The Wilmington morning star. [volume], December 01, 1944, FINAL EDITION, Image 1

About The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990

Image provided by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill, NC

                
ggsiig? Mtlmtngimt iHnntttuj
VOi^ ^—NO. 270 --- WILMINGTON, N. C., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1944 " " FINAL EDITION
-— -M ---— __’ Z_ ’_____ •_ .__
Churchill bays U.S.
Will Assist Britain
In Regaining Trade
I lENd lease to drop
I German Fall Will Reduce
I Requirements Half,
I He Declares
LONDON. Nov. 30.—(/P)—
American aid for Britains bid
Lover her farflung, war
acrificed export trade was
disclosed by Prime Minister
Churchill today together with
the announcement that Lend
wse aid to this island-em
will be cut in half when
Germany falls.
jubilantly announcing an Anglo
American economic arrangement
on the future of lend-lease appar
ently designed to help Britain pull
0Ut0f its financial slump, the
Prime Minister made these ponts:
j._A new program will be inau
gurated next year to permit Brit
ain to export articles made from
American-imported raw materials.
2-—Britain will pay cash for that
material.
3-—Defeat of Germany would
permit Britain-along with the
United States - to release some of
its manpower for production of ci
vilian goods.
4:—Britain anticipates American
aid on its rehousing program, not
only in raw material but in finish
'll ed houses.
fgi winning the plaudits of the
■ h-use with n-s detailed statement
■ or, this joint Anglo - American
H agreement, just two days after
H Britain issued a white paper to
3 tell the world of its vast, war-nee
Wk essitrted financial sacrifices, the
| premier said:
fll "Tire end of the war with Ger
3 r y will make possible large re
■ |l ;;rtc::c;rs in some of our require
y| rrrrtr. We expect our needs will
he tract by a program at a rate not
H (Otmued on Page Ten; Col, 4)
'S vv__
IMRANCE FIRM
ALLOTS $100,000
IN LOCAL BONDS
An allocation of $100,000 in bond
purchases to Wilmington for the
Sixth War Loan Drive has been
made by hte Pilot Life Insurance
Co., of Greensboro, according to
irformation received yesterday by
t A. McGirt of the Wilmington
branch of the company.
In notifying Mr. McGirt of the
allocation, J. M. Waddell, vice
president and agency manager of
te company, said that it was not
necessary for the local Bond Pur
fee committee to take any fur
tier action in the matter as all
ta|l? will be handled by the
fe in Greensboro, and the com
®tiee should have officical noti
«ation of the allocation between
December 1 and 15.
fe' Hanover county bond sales
Wednesday had reached a total
6- s,-480.748. after the announce
of a S20.000 assignment by
* j'ortn Carolina division of the
“©lard Oil Company of New
Jersey,
Tie new purchase by the Pilot
fear.v raises this to $1,580,748.
© Board of County Commis
“ ©s Monday authorized the
>.c.,ase of $50,000 in two per cent
reasuDy bond's.
ta'l10'’8' Airlines allocated $20,
L’jn'v “oncl Purchases for the
I . -. T T
1^‘Perature Expected
"Range From 24-39
"Wees In City Today
kw,, cold weather, with lov
»e:tV.Urcs c'{ 24 to 30 degrees
kJtKast !or Wilmington foi
Wtr Bureau^ m0rnlng by thf
|teef!bab!e temperature of 29 de
ya„. as expected and Wilrr.ing
r^iitifme^ere. advised to take pre
k;et gainst the freezing o:
Plumbing systems anc
liiv ' le radiators during th«
perjures of Wil
cold wave of thi
; ,e '''X" eeted to continu*
IgW" a possibility o:
STETTINIUS WINS
SENATE APPROVAL
FOR HOTS POST
Langer Protest ignored As
Vote Of 67 to 1 Is
Recorded
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30.—<#)—Tn
Senate brushed aside protests by
Senator Langer (R.-N.D.) today and
confirmed, 67 to 1, the nomination
of Edward R. ftettinius, Jr., as
Secretary of State.
