The Waterbury Democrat. [volume], January 23, 1945, Image 1

About The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946

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Yanks In St. Vith> Last German Stronghold In Belgiu
The Weather
Slightly Colder Tonight
(Full Weather Report Fife 2)
TM Mawllmiry Die macht
(Published Every Evening at 55 Grand Street, Waterbury. Entered a» Second Cla«« Matter at Poet Office at Waterhnry, Conn. Under the Act of March 3, 1879).
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ESTABLISHED 1881 VOL. LXIII, NO. 19
WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 1945
FOURTEEN PAGES PRICE 4 CENT5
■' .— ■ —t—
RUSSIANS 138 MILES WEST OF BERLIN
Poles Enter Liberated Capital
....i
(NEA Radiophoto)
Thtufh their cathedrals are gutted by fire and bombs and their streets
strewn with debris, these Polish troops are in high spirits as they march
through Warsaw Square in their liberated capital.
Bank Pays $33,302
Dividends To City
Six Officers
Arrested For
Black Market
Paris, Jan. 23— <UP)—A special,
unprecedented order from Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower has caused
the rarest of six officers and ef
forts to bring charges - against
many more officers of the "Mil
lionaire” 716th railway battalion
from which 182 enlisted men were
ordered to trial on black market
charges, headquarters revealed to
day.
It was disclosed also that Col.
Walter J- Marlin of Los Angeles,
commander of the battalion, had
been relieved of command although
he will not be brought to trial. He
now Is serving in Belgium.
Announcement of the new arrests
followed enunciations by defendant
enlisted men who charged officers
treated them as "stepchildren”
failing to issue them ordinary food
rations, condoning and encouraging
thefts and on accasion even par
ticipating.”
Asserting that "Eisenhower wants
us to make sure they pay for any
negligence of duty," Prosecutor Lt.
Col. Carmon C. Harris of Oklahoma
City, Okla., announced that six of
ficers would be tried beginning Sat
urday.
One, a first lieutenant, will be
tried on charges of stealing rations
and illicit money transactions and
Ihe others whose names and ranks
(Continued on Page 4)
Work Or Else
Bill Delayed
BY DEAN W. UITTMER
Washington, Jan. 23— <UP>—Con
flicts over restraints o" organized
labor contained in the May bill
threatened today I stiffen opposi
tion to House passage of pending
"work or be drafted” legislation
The House Military Affairs Com
mittee has completed action on the
biil, although it deferred u formal
vole until tomorrow no it could draft
A new bill and eliminate the need
ro. offering u lengthy series of com
mittee amendments on the House
Hour, The delay probably will pre
vent the bill from reaching the floor
until next week
The measure now provides tiiul
men in the 18-48 year age brackets.
Including 4-F's, ‘lek to their present
wtr Jobs or get into essential work
h.s needed will the |>eiiuity of Ntlfi
fines and prison terms or, in the
euse of physically qualified regis
trants, army Induction, if they re
fine. H would authorize payment ol
travel and subrlstenco expenses of
workers forced to transfer from
home areas
The principal change made by the
eommlltrc yesterday would exempt
workers assigned to or volunteering
for certified war Jobs from union
membership regardless of closed shop
(Continued on Page 4)
seventeen uiviuenu coccus ujuu
ing $33,302.94 have been received by
City Treasurer Serge A. Belanger
from the Merchants Trust Co., to
bring to date a total of $65,083 still
owed the city by the defunct com
pany.
To date the receivers of the bank
paid to the city a total of $242,717
on the original balance due the
city in amount of $307,760.
Thus far the company has paid
the city 80 per cent on commercial
accounts and 95 per cent on savings
accounts. Ten per cent of the
city’s investment payable as received
to date amounts to $33,245. The
payments received are the first
made during the past year.
Dividend checks received by
means of the latest payment and
now in the hands ol City Control
ler Neil P. Maloney apply to the fol
lowing accounts and In the fol
lowing amounts: Reserve account,
$20,000; general account, $8,700;
payroll, $2,000; payroll, $800; park
bond sinking funu, $508; general.
$433; surplus resource sinking lund,
1st and 2nd district respectively.
$161 and $233; a.signe account of
M. J. Ryan, $127; assigne account
of State Paint and Wall Paper Co.,
$6,952; and lesser accounts such
as city bonds, park bond interest
1928; corporation counsel; M. J.
