News Agency’s military correspondent, said in a dispatch broadcast by Berlin 12 hours after the invasion that:

In all probability, the Allied command will launch one or several diverting actions against the southern continent of Europe in order to worry the Axis powers and force them to split up their forces.

For the time being, the broadcast continued, most of the fighting seems to be going on in the southeastern coastal stretch. It was said:

This, however, does not mean that the enemy is actually concentrating his attacks against this sector of Sicily. In fact, it is quote possible that further and stronger landing attempts will be made presently against other parts of the island.

Capt. Sertorius, differing somewhat from other Berlin commentators, said that there was no else to underestimate the importance of the Allied thrust.

He said:

The enemy has many useful bases at his disposal in North Africa while the enemy navy is holding supremacy in the Mediterranean. Allied air force formations, although having suffered heavy losses lately, are probably still numerically superior to the Aix air force in the Mediterranean.

Furthermore, it seems that Anglo-Saxon troops concentrated in North Africa and the Near East are strong enough to permit simultaneous offensive operations against other points of the European southern front.

Not until 1 p.m. (Rome Time) were the Italian people told that the island had been invaded. Then the Rome radio broadcast a brief communiqué saying only that “violent fighting” was in progress in southeast Sicily after an Allied attack by air forces and parachute troops supported by naval units.

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34

‘Zero hour has struck’

Berne, Switzerland – (July 10)

The zero hour for Italy has struck and the country’s destiny is in our hands. For better or for worse we are engaged to the last drop of our blood, but we are ready on all fronts! Let the guns do the talking.

These words by an official spokesman on the Rome radio late tonight best sum up by the tenor of official declarations to the Italian people throughout the day on the subject of the Allied invasion of Sicily. The declarations were numerous – but they contained not one word as to the progress of fighting beyond the bare announcement in this morning’s communiqué that the invasion had begun.

Press comment available here tonight – telephone communications with the peninsula were cut for a short time this morning but resumed early this afternoon – ranges from the nervously querulous “What next?” attitude adopted by the Popolo di Roma, which asked editorially whether the “enemy might not extend his operations not only against Sicily but against Sardinia, Calabria and even Puglia” to the “reassured” attitude of the Messaggero’s military collaborator, who found hope in the “increasing successes of our torpedo planes, which have nor intensifies their attacks against the enemy supply lines.” He contended that, now that these “vulnerable” lines had been extended toward the peninsula, the Italian Air Force blows could begin to be heavier.

Reports from neutral sources in Rome late this evening intimated that the atmosphere prevailing in the capital, “though heavy, was confident.” Some speculation was also noted as to the whereabouts of the Italian Navy, which was reported early this morning to have put to sea from a southern port to engage the enemy forces.

King Victor Emmanuel and Premier Mussolini were both in evidence in the capital on several occasions throughout the day. A report to the Swiss press late tonight stated that, shortly before 6 p.m., “most of the Ministers” of the Cabinet were seen to enter the Palazzo Venezia.

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35

‘Balbo’ radio hails news

Secret station urges Italians to abandon Mussolini

Algiers, Algeria (AP) – (July 10)
In a broadcast coinciding with the Allied invasion of Sicily, a clandestine Italian station, Radio Italo Balbo, called on Italians today to abandon Premier Mussolini. The statement, heard in North Africa, declared:

Action has begun. Viva Italo Balbo! The hour is serious, more serious than we thought yesterday and more serious than we can imagine.

This is a moment for plain speaking. We cannot hesitate in the face of peril when decisions are in the hands of a few people. The greatness of the ideals and purity of action of our chief, [the late] Italo Balbo, should serve as our example.

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36

THE NEWS OF THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Zero hour

‘The Battle of Europe has begun’

unknown (3)

The invasion begins

At 3 o’clock yesterday morning the Battle of Europe began. The second front was opened. The moment which the Allied world had long awaited came with dramatic suddenness in the dead hours of a moonlit Mediterranean night. From North Africa to Sicily moved thousands of Allied troops that have for months been in training for the initial assault on the fortress Hitler has made of a continent.

The invasion forces came by sea and air. Over the quiet waters steamed big transports, snub-nosed, shallow-draft invasion barges, powerful warships of all kinds. Above them were big troop-carrying planes guarded by fighters. In minutely timed coordination the Allied forces swept ashore or dropped from the skies to assault the tightly drawn defenses of the Italian island. A naval barrage and days of aerial attack had helped to clear the way. But the ultimate task was one for fighters on foot – man-to-man combat of the toughest kind.

Allies in action

It was truly an Allied attack. The bulk of the assault forces that had been gathered in North Africa were made up of British, Canadian and U.S. troops. But there were also Polish, Czech, Yugoslav and Greek units and large French contingents. In all – the Axis reported – there were more than a million United Nations fighters assembled. The Allies made no statement, but Berlin dispatches said there were 44 infantry divisions, 15-20 armored divisions, at least 4,000 airplanes of all kinds, “a considerably strengthened” naval force and two full divisions of parachute troops.