The 44 - year-old undersecretary
tlius steps into the topmost cabinet
post to lead American diplomatic
forces now helping fashion a world
peace organization. He succeeds his
chief, ailing Cordell Hull, who re
signed.
Confirmation was voted swiftly
after Langer protested on the Sen
ate floor that Stettinius is “a rep
resentative of Wall street and the
House of Morgan,” as well as a
protege of presidential Advisor
Harry Hopkins.
r_i_ mr-TT-ll_ /n m - \
uvuu tux xuvixuuai \Ay,*xCUU. F
strode to Stettinius’ defense, assert
ing that he is “a man of intelli
gence, ability and the highest char
acter.” He added that Stettinius has
“the most attractive personality I
ever have seen—a personality that
can be used to the greatest ad
: vantage by our country in these
critical times.”
Senator Vandenberg (R.-Mich.),
White (R.-Me.). Davis (R.-Pa.).
Clark (D.-Mo.) and Connally (D.
Tex.) also praised the nominee.
Connally shrugged expressively in
Langer’s direction and said he was
not going to take time to answer
all charges that were made.
Announcing that he had been up
all night digging into the record,
gaunt, gray haired Langer had
made a 2 1-2 hour speech. Most of
the Democrats and many Republi
cans went out to lunch while he
talked.
Remarking that he had nothing
against Stettinius personally, Lan
ger asserted that the nominee had
| helped delay this country’s prep
arations for war by failing to sup
j (Continued on Page Three; Col. 1)
-V- I
KtU LKUSS AMS
FOR YULE BOXES
TO ILL SOLDIERS
Last Christmas time, the
Red Cross here sponsored the
filling of some thousand stock
ings for soldiers in hospitals.
It can’t be stockings this
year because of material
shortages, hut if the churches
of Wilmington will lend a
hand, as of course they will,
boxes filled with the things ill
and convalescent soldiers will
appreciate most will be substi
tuted.
What to put in them? By
way of suggestion, pocket dic
tionaries, nuts, chewing gum,
candy, cigarets. ■ cookies and
pocket comics. This needn’t be
the limit, of course. Go as far
as you like.
The total boxes needed is not
as great as the stocking total
last year. At most, 700 will
meet the need.
Will Wilmington churches,
through their auxiliaries, un
dertake this splendid work of
mercyt and kindness?
Just call Red Cross head
quarters in the custom house,
2-2683 and let it be known how
many boxes your group will
fill.
And, especially, don’t be
backward.
Biddle’s Accuser With Family
Assistant Attorney General Norman M. Littell, dismissed by Pres
ident Roosevelt yesterday, looks over papers pertaining to the Justice
Department case in which he accused Attorney General Francis Bid
dle of intervening in behalf of Thomas E. Corcoran, one-time New Deal
braintruster. His family, left to right, front: daughter Katherine, 8;
Littell, son Norman, Jr., 5; and Mrs. Littell in the rear.
Roosevelt Fires Littel;
Congress Seeking Probe
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30.—(tP)—President Roosevelt
fired Assistant Attorney General Norman Littell today for
“insurbordination” but that didn’t close out the Justice De
-;-Apartment feud—it only moved over
into congress.
Rep. Voorhis (D-Cal) introduced
a resolution for an investigation of
the whole matter by the House
Judiciary Committee, taking issue
with the grounds on which the
President dismissed Littell.
“The reason given is ‘insubor
dination’ which is based upon the
issuance of Littcll’s statement giv
ing his reasons for refusal to re
sign.” Voorhis said in a tatement.
“However, Littell issued no
statement himself but on the con
trary the statement was requested
of him by the Senate War Inves
tigating Committee and released
by the committee.”
The public row started when At
torney General Biddle demanded
Littell’s resignation after a series
of differences. Littell, refusing to
resign, accused Biddle of “conduct
contrary to basic principles of
good government.”
Littell asserted that Biddle in
tervened in a Justice Department
case in behalf of Thomas G. Cor
coran, one time presidential inti
mate now in private law practice.
