The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, June 10, 1944, Page 1

I'HE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. XLII, NO. 9675. JUNEAU, ALASKA, SATURI) AY, IU\I; 10, 1944 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PR[CE TEN CENTS AMERICANS SEIZE NEW AREAS IN FRANCE Four Jap Destroyers Sunk Exiled Armies Strain for Refurn Malch wnh Hitler TASK FORCE SMASHED BY TEN PLANES Attempt fo Reinforce Biak | Garrisons Blocked by U. §. Mitchells By ROBERT T. EUNSON ADVANCED ALLIED HEAD- QUARTERS IN NEW GUINEA June 10.—Gen. Douglas MacA thur’s Mitchell bombers sank four | Japanese destroyers off Manok- wari, Dutch New Guinea, announced | headquarters, which reported that| a fifth destroyer was damaged, and a cruiser gnd a sixth destroyer| fled. Ten Mitchells are credited, with blocking an enemy attempt to re- inforce its Biak garrison on Thurs- day, and it was the first daring venture by the enemy task force into New Guinea waters for many months. The amount of damage inflicted is perhaps the greatest ever ac- complished by such a small bomb- ing formation in the hi (Continued on Pag “The Washington3 Merry - Go- Bound By DREW PEARSON Col.” Robert S. Allen now on active | @wt. service with the Army.) WASHINGTON — Now that the’ greatest invasion in the history nfl modern warfare has started, some of the inside story regarding this, the most controversial question that has confronted the Allies, can be reviewed It is no secret that the second front has been the sorest subject of debate between the British and Russians and, at times, even be-! tween U. S. and British military | leaders, since the war began. | At one time, when the Russians | were hard-pressed and fighting for| their lives at Stalingrad and in the wiater of 1942-1943, it was; feared by some U. S. military ob- servers that' Stalin might even] withdraw from the war because of bitterness over the fact that the second front was not started. The controversial question first arose in the early summer of 1942, a few months after Pearl Harbor,| when Foreign Minister Molotoff | came to London, then to Washing-| ton, for impcrtant political-military | conferences. Although Poland and| the Baltic States were on ‘his list of subjects to be discussed, at the very top of the list was the second front. At that time, the American| Army was relatively small and not | too well prepared. Molotoff’s thcqu was that we should persuade our; British allies, with a million-man| army in England, to hit Germany“ from the west. President Roose-| velt had to say that we could not high-pressure aa ally. However, General Marshall dldJ work out a plan for a landing | across the Channel in the fall of 1942. His plan was based on the fact that the Nazis had thrown the cream of their entire army into Russia and had their lines extended as far as Stalingrad, leav- ing France and- Western Europe relatively undefended. i Marshall proposed this instead of| the North Africa landing of No-| vember, 1942. However, Churchill was not willing to take the chance| and held out for his pilan to strike through the “soft underbelly of| the Axis,” namely North Africa and the Mediterranean. COMPROMISE AT CASABLANCA | The Russians were disappointed; but even more so after Casablanca. There U. S. military and naval leaders were definitely ready toj discuss the second. front. But Churchill laid down the thesis that in any cross-Channel operation, (Continued on Page Four) |the change By JUDSON O’QUINN LONDON, June 10,4 Armies | exile—Poles, Norwegians, Dutc Belgians, Czechs—awaited the houll |to strike at the Nazi conqueror of | their homelands. | Highly-skilled mountain fighters | from Norway, and commandos and | parachutists from Belgium and the | Netherlands were ready. The Dutch, Belg Norwegian | and Czechoslovak units are small. in J [ - (But what, they lack in size they A dense cloud of smoke and flame shoots up from a Japanese barge ught by Allied planes Pelikas Timor. The flame and smoke in The planes didn’t miss this target camouflage. Different (AP Wire plm(o from