Their objective was one of Hitler’s most important bastions. Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean. It is Italy’s second largest “compartimento” – department – in terms of area, third largest in population. Until recently more than 4,000,000 people lived in its 9,926 square miles. Many thousands are reported to have been evacuated in the face of the Allied invasion wheatfields, hillside vineyard, citrus and olive groves.

Militarily, Sicily is an island of strong natural defenses. Its mountains and seaside cliffs in the north command the sea approaches. The southern coast is shelving, but the terrain that lies between it and the strategic centers northward and eastward is cut by many valleys, which afford the principal lines of communication. These present a tough footing for an invader. All these natural defenses have been capitalized by the Axis. Large coastal guns and airfields have been installed in profusion. Mines have been strewn thickly in the coastal waters and planted in belts all along the beaches. Barbed wire and machine-gun nests bristle everywhere facing the sea. Naval installations, including submarine facilities, ring the island. The volcanic rock has been funneled for underground hangars and garrisons. Troops estimated at 300,000-400,000 are believed to be stationed there, and yesterday reinforcements were being rushed from the mainland across the two-mile-wide Strait of Messina.

The enemy’s power

Thus, the Allies faced formidable resistance. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Allied Commander-in-Chief, told correspondents that “we may be riding for a bloody nose,” but he thought the job could be done. Early reports from Berlin and Rome said the fighting was proving “extraordinarily costly for the invaders.” But it was obvious the Allies had not moved without vast preparation – the assembling of great strength and the most intensive training possible. The presence of the Canadians was apparently a complete surprise to the enemy. They had been in England for more than two years and in all that time they had been rehearsing landings on the beaches of the south and the rocky coasts of the north.

By these signs the importance the Allies attached to the Sicilian assault could be gauged. It was a big stake for both sides. Sicily is the doorstep of Southern Europe. It leads directly to the mainland of Italy, and the Italian peninsula leads toward the German heartland. The Alps are a barrier, but the need not be traversed. The conquest of Italy would give the Allies an all-important foothold on the continent, a powerful base for sea and air operations. Moreover, Italy flanks the Balkans, where most observers expect an Allied move at any moment and sections of which Germany has put under a state of siege.

The effects in Russia

A further significance of highest importance, lies in the effect of the Sicilian move on the Russian Front last week’s blow, like the Allied invasion of North Africa, came at a time of heavy fighting between the Red Army and the Wehrmacht. This time the Germans had just launched their long-expected 1943 offensive. They had thrown great weight into the drive but were being vigorously resisted. The sudden attack in the South came at a time when Hitler’s forces – Luftwaffe, infantry and armored divisions – were heavily committed in the East. What the result will be only the coming days will tell but it was certain that Hitler was at last faced with a second front. Before and in the early days of the war he had talked so much about the dangers of fighting on two fronts at once that it seemed an obsession. If so, Nemesis had not caught up with him. He has millions of troops, including a recent new mobilization, but there seemed to be no way in which he could possibly stretch his most needed resource – airpower – to meet the enormous demands being placed upon it. Much of it was anchored in Russia. There is believed to be a large concentration – larger than recent Axis activity would indicate – in the Mediterranean theater. And yet there was the crucial need of ever-greater air defenses against the bombing from the west.

All in all, July of 1943 had brought to the test the Hitlerian plan of world domination. No one in Allied circled expected an easy and early decision. The move against Sicily simply inaugurated the whole gigantic task of the reconquest of Europe. It seemed clear that other moves, in other sectors, were in prospect. But the attack demonstrated, in the words of a London newspaper yesterday:

Our invasion brings the war of coalition to a new point… a point at which all the United Nations are engaging every enemy and all Allied resources are converging ion Hitler’s fortress,

In Britain and the United States, military leaders were grimly cautionary, warning that heavy losses must be counted on. In the White House, President Roosevelt, confiding the dramatic news to a distinguished gathering at a dinner part for Gen. Henri-Honoré Giraud, said:

Last autumn, the Prime Minister called it “the end of the beginning.” I think you can almost say that this action tonight is the beginning of the end.

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37

Völkischer Beobachter (July 12, 1943)

In schweren Kämpfen weiteres Gelände gewonnen –
Die große Panzerschlacht im Osten tobt weiter

85 Feindflugzeuge im Raum von Kursk und 64 über Sizilien abgeschossen

dnb. Aus dem Führer-Hauptquartier, 11. Juli –
Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt:

Die große Schlacht im Osten tobt weiter. Unsere Truppen konnten in schweren Kämpfen weiteres Gelände gewinnen und 193 feindliche Panzer vernichten.

Die Luftwaffe unterstützte trotz schlechter Wetterbedingungen mit starken Kräften die Angriffe des Heeres. Panzer- und Truppenbereitstellungen des Feindes wurden zersprengt und 85 Sowjetflugzeuge abgeschossen.

Leichte deutsche Seestreitkräfte griffen überraschend den Hafen Atschujew am Asowschen Meer an, versenkten drei Küstenfahrzeuge und beschädigten drei weitere schwer.