Ryan (trustee) savings account;
street improvement uond Interest,
1931, etc.
The Merchants Trust Co., sus
pended business December 23. 1931
at which time its president, Henry
Weyand declared the depositors
"would not lose a cent" while a
statement was issued by the officers
of the concern at that time stating
the bank was in "good shape" and
would pay "dollar for dollar”.
Commercial depositors have been
paid 70 per cent and savings deposi
tors 85 per cent since that time.
At present filing of bids by pros
pectlve purchasers for the remain
ing assets of the company will be
accepted up to April 28. tihs year.
In turn assets of the company must
be field with the clerk of superior
court by March 1st.
ENEMY FLEES
BULGE AFTER
AERIAL BLITZ
BY BOYD D. LEWIS
Paris, January 23. — (UP)
— American armored forced
today cracked into St. Vith,
last German stronghold in
Belgium, on the heels of Nazi
columns fleeing the Arden
nes bulge under a rain of ex
plosives that knocked out
4,100 vehicles in the greatest
one-day aerial blitz of the
war yesterday.
The Seventh Armored Di
vision’s two-and-a-half-mile
advance into the northeast
ern perimeter of St. Vith
threatened momentarily to
collapse the northern half of
the shrunken bulge.
A front dispatch said the Germans
had pulled out of St. Vith except lor
a'skeleton rear guard force which
temporally had held up the Amer
ican advance at a road block in the
outskirts. Hunnage, one mile north
of St. Vith, was captured last night.
The Seventh Armored Division—
the same division which was ordered
to withdraw after a heartbreaking
stand at St. Vith early In the Ger
man offensive last month—took over
the attack to reclaim the stronghold
last Saturday, a belated announce
ment revealed.
The fall of St. Vith would knock
out the last practical escape high
way from Ardennes north of the
Luxembourg border and also cut the
main north-south road running the
length of the narrow Nazi salient.
Pounded Mercilessly
Marshal Karl von Rundstedt's
decimated Legions fleeing east
across the German border for the
comparative safety of the Siegfried
line fated another day of merciless
pounding from thousands of Ameri
can planes and massed artillery.
Snow was falling on positions of
the battlefield at dawn, but the
weather generally was no worse
than it was yesterday, when tactical
air forces flew more than 3,000 Sor
ties for a day of unparalelled des
truction.
Revised figures from yesterday’s
attacks showed that 4,134 enemy
vehicles were destroyed or damaged,
most of them In two columns of
1,500 vehicles each jammed bumper
to bumper on highways leading to
the Siegfried line.
While the German disaster
mounted, the American First and
Third armies further narrowed the
(Continued on Page 41
Nagoya War
Plants Hit
By FRANK TREMAINE
Pearl Harbor, Jail. 23 -(UP)—The
Tokyo radio said about 70 Super
fortresses from the Marianas raided
the Japanese homeland aircraft
center of Nagoya for two hours to
day.
The War Department, announcing
the raid, said the B-29's ‘'again
struck at the center of industrial
Japan.” A communique gave no de
tails of the attack by the Superfort
resses operating under a new com
mander, MaJ. Gen. Curtis Lemay.
The Japanese claimed "fierce in
terception” interfered with the for
mations of big bombers and that
they were able to do only "slight"
damage. They said nothing, how
ever, of any American planes shot
down or damaged.
Destruction of 140 Japanese air
craft and damaging of 100 more by
planes of the Third Fleet in de
structive attacks Sunday (Tokyo
time) on Formosa and the adjacent
Sukishlnm and Pescadore islands
were disclosed in a Pacific Fleet
communique.
Tokyo said the carrier-based as
sault on the Formosa area had gone
into a second day Monday, with a
totul force of 1,000 planes attacking
Japanese instalatlons in the two-dny
period. Eighty-live of the raiders
were shot down and 6a damaged.
Tokyo said
The Japanese radio also said
American Lightning lighter plulies
(Continued on Page 4)
Legislators Aim To Avoid
Costly Special Election
Hartford, Con,, Jan. 23 — <U.P.)
—Legislative leaders were expected
to give serious attention this week
to selection of a succaaor to the late
Democratic U. H. .Senator Francis
T. Maloney and avoiding, If possible
a costly special election which
would require at least four months
of preparation.