Senator Ferguson (R-Mich) to
day called this “a very serious
charge.” which should be "aired.”
Littell left office claiming he had
won “a complete victory for good
government.”
Mr. Roosevelt minced no lan
guage in firing the 45-year-old Se
attle, Wash’., attorney who has
been in charge of the Justice De
partment’s lands division since Ap
ril, 1939.
“When statements made by Nor
man Littell first appeared in the
(Continued on Page Ten; Col. 3)
ALBERT B. FALL,
83, DIES IN TEX.
Convicted Teapot Dome
Scandal Figure Was
Harding Aide
EL PASO, Tex., Nov. 30.—(fl-Al
bert B. Fall, 83, Secretary of the
Interior under the Harding ad
ministration and one of the cen
tral figures in the Teapot Dome
scandal, died in a hospital here
today.
Fall died in his sleep, his phy
sician, Dr. John Morrison, said.
Dr. Morrison was the only person
at the bedside when death came
at 4:30 p. m. in Hotel Dieu, Cath
olic hospital. Fall had been a pa
tient in Hotel Dieu since 1942, and
in the William Beaumont General
hospital here from 1935 to 1938.
Funeral arrangements have not
been completed.
Fall made few public statements
following his release from New
Mexico State Prison, where he was
sent following conviction of ac
cepting a bribe. In 1938 he posed
for his last news picture in his
palatial home here and gave news
papermen his views on American
affairs.
Fall, born at Frankfort, Ky.,
rose from prospector, ranch hand,
school teacher and attorney at Las
Cruces, N. M. He lost all tn the
Teapot Dome exposures that rock
ed the 1920’s.
Leases to public oil lands exe
cuted by Fall as Secretary of "the
Interior brought from Justice But
ler of the U. S. Supreme Court the
denunciation “faithless public offi
cer” in 1927 when the court invali
dated a lease granted to Harry R.
Sinclair on the oil reserve at Tea
pot Dome, Wyoming.
Fall was convicted in 1929 of ac
cepting a $100,000 bribe for the
lease of the Elk Hills, Cal., Naval
oil reserve to his one-time pros
pecting partner, the late Edward
L. Doheny.
I Much Of Nation Hit
By Severe Cold Wave
' By the Associated Press
A cold mass of air pushed south
from Canada to cover most of the
United States as far south as Ar
’ kansas -and Tennessee last night
i end looped over the Appalachians
r tr, make the East Coast miserable
with a gale.
The Chicago Weather Bureau
| spotted warmer air from the
' West, and said it should reach the
Midwest by tonight and start a
slow rise that would continue into
Sunday. . _ ,
New Englanders were harassed
by a “force eight” wind—gale pro
portions. Heavy rains turned to
enow as the cold air moved in.
Gale-driven waver practically sub
merged Boston’s Atlantic avenue
"T” wharf, and at Biddeford Pool,
Me., surged over eight-foot con
crete bulkheads.
Traffic in upstate New York was
snarled bv snow and sleet, nine
inches falling at Syracuse. Snow
of varying depth fell in states
1 north of 3 lino oxtcnding from
I Pennsylvania through ' the Ohio
, Valley and southern Nebraska to
the Rocky Mountains.
A 14.2-inch snowfall blocked
! roads near Gaylord, Mich., in the
: northern part ot the lower penin
sula, and temperatures of 5-10 de
grees above zero were forecast for
Friday.
The Chicago Weather Bureau al
so forecast below zero mercuries
for wes.ern Iowa, and 10-15 de
grees above for most of the re
maining Midwestern states.
The lowest temperature reported
to the Chicago Bureau was 10 be
low at Williston. N. D. Freezing
weathpr extended down to Bir
mingham, Ala., which reported 31.
Vicksburg, Miss., had 25, Kansas
City 13, Chicago 19.