An der Südostküste Siziliens sind heftige Kämpfe deutscher und italienischer Truppen mit gelandeten feindlichen Kräftegruppen im Gange. Über Sizilien und im Seegebiet um die Insel wurden bisher 64 feindliche Flugzeuge abgeschossen. Italienische Torpedoflugzeuge versenkten drei Schiffe, darunter zwei Transporter von 13.000 BRT., und beschädigten im gemeinsamen Angriff mit starken deutschen Fliegerkräften drei Kreuzer und zahlreiche große und mittlere Transporter sowie viele Landungsboote so schwer, daß mehrere dieser Schiffe als vernichtet angesehen werden können.

Im Kanal kam es am 10. Juli zu einem Gefecht zwischen einem Verband englischer Zerstörer und Schnellbooten mit leichten deutschen Seestreitkräften. Ein britischer Zerstörer und zwei Kanonenboote wurden durch Artilleriefeuer versenkt, ändere schwer beschädigt. Auf deutscher Seite ging eine Einheit verloren, deren Besatzung zum größten Teil gerettet wurde.

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‚In Sizilien wird für die Größe Italiens gekämpft‘ –
Die Parole bleibt: Sieg oder Tod!

dnb. Rom, 11. Juli –
Die römische Morgenpresse steht im Zeichen der Ereignisse an der sizilischen Küste. Sie legt den Hauptnachdruck auf die stolze Ruhe und Entschlossenheit, mit der das italienische Volk in dieser Stunde höchster Bereitschaft den Tatsachen ins Auge blicke.

Der Angriff auf Sizilien kam nicht überraschend, wie Gayda im Voce d’Italia ausführt. Die Geschichte wird über den Ausgang entscheiden. Man kann aber heute schon sagen, daß das feindliche Unternehmen in ganz Italien auf Festigkeit, Kaltblütigkeit, unbeugsamen Kampfeswillen und Vertrauen stoße. Jeder stehe fest und einsatzbereit an seinem Platz, jeder sei ein Kämpfer. Der Feind werde von allen Italienern die Antwort darauf erhalten, daß er gewagt hat, dem italienischen Volk moralische und kämpferische Attribute abzusprechen und gegen Frauen und Kinder, gegen Kirchen und Schulen mit Terrorangriffen vorzugehen.

Der frühere Volksbildungsminister und jetzige Direktor des Messaggero, Pavollini, erklärt, daß die Augen aller Italiener seit gestern auf Sizilien gerichtet seien. Die Abwicklung aller Geschäfte erfolge in ganz Italien mit völliger Ruhe und in einem einstimmigen, nüchternen und brüderlichen Vertrauen. Die Gedanken aller gingen zu den tapferen Kämpfern in Sizilien und zu ihren tapferen Verbündeten, deren Kameradschaft in dieser unvergeßlichen Stunde fester denn je geschmiedet werde.

Der Direktor des Popolo di Roma, Baroni, stellt fest, das Unternehmen stoße gegen den Abwehrwall, der von Männern verteidigt werde, die bereit seien, für die Kultur und die Freiheit Europas und der Welt ihr Leben zu lassen. In Sizilien werde seit gestern für die Rettung aller Völker, aber vor allem für die Größe Italiens gekämpft. Alle, Wehrmachtangehörige oder Zivilpersonen, stehen im Kampf. Sie wissen, daß dieser Kampf der entscheidende ist. Die Parole lautet heute in ganz Italien:

Sieg oder Tod.

Die angelsächsisch-sowjetische Feindkoalition, so führt Appelius im Popolo d‘Italia aus, kann nicht zuwarten. Sie ist zum Handeln gezwungen. Im Gesamtplan des Konfliktes beweisen die Kämpfe im Osten und an der Küste Siziliens sowie die jüngsten schweren feindlichen Verluste an Schiffen und Flugzeugen im Mittelmeer, daß Europa über eine gewaltige militärische Macht verfügt. Von Syrakus bis Bjelgorod steht Europa in voller Defensiv- und Offensivkraft da. In dem Augenblick, da bei Bjelgorod, auf Sizilien und auf den Salomonen drei Schlachten von großer Bedeutung für das Schicksal des Konfliktes toben, bekräftigen wir unser Vertrauen in die militärische Stärke der Dreierpaktmächte, in die höchste Gerechtigkeit unserer Sache sowie in die eiserne Solidarität unserer Völker. Ganz Italien steht ideell an der sizilianischen Küste unseres Meeres. ¾12 Uhr ist vorbei und die Italiener haben nicht nachgegeben, jetzt ist es 12 Uhr und sie werden nicht nachgeben.

Londons Klage über Sizilien:
‚Schwieriger Nachschub‘

tc. Tanger, 11. Juli –
Die Landungsoperationen auf Sizilien seien nach den nächtlichen einleitenden Aktionen in ein weit gefährlicheres Stadium getreten, heißt es in einem Bericht des Reuter-Sonderkorrespondenten Davis Brown. Die Landungsflottille habe sich nach Tagesanbruch immer noch auf die Küste zu bewegt und sei dabei dem Feuer der Küstenbatterien und der auf den Felsen angelegten Maschinengewehrnester ausgesetzt. Jedenfalls sei das Heranbringen von Verstärkungen die gefährlichste Phase der Operationen, da sie jetzt bei Tageslicht durchgeführt werden müsse und man auch mit der Möglichkeit von U-Boot-Angriffen zu rechnen habe.