Leaders of Ute Democrullc-con
trolled senate and Republican dom
inated house will confer with Uov
ernor Buldwln to consider the pos
sibility of General Ascsembly action
empowering the chief executive to
appoint u successor. It has been
made clear that should such a
course be followed, the appointee
would have to be on acceptable to
both political factions with the
understanding that he not be a
candidate for that office In the IMS
general elections. Both sides liave
mentioned about a dosen prospec
tive candidates.
Meanwhile the Important judi
ciary commute scheduled Its first
hearhiK for this afternoon, on n bill
to renew for another two years the
governor's emergency war powers
bill. authorlolng him to suspend any
state law he believes hampering the
war effort. On Wednesday or Thurs
day the committee will hold a public
hearing on executive re-nomlnatlons
to the higher courts. The governor
has asked for the re-appointment of
13 Judges.
The appropriations committee an
nounced a full schedule of meetings
this week, principally concerning
the stale's blennlul budget.
A pickup In the filing of bills was
anicipaled this week ns the Feb
ruary 3 deadline drew near. 80 fur,
only 300 bills have been Introduced,
or about one-fifth of the total of
other years at this date. Tills has
been atrlbuted to a prohibition on
filing of skeleton measures.
Reds On Way To Berlin
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(NEA Telephoto)
Soviet troops storming westward through Poland yesterday captured
Gniczno, 165 miles from Berlin. Since then they have advanced 15
more miles. In East Prussia the Russians also took the important cities
of Insterburg and Allenstein, rutting the Nazis’ main railway line to
Germany and threatening 200,000 of their troops isolated in the north.
Y Bowling Alleys
Fire Loss $1,000
Rough Going
For Wallace
Certain Bet
BY LYLE C. WILSON
Washington. Jan. 23 — (UP) —
Chairman Josiah W. Bailey, D , N.
C.. today will present to the Sen
ate Commerce Committee Henry A.
Wallace's nomination to be Secre
tary of Commerce along with a bill
which would strip him of that job's
most potent powers on grounds
that he Is unfit to exercise them.
Wallace's nomination reached the
Senate yesterday Just a lap ahead
of the nomination of Aubrey Wil
liams, director of the condemned
and abandoned national youth ad
ministration, to succeed Harry Slat
tery as director of the rural elec
trification administration.
There Is likely to eb a real fight
against Williams too. He was a
left wing member of the adminis
tration during his governmental
career and recently has been con
nected with the farmers union. The
division on Williams will be similar
to that on Wallace—conservative
Democrat against New Dealer. Re
publicans hope to cast balance on
power votes.
Capitol Hill also heard today that
President Roosevelt Is thinking of
nominating Judge Samuel . Rosen
man of New York for some job
away from the White Hou.se, where
he now is a special assistant. Sen
ators have been asked how they
would like him as solicitor general
or Secretary of Labor. Rosenman
left tlie country yesterday to visit
European areas as a special rep
resentative of the president.
The odds always favor confirma
tion of a nominee to a president’s
cabinet. But some of the most
cautions conservative southern sen
ators were predicting privately to
day that Wallace would be rejected
unless tlie administration agreed
to separate vast federal lending
(Continued on Page 4)
Suit Settlement
Satifies Woman
Hollywood, Jan. 23. -(UP)— Mrs.
Shannon Carter, pretty "spirit
mate" of the lute Eugene Mac
Donald, said today she was satisfied
with an out-ol-court settlement of
hci suit to collect *40,000 worth of
Insurance she claimed was due her
for MacDonald’s death.
The settlement followed a con
ference between Mrs. Carter and
her husbund, diaries A. Carter, and
the Connecticut Mutual Life Insur
ance company. Terms were not re
veuled.
Thu insurance company hud
contended it was not liable to pay
the Carters the two *10,000 double
Indemnity policies, because, the
company claimed. Mrs. Carter per
suaded MacDonald to commit
suicide through her power as u
spiritualist medium.
A coroner's Jury had ruled tils
death during a hunting trip was ac
cidental.
NAME REVERSED
Cambridge, Mass., Jan. 23—<UPt
Inman Square here, named for
den. Ralph Inman of reolutlonary
war days, became known today as
Ensign bald Ignatlas Calnun square
ir. honor of a World War II hero.
In reerslng the square's name, the
city council accused Oen. Inman of
being a Tory,
Residents of the Central Y. M. u.
A. dormitory on West Main street
slept peacefully on early this morn
ing while seven pieces of fire ap
paratus pulled up outside to extin
guish a blaze in the basement bowl
ing alleys.