The west coast had what the
weather bureau termed normal
weather. Screended by the Rock
ies from the cold air mass, rain
was reported from most stations
in Washington, Oregon, and north
ern California
fc
Ninth Army Captures
Three Nazi Towns To
Reach Banks Of Roer
-*—-—— — - *
iERMANS REEL
BACK IN FACE
OF YANK FIRE
J. S. First Wins Lamers
dorf And Grosshau;
Leaves Hurtgen
PARIS. Nov. 30. — (IP) —
American Ninth Army troops
striking behind barrages of
tigh-explosive and phosphor
ms shells which did terrible
ixecution, swept through
three more German towns to
lay in their new smash at the
eft end of the blazing Aachen
front and tonight had reach
id the flooded Roer river
ilong a 20-mile stretch above
and below Julich.
The Roer is the last important
natural barrier standing between
Sen. Dwight D Eisenhower’s at
tacking forces and the Rhine, soma
15 miles to the east.
Captured in the surge of Lt. Gen,
William Simpson’s Ninth Army for
ces east and northeast of Geilen
kirchen were the blackened vil
lages of Lindern, Flossdorf and
Roerdorf, all on or near the west
bank of the Roer. In another vil
lage, Beeck, a mile southwest of
Lindern, American troops found
more Nazi dead piled in the streets
than in nnv German town vet. en.
tered.
As the German* reeled back tin*
der the rain of American shell*
and before the bayonet* of Simp
son’s doughboys they cam# under
withering attack by Thunderbolt
fighter bombers.
Lindern is 14 1-2 mile* from
the Prussian arsenal and rail city
of Munchen Gladbach and stand*
on high ground overlooking the
enemy stronghold of Linnich to
the southeast. Flossdorf and Roer
dorf are Roer river town* between
Linnich and Julich.
While the shattering attack by
three divisions of the Ninth army
beat back the dug-in Germans and
threatened to develop into a fierce
drive on Dusseldorf, 28 miles away
Lt. Gen. Courtney Hodges’ U. S.
First Army duoghboys on the right
won the fortified towns of Lamers
dorf and Grosshau in savage fight,
ing and virtually put the bloody
Hurtgen forest behind them.
In almost every sector from Hoi
(Continued on Page Ten; Col. »)
-V
ARMY CASUALTIES
SET AT 437,356
THROUGH OCTOBER
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30.— (PI —
The War Department today reveal
ed that the total number of Army
casualties from the start of the war
through the end of October is 437,
356. Of this number. 84,811 were
killed, 55,011 are missing, 243,054
have been wounded and 54,480 are
prisoners.
In the Asiatic theatre 1,122 have
been killed, 921 are missing, 1,103
have been wounded and 159 are
prisoners, making a total of 3,b05
casualties.
In the Central Pacific, 2,344 kill
ed, 622 missing. 5,273 wounded, and
ten prisoners, making a total of
8,249 casualties.
The largest number of casualties
for any one theater, 235.735, have
been in the European area with
45,316 killed, 28.500 missing, 138,642
wounded, and 25.277 prisoners.
The next highest number, 124,032,
was in North Africa, with 25,876
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 3)
-V
1,400 Men Rescued
From Carriers Lost
To Japanese Fleet
WASHINGTON, Nov 30.— (.V) —
Fourteen hundred men were ref
cued from two escort carriers
sunk in the Battle of the Philip
pines, the Navy reported tonight.
The carriers sunk were the St.
Lo and the Gambier Bay.
“The losses on the St. Lo were
low—we picked up 800 men,” Rear
Admiral C. A. F. Sprague said in
a first person report on the en
gagement. Losses on the Gambier
Bay were low, too, considering
that she dropped back into the
middle of tjie Jap fleet. Approxi
mately 600 of her crew were sav
ed.” The complement of such ships
has never been disclosed.
Sprague’s report identified for
the first time the other four car
riers in his force. They were the
Kalinin Bay, the Fanshaw Bay, the
White Plains and the Kitkun Bay.
All were damaged.