39

La Stampa (July 12, 1943)

Accanita battaglia in Sicilia –
Il nemico impegnato e contenuto lungo la fascia costiera sud-orientale

31 velivoli avversari abbattuti – L’aviazione dell’Asse in energica azione contro i convogli anglosassoni; dieci piroscafi, un incrociatore leggero e numerosi mezzi da sbarco affondati; due incrociatori e numerosi altri mercantili gravemente colpiti

Screenshot 2022-07-12 020542

Il Quartier Generale delle Forze Armate ha ieri diramato il seguente Bollettino N. 1142:

Un’accanita battaglia è in atto lungo la fascia costiera della Sicilia sud-orientale, dove truppe italiane e germaniche impegnano energicamente le forze avversarie sbarcate e ne contengono validamente la pressione.

Intensa l’attività delle opposte aviazioni: I cacciatori dell’Asse hanno abbattuto 22 velivoli, le batterie controaeree 9.

Nostre formazioni aerosiluranti portatesi ripetutamente all’attacco di convogli nemici, colavano a picco due piroscafi per 13 mila tonnellate complessive ed una nave di tipo imprecisato; danneggiavano inoltre gravemente due incrociatori e numerosi altri mercantili, parecchi del quali s’incendiavano. Un incrociatore leggero, sette navi da trasporto di grosso e medio tonnellaggio e molti mezzi da sbarco venivano ripetutamente colpiti dall’aviazione germanica cosi da farne ritenere sicuro il successivo affondamento.

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Ardenti manifestazioni per la vittoria delle nostre armi

Napoli, 12 luglio –
Presso i Gruppi rionali, fascisti e popolo si sono adunati per riaffermare la loro ferrea volontà di resistenza e la incrollabile fede nella Vittoria.

Dovunque si sono verificate imponenti manifestazioni di italianità, di fede fascista e di devozione e gratitudine per il Duce. Dopo le adunate, cortei di popolo hanno allato per le vie inneggiando al re Imperatore, al Duce, alle gloriose Forze Armate dell’Asse.

Milano, 12 luglio –
Che la rispondenza del popolo agli attuali storici eventi non sia una affermazione retorica, ma una palpitante realtà di fede è stato dimostrato ieri dalle adunate he, improvvisamente, senza preparazione di chiamata, hanno avuto luogo in tutti i 28 Gruppi rionali fascisti della città.

Il Federale è intervenuto ad una delle riunioni, a quella del Gruppo «D’Annunzio», dove la sua parola incitatrice, espressiva del sentimento del fascisti e di tutto il popolo milanese, ha trovato piena rispondenza nella folla, che ovunque ha riaffermato con il suo grido le fede nelle Forze Armate della Patria e la certezza della vittoria.

Firenze, 12 luglio –
Ieri sera nelle sedi di tutti i Gruppi rionali fascisti della citta, si sono svolte imponenti adunate alle quali ha partecipato compatta la massa delle Camicie Nere e del popolo fiorentino.

Durante le riunioni hanno parlato vari camerati che hanno suscitato vibranti manifestazioni di fervida fede fascista e di certezza nella vittoria. Al termine delle adunate, gli intervenuti hanno calorosamente inneggiato alle valorose Forze Armate, al Re Imperatore e al Duce.

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«Soltanto gli occhi per piangere» –
La pace che gli anglo-americani imporrebbero all’Italia se vincessero

I dodici punti fissati dalla propaganda nemica

Roma, 12 luglio –
Ogni giorno che passa, si aggiungono nuovi documenti, che svelano quali sarebbero le reali intenzioni degli anglo-nordamericani se riuscissero a vincere questa guerra, e ad eliminare l’Italia dal conflitto.

Le ammonitrici parole del Duce che, se l’Italia dovesse capitolare, i nemici ci lascherebbero soltanto gli occhi per piangere, trovano quotidianamente dimostrazione nelle enunciazioni più o meno autorizzate dei giornali e dei periodici anglo-statunitensi, i quali, particolarmente nelle attuali contingenze di euforiche illusioni, svelano senza più alcun ritegno le loro intime e vere intenzioni, i loro più segreti e reconditi sentimenti.

Vale la pena di mettere sotto gli occhi degli italiani un documento da tenere sempre presente, elencando i 12 punti delle condizioni, che l’imperialismo anglo-nordamericano pretenderebbe di imporre a un’Italia vinta.

Sono dodici punti già accennati saltuariamente da questo o quel portavoce ufficioso, ma che oggi la propaganda nemica crede di potere ormai raccogliere e presentare al popolo italiano, come un conto che deve essere saldato al più presto.