U. S. Navy). an Bay, Semaor, west of Keopang, dicate the cargo probably was oil in spite of the use of vegetation for ,(hlcago Gomg loBe onvention City; Many Tips Given By JACK STINNETT CHICAGO, June 10—Delegates to the Republican National Con- vention here June 26 (and the | Democrs convention which fol- lows in July) are going to find Chicago a different host city than previous convention years, but will be so slight that no one who has slept in a foxhole in Italy or fought in of New Guinea would notice it. The Office of Defense Trans- potration and the railroads both assure me that delegates, alternates 1nd convention officials” won't {have any trouble getting transpor- tation. Persons who have roads, especially in the south, Imiddlewest and west, may look on that assurance with some doubt. What is meant is that they will get tickets, some kind of sleeping accommodations and an occasional in ridden rail- the meal. arrived, the the \ Once order of the jungles| |day is pa‘xence about getting taxis. I have heard estimates of a 10 to |50 percent cut in taxis here. {can only report that they are scarce in spite of group-riding. The ldrivers are cagey too. They stay out of zones where they are likely to pick up fares to back. Chicago has alw the great hotel cities try and even when the conventions were in town, was no real dearth of beds. Hotel officials assure me that such will | continue to be the case and that| no one will have to sleep in the streets. However, don't get the idea that either hotel accommodations or ser- | vice will be up to pre-war stand- ards. Persons who had double; rooms and suites in former years will have to take in roommates |this season. The manpower short- \Con!lnl_led ~0;1 Page Two) spots from | which they will have to deadhead | been one of | in the coun-t Iargest | t to make up’in-special fasks! ide their big allies. clish forces were reorganized after the German victory, and | now more than 100,000 troops are !in Britain and Italy—about a third OI them jn Britain, Strong Polish tank, artlllery, {parachute and infantry units werc (built up on this island, and Polis] h fliers with the Royal Air Force {have been hitting the Hun since before the Battle of Britain The Polish air force in the RAF 12,000 men—have shot srman planes and drop- 51 pounds of bombs |—more than |down 610 G |ped 14,592 |since 1940. Vessels of the Belgium, the {Netherlands and Norway merchant marine have been massed. The 1204 ships of the Norwegian mer- chant marine, once fourth largest ‘in the world, proved indispensable {while Britain and America rushed | shipbuilding and battled U-boats. | The Dutch brought 2,800,000 tons lof shipping and the Belgian 350,000, | Irene Brigade [the principa! Duteh formation. |Dutchmen {ly with the RAF and |some are fighting in the far Pacific. | There are Belgian squadrons in {the RAF, as well as small ground | forces. Inland Czechoslovakia had tough time getting men out of the country, but some left after Mu- nich. Others now fight with the {Red Army. One unit of Czech forces operates with the British here and Czechs fly with the RAY. All nationals from other coun- tries join the Czech forces volun- tarily, because they received no 'cnll <up. AIR FORC FORCE SOON READY FOR ACTION Advanced H;l dquarters The Princess is ROYALNAVY DRIVES OFF NAZI UNITS First Aflempt fo Enter In- vasion Area Beaten off by Allies July 10.—Light coastal ships of the Royal Navy sank four heavily arm- ed German trawlers off the Dutch |coast at the cost of one motor torpedo boat. In another series of Inaval clashes, three were sunk by torpedo hits southwest of Ijmuiden |1t was the first attempts of the |German naval craft to enter the |invasion coast. | It was disclosed in an earlier | | { | | CABINET OF ITALY TAKES UPNEW JOB ustomary Oath fo Crown Eliminated in Assump- tion of High Office i | | C SUPREM E HEADQUAHTLR)'» | there | ROME, June 10, The TItalian Cabinet under Premier Tvanoe Bon- Established in France- across the Balkans at tree top level | | today, then bombed and strafed the | Aid for Ground Units | SUPREME ALLIED HEAD- !QUARTERS ALLIED EXPEDIT- IONARY FORCES, June 10.