3,000 BOMBERS
POUND GERMAN
OIL REFINERIES
U. S. Loses 56 Heavy
Planes And 30 Fighters
In Huge Raid
LONDON, Nov. 30.— (St —Ameri
can Fortresses and Liberators,
spear-heading an attack by nearly
3,000 Allied warplanes on oil re
fineries and rail yards in Germany,
drove into tremendous concentra
tions of antiaircraft fire today and
suffered their heaviest loss of any
recent operation.
Fifty - six U. S. heavy bombers
and 30 fighters failed to return
to their British bases from the raid,
an Eighth Air Force communique
announced, but the majority of the
fighters were believed to have land
ed in friendly territory.
The German air force refused to
come up in strength and only four
enemy interceptors were shot down.
The round-the-clock offensive ap
parently was continuing tonight,
with the German radio reporting
that the RAF bad raided the Duis
burg area.
The American phase of the day’s
big aerial assault, was divided into
two parts, with Fortresses striking
four synthetic oil plants in t h e
Leipzig area and Liberators hitting
(Continued on Page Ten; Col. 1)
-V
CANADIAN CRISIS
APPARENTLY OVER;
DISORDERS WANING
OTTAWA, Nov. 30.— UR —Cana
da grew calmer in her conscrip
tion crisis today as Prime Minis
ter W. L. McKenzie King rode out
the parliamentary storm and re
ports of disorders in Pacific coast
draftee soldier camps tapered off.
With the administration now al
most definitely assured by victory
in a vote of confidence to be taken
tomorrow or early next week, Par
liament’s resumption of debate on
the government’s confidence mo
tion was relatively perfunctiory.
The first French Canadian mem
ber of King’s Liberal party to
speak on the issue declared he
would vote against the govern
ment. From one-third to one-half
of King’s 60-odd anti-conscription
ist French-speaking supporters ate
expected to do this without endan
gering a comfortable government
majority.
The speaker, Philippe Picard of
Bellechasse, Quebec, declared
there was complete harmony in
Canada on the general purpose of
doing all necessary to win the war.
“Tory pressure” had created a
crisis over conscription, he declar
ed.
S. Red Cross Official
Forces Prisoner Barter
NEAR ST. NAZAIRE, Nov. 29.
—'Delayed)— (M —A strange jour
ney by jeep and torpedo boat dur
ing which an American Red Cross
official from Birmingham, Ala.
sat blindfolded for more than two
hours was the opening move in
exchange of 53 Allied prisoners of
war today.
Andrew Geron Hodges, senior
field director for the U. S. 94th
Infantrr Division, hoisted a Red
Cross flag above his jeep, and
drove into German lines west of
the little town of Chauve. He was
stopped by a German lieutenant
who blindfolded him, drove the
jeep himself to a point near the
coast. There a torpedo boat took
them to St. Nazaire. After a 10
minute walk through the streets,
they entered a house. The blind
fold was removed, and Hodges
found himself looking at four Ger
man officers.
The parley for prisoners began.
They handed Hodges what was
supposed to be a list of all Allied
prisoners in that sector. But Hod
ges. examining it, shook his head.
‘‘They’re not all here. Two
Americans and an Englishman are
missing,”
“Are you sure?”
‘‘Yes, I’m sure,” Hodges said.
* 1 know who they are, and they
aren’t on this list.”
‘One German said: “Well, you
won’t have to worry about the
Americans. They escaped last
night.”
‘‘If they did escape I will know
about it when I get back.”
The Germans agreed that was
right, and then Hodges asked
about the Englishman.
‘‘What do you care about just
one Englishman,” the Germans
asked. “You don’t even know his
name.”
“The hell I don’t. He’s Capt.
Michael R. O. Foot. His father’s
a brigadier.” ^
The German leaned forward:
•I’m afraid we can’t exchange
Captain Foot. He’s given us a lot
of trouble. He’s escaped four times
and been recaptured four times.
He knew too much.”
‘‘In that case,” Hodges replied,
“I can only say that the exchange
can’t come off. We want them all,
or none. My people wouldn’t con
sider leaving a single Allied pris
oner here.”
“You would sacrifice the free
dom of the other men for just one
English officer?”