Le condizioni sarebbero:

  1. Consegna della flotta e dell’aviazione.

  2. Soppressione delle industrie siderurgica, metallurgica e meccanica.

  3. Riduzione dell’esercito a modesti effettive di polizia per il mantenimento dell’ordine interno con esclusione di armi collettive, cioè mitragliatrici, cannoni, carri armati.

  4. Cessione all’Inghilterra di Pantelleria, di Tobruk, La Maddalena e altre basi strategiche.

  5. Cessione alle Jugoslavia dell’Istria, compressa la base navale di Pola e Trieste con delimitazione dei confini all’Isonzo.

  6. Cessione alla Grecia di varie isole dello Jonio e dell’Egeo.

  7. Rinuncia dell’Italia al suo impero coloniale compresa la Libia.

  8. Radiazione dell’Italia dal novero delle grandi potenze.

  9. Occupazione militare del territorio italiano per un tempo indeterminato.

  10. Soppressione della cerealicoltura e limitazione dell’agricoltura alle sole culture erbacce.

  11. Soppressione di molte università.

  12. Abolizione dell’insegnamento classico per impedire che la gioventù possa ispirarsi alla grandezza storica di Roma e limitazione dell’insegnamento a scuole di tipo professionale.

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Allied HQ, North Africa (July 12, 1943)

Few details are available of the work of the Navy during the past 24 hours. The task of disembarking troops and their supplies on all beaches continued according to plan. On the whole, weather conditions have improved, though the enemy’s interference from the air has been on a slightly increased scale.

Defended areas near the coast town of Pozzallo, 12 miles westward of Capo delle Correnti, and the railway line between Syracuse and Ragusa, were bombarded last night by our destroyers.

The surrender of Pozzallo was accepted by the commanding officer of a destroyer during early afternoon Sunday.

Our ground forces have continued to make good progress. During the course of the day, seven enemy counterattacks, which were being made with tanks, have been repulsed, and at least 2,000 prisoners have been taken.

It can now be stated the following major ports and towns have been captured by our forces: Syracuse, Avola, Pachino, Pozzallo, Scoglitti, Gela, Licata, Ispica, Rosolini and Noto.

The advance continues.

Allied Force Command Post Communiqué:

Enemy troop columns were heavily attacked yesterday in a day of intense fighter-bomber activity. Many vehicles were destroyed.

Heavy bombers attacked focal points of communications at Catania and medium bombers carried out raids on airfields being used by the enemy. Fighters maintained patrols over our land forces in the invasion area.

45 Axis aircraft were destroyed. From all these operations, nine of our aircraft are missing.

Communiqué from Valletta, Malta:

Malta’s night and day fighters destroyed 27 aircraft over Sicily and southern Italy Saturday night and Sunday when they again gave air cover to Allied invasion shipping at the Sicilian beaches. The enemy made more frequent attempts to attack our shipping yesterday. They used small formations of various types, including Ju 88s and Do 217s, but Spitfires maintained a ceaseless watch during the day.

Negligible shipping losses were undoubtedly due to the Spitfires’ interception of the enemy before they could aim their bombs.

Malta’s Beaufighters and Mosquitoes during nighttime destroyed three enemy aircraft, with two more probables. The Mosquitoes stood guard over enemy airfields in Sicily and southern Italy. A Ju 88 in the Naples area was attacked and was last seen with one wing afire. A piece fell off and the Ju 88 was probably destroyed.

Beaufighters at nighttime destroyed three enemy aircraft and probably destroyed a fourth. One wing of a Ju 88 caught fire after an attack and there was a huge explosion. A CANT Z.1007 Italian heavy bomber burst into flames and hit the sea, burning fiercely. The last victims were two Ju 88s. one was left falling into the sea with its engine afire. The other probably destroyed was hit by a Beaufighter along the fuselage and one wing was seen going down to starboard.

At dawn, Spitfires took over from Malta and resumed the supremacy over the Sicilian coast. Other Spitfires escorted U.S. bombers on missions over Sicily.

U.S. 9th Air Force HQ, Cairo (July 12, 1943)

Airdromes at Reggio Calabria and Vibo Valentia on the Italian mainland were attacked during daylight Sunday by Liberator heavy bombers of the U.S. 9th Air Force.

At Reggio Calabria Airdrome on the Strait of Messina, a base for aerial defense of the important Sicilian ferry terminal, great damage was done by high explosive demolition bombs. Hangars on the south and east side of the field received many hits and were left burning. Other hits were scored on barracks and among motor transport. Dispersal areas were well covered with bursts and a large number of planes were seen burning.

At Vibo Valentia, the middle and west hangars were set afire and smoke arose from the entire hangar area. A large three-engined aircraft was seen burning in front of the middle hangar. Serious damage was done to the administration buildings.

Strong formations of enemy fighters attempted to intercept our bombers. Of these, two were destroyed and two others damaged. All our aircraft returned safely.

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Brooklyn Eagle (July 12, 1943)

10 Sicily ports fall; Allies gain 15 miles

4,000 seized as Axis fails in 7 attacks

Allies make headway

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After a series of fierce engagements with Axis troops in Sicily, Allied headquarters today announced the capture of ten strategic towns, including Syracuse, Noto and Gela along the southeast and southern coasts.