Tlte Are was discovered by Patrol
man Arthur Clilcione and Sergeant
Patrick Hughes who observed the
glow in the Y basement from their
post in Exchange Place.
Quick action by firemen under di
rection of Chief Thomas Cavanaugh
and Deputy Stephen Bloomfield
confined the fire to the rear of a
single alley. Several duck pins and
bowling balls were destroyed by the
blaze which caused damage esti
mated at $1,000 by Fire Marshal
Lahey and Captain Eugene Legge.
The lire marshal and his aide said
the fire started from a cigaret butt
dropped in the cushioned rear of the
backstop before closing time, and
smouldered until discovered at 2:30
a. m.
Yesterday firemen extinguished a
blaze in an automobile in front of
12 Meriden road, and a fire caused
by an overheated electric iron in the
home of Mrs. John Mcrtz, 54 Rail
road Hill street.
Germans Raid
River Valley
Rome, Jan. 23 — lU.P.) — The
Germans launched a .strong raid on
the Serchio River Valley today, but
they were llnally repulsed a half
mile southwest of Ualllcano after a
lively fight.
Elements of the American Fifth
Army made a small advance three
and one half miles east of Vergato,
where they occupied a ridge a half
mile north of Colle Termine.
According to a delayed dispatch
the Germans on Sunday made six
separate air attacks — each by a
single plane only - over various
parts of the Fifth Army front. Some
casualties were caused at Castlg
lione.
On tlie American Eighth Army
front strong German patrols crossed
the Senlo river and forced the
Bligiith to withdraw front its outpost
positions but were finally driven off
by mortar and artillery fire.
A communique said that yesterday
strong forces of the Allied tactical
air force attacked enemy communi
cations and storage dumps over
northern Italy.
Elsewhere on the Eighth Army
front there was considerable patrol
activity.
10 Feed Mills
Face Shutdown
Buffalo, N. Y„ Jan. 23-<UPi—
Ten feed mills here which furnish
supplies for livestock to dealers
throughout the northeastern states
faced shutdown today unless an em_
burgo on Inbound railroad grain
shipments is lifted, according to
Raymond El. Endless, chairman of
the Lower Lakes’ Grain committee.
Endless, who described the situa
tion as "extremely serious,'' said the
shutdown of the feed mills would be
forced within 4H hours unless the
embargo on grain shipments from
the west is lifted and the supplies
rushed through.
The embargo was placed on grain,
coal and other shipments to aid
railruuds in clearing lines from con
gestion caused by recent snow
storms.
He said dairy feeders and small
retail merchants throughout the
northeast are down "almost to the
last bushel of feed for livestock and
poultry."
200,000 Nazi Troops
Face Trap Within 44
Miles Of Baltic Sea
Yanks Move
Within View
Of BamBan
By WILLIAM B. DICKINSON
General MacArthur's headquar
ters, Luzon, Jan. 23.— (UP>—Van
guards of the American 14th Corps
drove to within sight of Bamban
and the first of the Clark Field air
strips only 53 miles north of Ma
nila today.
Capas, four miles northeast of
Bamban and 56 miles north of Ma
nila, cfll yesterday in the swift
American advance down the main
highway to the Philippines capital
and it appeared likely that Bam
ban also would be captured by
dusk today.
Resistnace continued negligible.
Though earlier reports Indicated
the Japanese might, make a stand
at Bamban, headquarters now an
ticipated r.o more than a delaying
action. Optimism rose that nil 11 of
Clark Field's valuable airstrips soon
may be in American hands.
The Americans also further
strengthened their e eastern and
western flanks against the possibil
ity of a Japanese counter-attack as
the Invasion of Luzon went into its
Third week.
One column thrusting down the.
west coast of. Luzon beyond the
Zambalos mountains reached Infan
ta, 74 miles north of Bataan penin
sula, after clearing the enltre Dasol
Bay area.
The eastern wing captured Cuy
apo, sent patrols onto nearby Mt.
Balungao and beat off a Japanese
Bnazai charge near Damortis at the
northeastern tip of the invasion
area.
General Douglas MacArthur dis
closed that five divisions and a spe
cial regimental combat team—a to
tal of 75,000 to 100,000 troops—were
fighting on Luzon, divided into two
corps.
Spearheading the advance on
Manila, Major General Oscar W.