—The American Ninth Air Force, whose !job is to provide the ground force {with close tactical support, have established advanced headquarleh in Franee and announced it willl be ready for air base operations within the next 10 to 12 hours. | communique describing the three surface actions that one was & point blank engagement between eight Allied and four Nazi destroy- Ir orne era'lons on ers. The Allied—British, Canadian, |and Polish—destroyers intercepted |them off the tip of Brittany be- D D |fore dawn yesterday. ay os uc(ess u In { The Allies blew up one, chased /another aground in flames, and !scored hits on the other two, which History;Losses Are Small - ¥i atj " — BIGCAPTURE -mmimrmmmea WRE Al {(THE AMERICAN EXPEDITION| | FORCES, June 10.—American para-| |chute troops dropping on SLF’ lenm» Eglise, a sector in France hr low Cherbourg, carried out Lhe\ mui successful airborne upm'uuunsz IN DISORDER |in war history, it is disclosed. ’ ‘ Only about two percent of ‘more| than a thousand Royal Air Force! AR nd United States planes in air-| v ne operations on D-pay were, Clark’s Forces Unable tfo /lost. New secret devices cnable . SeafleMan, TwoParachule s s Cach Up Even with Troopers Are Heroes e Great Speed 2 . ., One highlight of the upor.\qu s in Invasion loccurred two hours after the land-| ROME, June 10.—The Cerman |ing when some American parachute Fourteenth Army fled northward St fedhe e ,/troops, transporting themselves,in increasing disorder and the Al- l'ARI‘;‘H«?}{N;XSQ“ffi;’;:-mll‘('y “li(liflilr“ aptured Germans and equipmen 1 ed Command for the first umr' pliSls TRepuEn e '(n o g Wi e |One glider landed on top of a declared officially that ‘“catastro- % i house on the Valognes-Carentan phe” has befallen Marshal Kessel- | ported that Lieut. Robert Campbell,| oo 4™ o1 1o troopers clambered ring’s for Z"rw':(l:t::pma:“x‘l l'l",‘?”'_”:;':::)' ]‘;\':.‘; down to capture sleeping Germans| Slashing steadily after the re- hand. @refiades.and machine guns| i Peds. Hisiing fos, the “JUE WY Fhis ki ('n]‘myn'(-d 'L -N;m Clontiaand ;"M ‘The drops were made on a far capturm the town Jf Tuscania, 13 Bl LA e hait south of larger scale than was contemplated.'miles northeast of Tarquinia. Dc-‘ More MWoilhe. which 15 now. in A Many times the numbers used by spite the great speed of General erian Rk na h"’"“l”l”” offic the Nazis at Crete were employed. Mark Clark’s pursuing troops, who are. pleiip l‘uwnur dotail i * Both Americans and British used averaged roughly 15 miles daily e e gliders in daylight on D-Day with since the fall of Rome, an official | The'* glider _pilots “ of ke small losses, although fhe Germans spokesman declared they “are un- e~ L linat m“_“”" had given up using gliders at Crete able to catch up with any import- P S ‘v of i m_”“"v”‘ because of the severe losses sus- ant elements of Gen. von Macken- in Dits Technically !;"‘v tained. en’s Fourteenth Army, which 15 were slipposed to return m.m"(l“l”v The Americans alene used 15 withdrawing completely disorgan- 1o the e for o ot ang | dirdromes on the day of the invas- ized.” suppl§ Coatrving Wm“”“' ‘hm ion. Pathfinders used by the air! The Eighth Army also picked up R c:m;vm.m;m thie. At (;k b forces aided the landings of some speed in its northward advance| pattle 'u;(! it ‘_h i “ parachute troops on the ;,mund along Lhc Adriatic. s . ought alongside the fiye pours before the H-hour. .- ProoRSEIEY st Ianded, Americans spent two years plan- ‘mng these operations. ploESII IS 1 PR e s R R ROBT TAFT Last Major Refmery Left, Operating in Ru- (By Associated Press) supporters o1 Gor. Thomas . Mania Attacked Dewey are reported to have thrown —— their weight behind. Senator Rob-| FIFTEENTH AIR FORCE HEAD- lert Taft, for chairmanship of the QUARTERS IN ITALY, June 10.