“Yes, or for just one French pri
vate. It’s all or none.”
Finally the Germans said they
would exchange Captain Foot for
five German majors with iron
cjosses at the neck.
“Then you admit that one Brit
ish captain is the equal of five
German majors?” Hodges said.
When the* interpreter translated
this for the ranking German of
ficer, he banged his fist on the
table, and cried “Nein, nen.”
"But you said the exchange was
to be on an equal basis—rank for
rank.” Hodges said.
After further parley, the Ger
mans proposed three captains and
three lieutenants for Foot. Hodges
refused. In the end the Germans
agreed to swap Foot for one Ger
man major or captain with a plain
iron cross. The agreement then
was sealed on a glass of brandy.
Hodges was blindfolded and came
back.
Stx More Jap Vessels (
Sunk With 5,000 Lost
GENERAL MacARTHUR’S
HEADQUARTERS, PHILIP
PINES, Friday, Dec. 1.—m—
Five thousand more Japanese
soldiers were killed or drown
ed at sea—that makes 26,000
who tried but never got to
Leyte—as American planes
for the second straight day ac
counted for an Ormoc-bound
enemy convoy Thursday,
Although the convoy was
cautiously scattered over a
wide area, the Yank fighters
tracked down all of it, sink
ing a 9,000-ton transport and
three small freighters and en
gulfing a 5,000-ton freighter and
destroyer in flames.
In contrast with Wednes
day’s erasure of a 13-ship con
voy, two of which got rein
forcements to Ormoc. this one
didn’t even get close to that
port.
One freighter was bagged as
far west as jvimaoro oy a mgnt
patrol plane. Others, including
one heavily loaded transport,
were blasted off Masbate and ]
off Cebu.
The P47s and P40s went
down to masthead height an
they raised the enemy’s rein
forcement losses in attacks on
seven convoys to 29 transports,
aggregating 103,750 tons, and 18
escorting warships sunk. <
Richard Bergholz, Associat
ed Press war correspondent at
Leyte air force headquarters, 1
was told hy returning fliers <
that they hit Japanese head
quarters at Palompon, west
Leyte, on the way back.
In attacks on shipping in Car
men bay at Cebu, near misses
—which often are damaging—
were scored on a destroyer, a
destroyer escort and one of
two large transports.
NAZIS RECAPTURE
ITALIAN SECTORS
Yanks Lose Monte Caste!
laro But Hold Monte
Grande Nearby
ROME, Nov. 30.— W) —German
troops, lashing out in vicious
counterattacks against Amer
icans pressing on Bologna, have
recaptured two important heights
overlooking Nazi defense positions,
the Allied command disclosed to
day.
One blow behind strong artillery
and mortar fire drove doughboys
of the Fifth army from Monte Cas
tellaro. 9 1-2 miles southeast of
Bologna, but the Americans held
at nearby Monte Grande, a high
er peak.
The strongest German blow was
driven in farther west, 28 miles
southwest of Bologna, and forced
the Americans from recently-won
Monte Belvedere and the village
of Corona.
An Initial Nazi surge there with
about one infantry battalion was
smashed, but the enemy struck
again with two battalions support
ed by tanks, self-propelled guns,
mortars, and rocket launchers.
The U. S. troops fell back to other
(Continued on Page Ten; Col. 6)
ALL B-29’sliETURN
Tokyo Radio Again Splutters
Threats Against Fliers
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30.—(£)—
The third raid on Tokyo by Ameri
can B-29’s was carried out through
nigh; and clouds without losses due
to enemy action, the Army an
nounced today.
It brought from the Tokyo radio
renewed hysterica] threats that any
American flyer who parachuted aft
er “blindly” bombing the capital
would b" “killed on the spot by
the angry Japanese people.”
The 20th Air Force communique
on the pre - dawn attack reported
industrial targets in Tokyo were
bombed by use of precision instru
ments. Results were not observed
because of cloua cover and the
darkness. Anti - aircraft fire was
“meager and inaccurate”.
