Naples, March 29. —
German troops have sealed their
"defensive victory" in the Cassino area by regaining control of the
upper slopes of Mount" Cassino, it was disclosed today, as the Allied air
force announced that its bombers have cut all railroad communications between
the Nazi armies in southern Italy and the northern supply centers.
New Delhi, March 29.—
British Imperial troops were
reported falling back 15 miles inside the Indian frontier today under
heavy attack by Japanese invasion
forces swarming down through the Somra Hills towards the Manipur State capital
of Imphal.
London, March 29.—
American Flying Fortresses up to
250 strong struck deep into central Germany today, and Berlin said Nazi
fighters engaged them in a violent running battle' for hundreds of miles over
the Reich.
HUNTINGDON, PA., WEDNESDAY, MARCH
29, 1944.
CONTROL OF UPPER
SLOPES
OF MOUNT
CASSINO
REGAINED
By REYNOLDS PACKARD
United Press Correspondent
A l l i e d Headquarters,
Naples, March 29. —
German troops have sealed their
"defensive victory" in the Cassino area by regaining control of the
upper slopes of Mount" Cassino, it was disclosed today, as the Allied air
force announced that its bombers have cut all railroad communications between
the Nazi armies in southern Italy and the northern supply centers.
Air force headquarters asserted flatly
that bridge-busting Marauders, Mitchells, Invaders and Bostons have smashed
bottleneck points on every railroad line leading down from northern Italy to
the embattled Germans on the Anzio beachhead, at Cassino and
on the Adriatic front.
Reconnaissance photographs showed
that four key bridges and a tunnel on the coastal and. Central rail lines had
been destroyed or damaged beyond immediate repair,
It was believed the Germans might
require as long as six weeks to restore full service on the crippled lines,
during which time their forces in the south would be isolated from their main
supply sources.
As that statement was being issued,
Army spokesmen revealed that two advanced units of Allied
troops who fought their way high up
the slopes , of Mount Cassino more than a week ago had been withdrawn,
apparently ending the 5th Army's costly attempt to drive the Nazis from their
defenses astride the inland road to Rome. '
Half-starved Indian and New
Zealand infantrymen who had held out on Hangman's Hill and the nearby Hill 202
for 10 days and nights, under constant fire from enemy units all around them,
stumbled back into the main
Allied lines Monday night under cover of a heavy barrage that diverted the
Germans' attention to the eastern end of Cassino.
BRITISH
IMPERIAL
TROOPS
FALL BACK
15
MILES IN INDIA
By DARRELL BERRIGAN
United Press War Correspondent
New Delhi, March 29.—
British Imperial troops were
reported falling back 15 miles inside the Indian frontier today under
heavy attack by Japanese invasion
forces swarming down through the Somra Hills towards the Manipur State capital
of Imphal.
A headquarters communique .indicated,
the, first major battle of the Indian campaign was in full swing along the
western fringe of the wild Somra tract near Ukhrul.
The Japanese, ignoring heavy casualties
piled up by the British frontier forces, were reported pressing their
attack furiously and the communique acknowledged the defenders had "taken
up
new positions."
Germany
And France Hit
Hard
Today By Powerful
Forces
Of U.S. Bombers
By WALTER CRONKITE
United Press Correspondent
London, March 29.—
American Flying Fortresses up to
250 strong struck deep into central Germany today, and Berlin said Nazi
fighters engaged them in a violent running battle' for hundreds of miles over
the Reich.
The fortress fleet was one ' of the
smallest formations of United States heavy bombers sent over
Germany in months. Its size prompted
speculation that Lt. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz was flaunting
a lure to draw the German air force
into .combat.
While the forts hit Germany in
the first, daylight "attack since Friday, Liberators of the Eighth
Air Force in comparable or lesser
strength bombed the Pas De Calais strip of the French invasion
coast.
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