Griswold’s 14th Corps captured both
Capas, 11 miles south of Tarlac, and
Santa Monica, eight and a half
miles east of Capas, yesterday.
A dozen smaller villages were
overrun in the advance and a front
.flispatch said patrols were probing
the Bamban river valley within
sight of both Bamban and Bamban
(Continued on Page 4)
Hulten, Girl
Found Guilty
London, Jan. 23. <UP)—A jury In
Old Bailey today found Pvt. Karl
Gustav Hulten of Boston and Eliza
beth Farina Jones, 18-year-old strip
tease dancer, guilty of the murder of
George Heath, London taxi driver.
The court sentenced both to death
by hanging although the jury had
recommended mercy in the case of
the girl.
The Juty/ returned its verdict after
an hour and 15 minutes deliberation.
The trial liad occupied six days.
PICQ UP 3rd PGH Early ‘ he Jury"
The jury received the case after
a two-hour charge by Justice Sir
Charles Bruce in Old Bailey. lie
told the jurors that Hulten and Miss
Jones could be found guilty of mur
der or of manslaughter or acquitted.
Defense Counsel John Maude
asked the jury to bring in a verdict,
of manslaughter against Hulten, who
testified that the shooting of the
cabman, George Edward Heath, was
accidental.
Maude argued that Hulten's testi
many showed the shooting was ac
cidental, and that the paratrooper
did not know the gur. witli which
lu* was robbing the cabman war,
loaded.
MLs.s Jones' counsel finished hi
arguments yesterday. Each defend
ant accused lhe other of inciting the
crime.
Killed in France
ARMANI) VOGIIFX
Pfc. Armand Voghel, 26. son of
Mr. and Mrs. Hormidas A. Vog
hel, 136 Auburn avenue, has been
killed in action according to a
War Department telegram re
ceived this morning by his par
ents.
One of six sons who have served
with the armed forces, Pfc. Vog
hel, a member of a tank-des
stro.ver outfit, was first reported
missing In action August 11 some
where in France. He was a for
employe of the Scovill Mfg. Go.
Other brothers serving with the
armed forces include: Raymond,
Ifilaire, Leo .and Albert and a
son Roger who received an honor
able discharge from the service
last year.
Their father is a well known
and prominent realtor. Besides
the brothers mentioned here
three others are at home together
with one daughter.
Cent A Gallon
More Gas Tax
Hartford, Conn., Jan. 23—iUP»—
An administration bill, creating a
$1,OOO.OJO fund to assist municipali
ties with their postwar projects
planning, was submitted today to
the general assembly.
The bill authorized grants up to
tw> per cent of the total cost of pro
jects for planning purposes, with an
eoua'. amount to be contributed by
the municipalities.
Tlie fund would be controlled by a
committee on allocations, composed
of the comptroller, commissioner of
finance and control and the tax
commissioner
For the purpose of making pre
liminary s u r v e ys. municipalities
would be allowed up to one half of
one per cent of the estimated cost
of construction and later, if the
plans were approved, the full two
per cent.
The allocations committee would
be authorized to accept grants from
federal agencies for planning pur
poses, and to allocate any such
grants among the state’s communi
ties.
The bill contains recently made
suggestions of the postwar planning
commission which noted in a pre
liminary survey that $13f>,000,000
worth of postwar construction now
was being given definite considera
tion or was in the blueprint stage
in the state.
Hep. Eugene Latimer, R, Coventry,
introduced a number of highway
bills, one calling for an increase of
a cent a gallon in the state gaso
line tu?. The tax is now three cents
per gallon.
AnotiU”' of his bills would re
move the five per cent contribution
Irom motor vehicle receipts to de
fray Wilbur I,. Cross Parkway con
struction cos's. Latimer estimated
.Continued on Fage 4)
iMore Navy Yard Inquiries
: On ManpowerWaste Ahead
Washington, -• Vi'1 asm,.
j hers of the Senate Vv'.m fines Uga -
l iny Committee planned today -o
swoop down unannounce:! ,,n achcij
war production centers inciiul ■ k ad :
ditional navy yards, as a iollG'V-upj
io their disclosures ol wa.Val niai'-|
power and material at the Noriolk
Navy Yard.
A committee spokesman said the
investigators purposely would avoid
advance notices ol their itinerary
to prevent nny pressing up' for
their benefit.
The spokesman also promised IliaL
witnesses mainly plant employes
willing to tell the committee ol man
power and material abuses would
be “protected" against retaliation.