RUSSIANS SWEEP
UP 50 VILLAGES
Axis Strongholds Of Eger
and Szikszo Captured
In Drive
LONDON, Friday, Dec. 1.— {&—
Russian troops, expanding their
new trans * Danube front to more
than 100 miles, yesterday swept
nine miles northward along the
v'fcst bank of the great river to
within 8'miles of outflanked Buda
pest and captured 50 more locali
ties, Moscow announced last night.
In the mountains northeast of the
besieged Hungarian capital, other
Soviet forces blasted open two in
vasion routes leading into southern
Slovakia by capturing the Axis
strongholds of Eger and Szikszo,
Premier - Marshal Stalin announc
ed in a special order of the day.
These troops also cut the Mis
kolc - Kass (Kosice) trunk high
way and railway connecting the
crumbling Axis fronts in northeast
ern Hungary and Slovakia and fur
ther outflanked Miskolc by captur
ing Arnot, less than three miles
northeast of Hungary’s besieged
fifth city.
In Czechoslovakia, a third Soviet
army attacking on a 30 - mile front
captured 30 villages in four - mile
gains, including Domasa, 20 mile i
east of Presov; Moraviany, 23
miles east of Kassa, and Zemplin,
only seven miles northeast of tlie
big north Hungarian rail center of!
Satoraljaujhely
The German high command was:
reported to have drawn reinforce-:
ments from as far away as Italy
in a desperate effort to half Mar
shal Ftodor I. Tolbukhin’s Third
Ukraine Army. Tolbukhin’s spear
heads in southwestern Hungary
have pushed through Pecs, 25 miles
west of the Danube and 100 miles
southwest of Budapest, to reach a
point only about 100 miles from
the Austrian frontier.
One Berlin commentator, Col.
F.rnst von Hammer, said the Rus
sian forces which had poured across
the Danube numbered 20 infantry
divisions, two mechanized corps an
between five and six tank brigades.
The triple Russian aim was to
force a decision in Hungary, ni
vade Austria, and cut off the re
treat of more than 100,060 Ger
man troops in Yugoslavia.
I
Yank Swore He a zat
In Lindem-He Did
nnfmtnAnn n_ ««_ no i ■ _ 1. I_J n MAC+ a!
UVUUUi'ii-'WAVx , vjti man j , nuv. uu
—Oft—SS troops and big 40 - man
pillboxes were in the way but
young Lt. Col. Robert' E. Wallace
of Huntington, W. V., swore he
wo,uld have breakfast in Lindem.
At 6:30 a.m., jump - off time
yesterday, he told his commanding
general he was going to arrive in
Lindern, just a mile and a half
away, in time for breakfast.
One hour and 15 minutes later!
he was in the town with one com
pany of men. Breakfast was not
comfortable, however, as the Ger
mans held a large part of the town
which overlooks the Roer city of
Linnich. They were loath to give
it up. In addition they threw coun
terattacks behind him and other
companies could not break through
until late afternoon and last night.
But the result is that Lindern
now is held firmly by American
troops. The former SS occupants
are on the way to prisoner cages.
The SS troops in Lindem were
more lucky than those in Beeck,
W 1J1 V.11 HMW “ —- “ - - - ^
Tiger tanks. American troops en
tering that town found more dead
cn the streets than any town thus
far encountered on the front.
Most German soldiers were out
of their dug - in tanks and cellars
and on the streets when a sudden;
serenade of American shells fell
before dawn, with deadly effect.
Then white phosphorus shells
rained down on the houses. The
few Germans left in the: town after
that tried to get out on the road
to Wurm. only to be caught by an
other artillery barrage. Then they
were bombed and strafed by Thun
derbolts all the way to Wurm.
Last night and this morning the
Germans made repeated attempts
to regain high ground dominating
the Roer river in the Linnich area,
but most of the attacks were brok
en up by artillery fire, particular
ly from eight-inch guns which
smashed Tiger tanks.
The Germans retaliated heavily
with artillery. The shells, however,
did not halt the doughboy attack.
rsiji
Hlaii