Allied HQ, North Africa (UP) –
Allied invaders captured 10 major towns in southeastern Sicily, repulsed seven armored counterattacks, took 4,000 prisoners and rolled at least 15 miles inland today in a smashing offensive for conquest of the Italian island bastion.

Led by tanks and paratroopers and strongly supported by naval and air bombardment, the Americans under Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr. seized the big air base at Licata on the south coast and the British under Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery took the vital port of Syracuse, to consolidate a 100-mile coastal invasion strip.

Patton’s tough U.S. units broke up a heavy Italian counterattack headed by 45 Fascist tanks just north of Gela and then repulsed the heaviest of seven enemy counterattacks by turning back the Italian 4th Livorno Division in hard fighting.

“The advance continues,” today’s communiqué from Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower stated and dispatches from forward areas described the offensive as moving into high gear against stiff Axis opposition.

The population of Sicily was described as “showing great friendliness” toward the invasion forces and as being willing to cooperate, indicating that the conquest might be facilitated by the Sicilians.

The Allies are now astride the vital road running from Pozzallo, which surrendered to an Allied destroyer, to Syracuse, which British and Canadian troops stormed and took Saturday. They were opposed by the Italian 54th (Napoli) Division, based near Syracuse.

Allied casualties were still described as comparatively light.

Axis broadcasts and communiqués continue vague except to claim that there was bitter fighting on Sicily and that counterattacks had defeated the Allies at several points. The enemy claims hits on three cruisers and said that eight ships had been sunk.

Strong winds on the first night of the invasion caused difficulty for Allied paratroops, who were scattered more widely than intended. They got together, however, in sufficient force to reach the first planned objective. They were later driven off by the enemy but succeeded in making contact with invading ground troops and made a new stand.

The point of greatest penetration by the Allies appeared to be Rosolini, about 15 miles inland on the southeast coast, but dispatches reported a “deep penetration” at several points.

Air fleets of the United Nations, meeting slightly increased Axis air opposition, destroyed about 50 enemy aircraft to maintain aerial superiority above the invasion forces and strike with heavy bombloads at Axis front and rear bases in Sicily and lower Italy.

Allied naval forces continued to disembark reinforcements and supplies and destroyers bombarded the Sicilian coastal town of Pozzallo and the railroad line between Syracuse and Ragusa, on the east coast.

Vital towns seized

The towns captured included important ports and air bases in a 100-mile strip along the southeastern coast of Sicily from Syracuse around the corner of the island to Licata in the west.

The towns captured were:

  • Syracuse, one of the important ports and communications centers south of Catania;
  • Avola;
  • Noto, which is on the railroad a few miles inland and south of Syracuse;
  • Pachino, an air base on the southeastern tip;
  • Scoglitti;
  • Gela, an air base on the south coast;
  • Licata, an air base and coastal city;
  • Ispica;
  • Rosolini, 15 miles inland;
  • Pozzallo.

Yanks took Licata

U.S. forces captured Licata, one of the main enemy air bases on the central sector of the south coast, and ran up the Stars and Stripes over the harbor. The Navy immediately began pouring reinforcements and supplies into the port.

The surrender of Pozzallo was accepted by the commander of an Allied destroyer early Sunday afternoon.

The Allied advance generally continued, it was announced.

The communiqué from Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower said:

Few details are available on the work of the Navy during the past 24 hours. The task of disembarking troops and their supplies on all beaches continues according to plan.

Weather improved

On the whole, weather conditions have improved, though the enemy’s interference from the air has been on a slightly increased scale. Defended areas near the coast town of Pozzallo, 12 miles westward of Capo delle Correnti, and the railway line between Syracuse and Ragusa, were bombarded last night by our destroyers.

The communique, giving the most complete picture so far of the invasion, made it clear that the main communications lines in southeast Sicily were largely in Allied hands, opening the way for a pincer drive from the Licata-Gela sector and the Syracuse region, which would be preliminary to moving northward toward Messina.

Shore bases in ruins

U.S. pilots returning from machine-gunning and wrecking hundreds of troop-filled trucks on the island said that large sections of the Island coast were “crumbling, smoking ruins” as a result of steady aerial bombardment.

Damage to Messina is “terrific,” one pilot said, and the port can probably be used only by small boats at night.

The Allied air attack had chased the enemy from his advanced airdromes and it was believed that from now on, the main Axis aerial operations would be from southern Italy, where Allied bombers heavily attacked the main Fascist air bases.

There was still no word of the Italian fleet going into action.

The BBC broadcast unconfirmed reports that part of the Italian fleet had put out from the Spezia Naval Base.

The Stockholm Social-Demokraten quoted a “German radio station in Sicily” as saying that the east coast port of Syracuse, only 33 miles below Catania, was threatened seriously by Allied troops who occupied several points to the south. Heavy fighting raged throughout the day near the south coast port of Licata with Allied efforts to penetrate to the interior being frustrated, it was said. An Allied landing attempt near Marsala in western Sicily was repulsed, the dispatch added. Several morning newspapers in Stockholm quoted Radio Bern as saying that an Italian naval force had left Spezia.