The assurance came utter Chair
man David I. Wulsh, D., Mass, of
Die Senate Naval Affairs Commit
tee demanded yesterday that the
committee disclose nnmes of persons
v,
(•sponsible for the abuses found at
he Norfolk Yard.
Committee Chairman James M
W« id. D„ N. Y., and Sen. Homer
“Vrs'ison, K . Mich., a member, re
lor.hig on 'he Norfolk visit, said
hat critical materials were de
frayed and that employes made
nlaid chess boards and oyster bars
in yard time.
The Navy promui'y replied with
t statement that the Noriolk Yar< s
n.iduetion record “speaks lor It
>cll." The Yard, the Navy said,
(instructed a larg" aircraft carrier
hid repaired 2,458 shpis hi 1044
done Of tire repaired ship. , v.
idded, 930 had to be drydoekrd.
“Obviously someone lias been do
ng a Job," the Navy said, "and
)ii an overall basis the Navy ir
jroud of the aecompllrhmtnts ot
the officers, supervisors and work
men employed in Its production fa
■llltles."
/
BULLETIN
London. .Jan. .23.— (UP)—Mar
shal Stalin announced in his first
order of the day today that the
fted army had captured Bydg0s7.cz.
BY ROBERT MUSEL
London, January 23. —
(UP) — Marshal Gregory K.
Zhukov’s speedy mobile
forces today stormed the
bristling hedgehog defenses
on the approaches to Poznan,
last big Polish town between
them and Berlin, 138 miles
due west by way of one of
Adolf Hitler’s inviting super
highways.
The Berlin radio said ‘it is
possible that single Soviet
tanks temporarily reached
Oder,” and a Swiss broadcast
reported that the Russians
had reached that river be
tween Breslau and Oppeln in
Silesia.
Moscow dispatches reported the
Soviet charge into the Poznan de
fenses and the German nigh com
mand acknowledged that the Rus
sian tidal wave had washed un
checked to the area of the great
transport hub at the center of Po
land's westernmost bulge.
The Moscow radio said Zhukov's
right wing had broken into the out
skirts of Bydgosczo, the main com
munications center of northw 1st
Poland and gateway to the old
Polish corridor to the Baltic.
"Tlie German defense line in the
east no longer exists," the Moscow
Radio said. "Tile Red Anr.y soon
will have crossed the German east'
ern frontier along its entire length,"
Marshal Stalin's five-army sweep
continued unchecked, all reports in-*
dicated, with signs that its main
weight now was being focused on
the German border area before Ber
lin.
Soviet dispatches quoted uncon
firmed reports that the Russians
had smashed to the upper Oder'
river in German Silesia, the lower
course of which winds within 35
miles of Berlin. Tile lightning pace *
of tlie Red Army advance indicated
that the mauled and routed Ger
mans could not undertake a stand
short of the Oder.
Two Red armies were battering
through East Prussia, defended by
an estimated 200,000 German troops
thretaened with entrapment by a
drive cutting tlie next to last exit
railroad and carrying within 44
miles of the Baltic
Oel» Threatened
On the opposite wing of the un
precedented Russian offensive, the
I German high command acknowl
edged Uiat powerful Soviet units
were attacking In the nrea between
Namslau and Oels, respectively 29
mils east and 17 northeast of Bres
tContinucd on Page 4)
13,000 Towns
Fall To Reds
(By United Press)
Tiie Red Army's winter offensive
in 11 days up to today lias advanced
a maximum of 170 miles on a front
extending 450 miles from the Baltic
j seacoast into the Carpathians, tak
ing more than 25,000 square miles of
territory and about 13,000 enemy*
| held towns and villages in east Prus
sia, Poland, German Silesia an4
Slovakia.
Five Russian armies, numbering
an estimated 3,500,000 men, are
piled against perhaps 1,500.000 Ger
mans, and official Soviet report*
indicate that well over ten per cent
of the Nazi defensive forces have
been killed, wounded or captured.
Of the captured territory, about
2.200 square miles were carved out
of East Prussia and slightly less
than that out of German Silesia,
the biggest industrial area in Ger
many outside the Ruhr valley.
Marshal Ivan S. Konev’s First
Ukrainian army, which launched
tiie offensive from the SandomleR
bridgehead on the west bank of the
Vistula river on Jan. 12, alone Mi
reported killing 64,000 Germans and
capturing 21,000.