— |important platform committee of | Swarms of American P-38s streaked the Republican National Convention which is two weeks hence. omi assumed office without taking | Taft heads the Ohio delegation | Rumanian oil refinery at Ploesu,{ the customary oath to the crown as | Which pledged its support in the the last major refinery left operat- | rvpresented‘ by Crown Prince Um- | Bricker action, regarded generally ing in Rumania. The target was | berto. 'as a pre-convention harmony move 'left enveloped in black smoke, in-| Instead the 17 ministers pledged dndilhow who e;(pe(‘; a"D(.wvy nom- | dicating the bombs did their work. the . ination in the first ballot. Sdibaprie- (,un:f:;‘;esdmjéheac‘z’;ml:; i l‘;:el s hix Siald Eouni ‘of Boutham | BABY DEROUX DIES constitution. fourth term opponents within mei Baby Donald DeRoux, who was, Some opposed the allegiance on | Democratic Party met yesterday at {admitted to St. Ann's Hospital on| the ground that there is & question | Shreveport, La., and sald it expects |Friday, died shortly before noon as to whether Italy will continue 10 take a block of 100 electoral foday. The child was a vear old. as a monarchy after the close of | votes in Chicago t0 express op- The remains are at the Charles W. hostilities, | position. Carter Mortuary. . fed Off New Guinea U.S. FORCES APPROACHING GREAT PORT Paratroopers Drop Behind Nazi Lines Forcing Withdrawal BULLETIN — LONDON, June 10,—The Supreme Command of the Allied Forces announced American troops this afternoon captured Treview, midway be- tween Bayteux and Isigny. It is also announced that Spitfires operating from bases on French soil, driving west, have severed the railway lead- ing to Cherbourg in “several places.” The cdpture of Isigny has put the Americans in possession of the floodgates in the Carentan area, which the Germans are reported to have opened to flood the section, SYPREME HEADQUARTERS OF ALLIFp) EXPEDITIONARY FORCES, June 10.—United States troops, snatching up thousands of prisoners, today battered powerfully toward Cherbourg and according to latest accounts are only 15 miles away irom the great port and an- other column rammed southward in a squeeze attack on the Carentan. stmnghow in the narrowest neck of the peninsula, Both of these fanned out from fallen Ste. Marie Eglise. Large Scale Offensive The Berlin radio reports a large scale offensive is on against Cher- bourg and violent fighting is taking | place east of Monteburg, which is only 15 miles southwest of the prized port. Other American forces southeast have seized Lsigny and have driven westward on Carenten, seven miles away, two columns thus converging on the city nearly a third of the way Inland on te shortest line across the peninsula. Prisoners in Eag Bradley's parachutists and in- fantrymen alone have captured more | than 3,000 prisoners, ha/f of them | Nazi parachute veterans from the Russian and Cassino fronts, They were seized after they plunged down from the skies. Since D-Day more | than 5,000 Germans have been taken prl‘iulu’n» Armored Battles British and Canadian forces have battled German armored divisions in the greatest tank engagement since the landings. These engagements have taken place near Caen, strong- hold of the eastern flank of the Germans. The German communique says Allied counterattacks against Touf- freville, six miles east of Caen, have failed, but there is no Allied con- firmation. Enemy Withdraws The German communique also says Americans attacked Friday in the Carentan area with four in- | fantry divisions, one tank division and “new paratroopers landed be- hind the German lines,” forcing the | Germans to withdraw northward and northwestward. An official Berlin radio.this after- noon said that in the “face of fresh paratroop landings south of Va- longes, the German Command has withdrawn spearheads to shorten the defense line south of Monte- | bourg,” 15 miles southeast of Cher- bourg. 'STRONG CHINESE FORCES OCCUPY 'IMPORTANT BASE CHUNGKING, June 10. — Hard fighting Chinese forces have smash- into the southern sector cf Lungling and have occupied that portion. This is the second most important base in the Yynnan Province, 22 miles to the southwest. They have established a strong mnd block in the south at Mang- shm the High Command any nounced,