Field reports indicated that U.S., British and Canadian troops were gradually meeting increased resistance, but nowhere heavy enough to stem their advance. The bulk of the estimated 400,000 Italo-German defending troops were believed still concentrated in the center of the island.

Allied reinforcements, both of men and armor, poured onto beaches along a 100-mile strip of the southern and eastern shores of Sicily in a constant stream from landing barges comprising part of the giant armada of over 2,000 vessels, more than twice the 850-ship fleet that landed Anglo-American troops in Algeria and Morocco last November.

Beachhead widened

The London Daily Mail said that the Allied front in Sicily had been widened to 150 miles by the establishment of an important bridgehead by Canadians near Porto Empedocle, 27 miles northwest of Licata.

The Daily Telegraph reported from Zürich that Carlo Scorza, General Secretary of the Fascist Party, called an urgent meeting of the party directorate Sunday night while Premier Mussolini called on King Victor Emmanuel to address the nation, presumably in an effort to rally the Italian people behind the defense of their homeland. The dispatch also said that a great number of persons had been arrested in a drive to stamp out gossip in Naples.

A Stockholm dispatch to the Daily Telegraph quoted a traveler just arrived from Berlin as saying that German troop trains were streaming southward through the Brenner Pass. The remnants of “a Hermann Göring division,” he said, were flown to Sicily from Reggio Calabria.

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WAR BULLETINS

Jap cargo ship sunk; 3 blasted off Attu

Washington (UP) –
U.S. bombers have attacked four Japanese cargo ships 280 miles southwest of Attu and have sunk one of them, left a second in sinking condition and damaged the remaining two, the Navy announced today.

400 wounded saved as Axis sinks hospital ship

Allied HQ, North Africa (UP) –
Axis forces sank a fully loaded Allied hospital ship Saturday night during the Sicilian operations, it was disclosed today. Four hundred wounded troops were transferred from the ship without loss of life.

Italian horse cavalry charges Allies

Allied HQ, North Africa (UP) –
Old-fashioned Italian horse cavalry was reported to have charged Allied troops invading Sicily. Dispatches from the island said that at one point the horsemen charged the heavily-armored Allied troops, “but were quickly repulsed.”

Boro flier sees battle line move inland

Allied HQ, North Africa (UP) –
Spotter Sanford Arkin of Brooklyn, New York, of the Air Force, reported that the line of fires burning along the battlefront was moving inland steadily. On his flight over Sicily, he saw fresh Allied convoys pouring in masses of men and guns while the Air Forces were lashing the enemy in increased tempo.

Canadian House hears of Allied gains

Ottawa, Canada (UP) –
Prime Minister King told the House of Commons today that:

The first phase of the operations in Sicily has proceeded according to plan and the Allies are now striking into the interior of the island.

He said:

Sicily is only a small bridgehead. There must be many other bridgeheads established before the final struggle even begins.

Rommel gives alert order in South France

Madrid, Spain (UP) –
German Marshal Erwin Rommel, commanding anti-invasion defenses in southern France, has ordered his forces to “stand to” on the alert against Allied landings, reports reaching here from Vichy said today.

Rommel was also said to have informed the Italian High Command that he has sufficient troops to take over the protection of the Italian zone of the French Riviera and Corsica, but Rome failed to accept the offer.

Bulgaria rushes reserve troops to Aegean Sea

Ankara, Turkey (UP) – (July 11, delayed)
Bulgaria rushed all reserve officers and men from Sofia to the fortified line along the Aegean Sea today as reports of Allied successes in Sicily reached the Bulgarian capital, according to advices received today from Istanbul.

The military activity plus false reports of Allied landings at Salonika, Greece, caused a panic in Sofia. Word received here indicated the Axis might have had advance knowledge of the Allied Invasion because Bulgarian-Turkish telephone communications were cut off in Bulgaria on July 8.

Nazis claim they hurl Yanks into sea

London, England (UP) –
The official German DNB Agency, in a dispatch broadcast by the Berlin radio, said today that German troops in southern Sicily had thrown a U.S. “formation” back into the sea.

To the west of the German operation, the dispatch said, Italian troops engaged U.S. formations pushing into the interior of the island and threw them back to the coast.

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Paratroops pour out of sky before Axis can fire guns

Cast dismay into foes as fight opens

Allied HQ, North Africa (UP) –
U.S. and British glider and parachute troops armed with long knives and Tommy guns poured out of a black sky upon surprised Axis defenders of Sicily to open the battle of Europe, it was revealed today.

So quickly did the tough troopers descend that the Italians and Germans didn’t raise their anti-aircraft guns before the first units were on the ground destroying defense installations.

It was a turn of justice for the Allies – throwing back at the Axis a weapon of its own choosing. These boys writing the epochal story of airborne action knew where they were going and liked it. They cheered when they were told their destination.

Soldier ‘rarin’ to go’

As he climbed into a lead plane, Pvt. David McKeown of Philadelphia, grinned and wisecracked:

I’m rarin’ to go – I’m all on edge and my nickname is Dandy Dan.

At 10:10 Friday night, the first glider troops came down on the island. An hour and ten minutes later, the parachutists followed, cropping down as clouds and haze obscured a half-moon.

Searchlights stabbed the air picking out planes. But the first units were down before the ack-ack fire began on the planes that were dumping their loads of black-faced troopers.

Lt. Col. John Cerny of Harrison, Idaho, a soldier who came up through the ranks to lead the American side of the show, said an entire battalion was set down in one area alone.

“The air discipline displayed by the combat teams was beyond my expectations,” was the way he described the successful action by the advance cloud of invaders who began fighting three to four hours before their buddies landed from surface craft.

Yanks on west side

The target area for the airborne troops was the southeastern tip of Sicily. The Americans took the western side; the British the eastern end. They were veterans of the North African landing, hardened by long training and looking like young halfbacks or running guards on an American football team.

Ivan H. Peterman, correspondent of the Philadelphia Inquirer who rode with the American crew of a plane towing a British glider, described how the searchlights suddenly darkened and the ack-ack positions quit firing as more and more troops went down for their work. He said the Italians fired furiously, with little aim, after they once got going.

Medical men and dentists, equipped with explosives to blast out underground operating rooms, went down with the paratroops, John Thompson of the Chicago Tribune, who accompanied one flight, said.

Flags sewn to sleeves

The Americans had their last meal at 3:30 in the afternoon before going in. American flags to identify them were sewn to their sleeves.

Cpl. Nikolaus Kastrantas of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said:

I feel better than I have for a long time because my folks aren’t far away and this is taking me closer to home.

Pvt. Robert Lowry of Indianapolis said:

I feel damned good but I’ve felt better.

After words like those, they crammed shoulder to shoulder in the big transports. Sitting there waiting to go into action, one group was told by its commanding officers it would be among the first to land. Those boys are probably still fighting. They are Pvts. Patrick H. Dohm of Brooklyn, New York; Ed Walsh of Logansport, Indiana; Tony Ferrari of Somerville, Massachusetts; Walter P. Leginski of Chicago and Cpl. Bernard Driscoll of Gary, Indiana.

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Syracuse, ancient war prize, falls to Allied arms

Allied HQ, North Africa (UP) –
Ancient Syracuse, a rich prize of wars dating back through 25 centuries, has fallen again, this time to Allied forces challenging the Axis domination of Europe.

Syracuse proper is an island one mile long and half as wide, connected with the east coast of Sicily by a mole. The island is but a fragment of the site of ancient Syracuse, proud metropolis of the western Hellenic world, which at the height of its prosperity before the birth of Christ had a population of hundreds of thousands.

Founded by the Corinthians in the latter part of the 8th century BC, Syracuse reached the zenith of its greatness at the beginning of the 4th century under Dionysius the Elder. The Athenians undertook a disastrous expedition against it in 415-413 BC.

The Romans made themselves master of the city in 212 BC. Archimedes, the soldier philosopher, was killed by the Romans during a long siege. Thereafter, it began to decline. The modern city had a pre-war population of about 25,000.

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‘Old Blood and Guts’ leads invading Yanks

Patton at the front – Montgomery heads British into Syracuse
By the United Press

A brief dispatch from Allied headquarters in North Africa solved the mystery today of what happened to “Old Blood and Guts” – Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr. He is in command of U.S. forces invading Sicily.

The rip-roaring general, who often goes into battle with a pair of pearl-handled six-shooters swinging from his hips, disappeared from the fighting in Tunisia on April 16 when Maj. Gen. Omar Bradley took command of U.S. forces. It is clear now that Patton was withdrawn to start training troops for the assault on Sicily.

At the same time, it was disclosed that British Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery led his forces in the capture of Syracuse.

Military men regard Patton as among the most aggressive of Allied commanders. He is an expert in armored warfare and his general instructions to subordinates are:

Go forward! Always go forward. Go forward until the last shot is fired and the last drop of gasoline is gone and then go forward on foot.

His customary battle costume is a steel helmet bearing on the front the three stars of a lieutenant general, a brown leather jacket, a pair of ordinary General Issue pants and tank boots. The buck private is his favorite soldier.

He says:

The private out there getting shot at does the most work in this war and gets damned little credit for it. A man can be ferocious as hell back home on three hot meals a day, but it takes guts to live in a foxhole in the rain eating cold canned rations.

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Shoe pinches on other foot, Italians learn

Washington (UP) –
The Italians today are calling the Allied bombing of Italy “barbaric and inhuman,” but a couple of years ago, when the Germans were doing the bombing, they were writing in their papers:

Hurrah for brutality; England must be destroyed.

The Office of War Information cited one statement in particular, uttered by Mussolini’s son, Vittorio, describing a bombardment of Ethiopia:

One group of horsemen gave me the impression of a budding rose unfolding as the bomb fell in their midst and blew them up. It was exceptionally good fun.

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I am pretty sure this is propaganda. But… since Italy’s most competent General surrendered to the Allies, well… this may be true.

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50

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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