Evening Star Newspaper, January 19, 1942, Page 2

Two Extra Pages In This Edition Late news and sports-are covered on Pages 1-X and 2-X of this edition of The Star, supplementing the news of the regular home delivered edition. An Evening N per With ’the.::rba)’a News Alliance, Chicago Daily News Foreign Service and The Star's Staff Writers, Reporters and Photographers. Closing N. Y. Markets—Sales, Page 16. 90th YEAR. No. 35,692. ch WASHINGTON, ‘WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION D. C, Troops 25 Miles From Singapore, Trap 20,000 British, Japs Claim; .S, 1 Taqker Sunk by Sub; 2 British Retreat Heightens Crisis In Malaya Fight By the Associated Press. SINGAPORE, Jan. 19.—The battle of Singapore entered a more critical phase today as the British acknowledged a further withdrawal along the west coast of Johore State and reported that the Japanese were hammer- Ing heavily at their lines near Segamat, on the Central Malayan Railroad, 95 miles from Johore Strait. The withdrawal of the British left flank, in the Muar River area, was carried mfi‘, a communique said, to meet e threat of Japanese troops filtering southward along the coast. (Domei News Agency broadcast # report from Tokio that Jap- anese troops fighting their way down the west coast of Malaya were less than 25 miles from Sin- gapore. The broadcast declared that the Japanese had captured Pontian Besar, 25 miles west of Johore Bahru. (Another Domei dispatch said 20,000 British troops had been “completely trapped by Japanese forces which have swept to the rear of the British position around Bahru, cutting off rail and road communications leading to Singapore.” (D.NB., German official news agency, quoting Japanese sources, was heard in a broadcast as de- claring that “the battle for the final possession of Malaya and of Singapore had begun.” It was said the decisive clash would come in the region of Johore Bahru.) Japs Believed 90 Miles Away. ‘The British communique failed to disclose the extent of the British re- | treat, but it appeared that Japa- nese forces on the coast must be | well within 90 miles of Singapore | Itself. [FRR——o— CHURCHILL PILOTS FLYING turns after getting the feel of (Story on Page A-4.) While the communique did not ! speak of any withdrawal in the central sector along the railway to | Singapore, it was the first time that Segamat had been mentioned in official dispatches. Segamat is about | 15 miles southeast of Gemas, which | fell into Japanese hands last night. | Announcement of the reverses| came in the face of reports from | the front of stiffening British re- | (See MALAYA, Page A-2) l Spain Reporied' P;tesfingg To British on Harbor Raid ] By the Associated Press. | BERLIN, Jan. 19 (Official Broad- cast).—The Spanish government| sent the British government a note | BOAT—Wearing siren suit and earphone and holding an unlighted cigar in his mouth, Pr)me Minister Churchill pilots the big 74-passenger flying boat in which he returned to England Saturday. Mr. Churchill was reported to have banked the giant plane through two sweeping the controls at which he sits. —A. P. Wirephoto via cable from London today. Desulfory Fighting Goes On in Luzon, Army Declares Japanese Patrols Active; Results Indecisive, Communique Says By the Associated Press. Japanese patrols have been ac- tive against American and Fill-| gres today for $28,500,767,495 in | Saturday protesting against the, Pino forces in the Philippines| g,nnlemental appropriations and | President Requests War Appropriafions 0f $28,500,767,495 Supplemental Funds Sought for Fiscal Years 1942 and 1943 | By the Associated Press. | President Roosevelt asked Con- British onslaught in the Spanish| during the last 24 hours, but re- ' contract authorizations for the harbor on the island of Ferftando Po. sults have been indecisive, the 1942 and 1943 fiscal years for the Nothing was disclosed as to the contents of the note. It was learned, however, that it was sharp and de- manded release of the vessels seized together with their crews and repa- rations. The broadcast purported to be based on information at Madrid. It was a sequel to the report in the Spanish Falangist newspaper Arriba Saturday that a Free French de-| stroyer had raided the harbor of | Santa Isabel, on the Spanish island off the west coast of Africa, and seized three Axis merchantmen. A Berlin broadcast yesterday con- tended it was a British raid even| though the destroyer was manned | by a Free French crew. | The Free French headquarters in | London has denied’ these Spanish- | German reports of such a raid. Marines Seized by Jéps Reported Put in Camp By the Associated Press. | CHUNGKING, Jan. 19.—Chinese reports said today that United States Marines captured by the| Japanese at Peiping had been put| to hard labor in an internment| camp. | All foreign and Chinese members | of the staff of the Rockefeller-en- | dowed Peiping Union Medical Col- | lege were said to have beer forced | to continue their work under Jap- anese control. ‘These reports said Dr. J. Leighton | Stuart, president of Yenching Uni- | versity, and other American and British members of the faculty, had been confined in Peiping legation quarters. | Most American and British resi-| dents of Peiping were reported still | at large but with their movements | restricted. | | Mead and Ramspeck On Forum Tonight Senator Mead, Democrat, of New York, member of the Senate Civil Service Com- mittee, and Representative Ramspeck, Democrat, of Georgia, chairman of the House Civil Service Com- mittee, will discuss “Our Civil Service Problems” at 9 o'clock tonight on the Na- tional Radio Forum. The program is arranged by The Star and broadcast by Sta- tion WMAL and the coast- to-coast Blue Network. A War Department reported today. Ground operations have been of a desultory nature since American troops smashed a heavy Japanese attack, the communique said. Enemy air activities were confined to frequent reconnaissance flights. Gen. Douglas MacArthur reported that Filipinos in the occupied areas had been deprived of their means of transportation. He said farmers had been evicted | from their farms and formed into labor groups and the invaders had] seized harvested crops and food stores. The communique was based on reports up to 9:30 am. War Department communiques yesterday told of diminished enemy pressure, followed by repeated recon- naissance thrusts designed to feel out the strength of the American lines. The defending forces, well- schooled by six weeks of fierce com- bat, seized the opportunity for a | successful series of brisk skirmishes (See PHILIPPINES, Page A-4) Gunner Who Slew Three Found Mentally Unfit B+ the Associated Press. LONDON, Jan. 19.—Philip Joseph Ward, 31-year-old anti-aircraft gun- ner who went on a three-hour homi- cidal shooting rampage through sub- urban streets last November 11, was found unfit today to plead to a triple murder charge. | War and Navy Departments and two other defense activities. | He estimated the supplemental iapproprlntlon needed for the Navy | Department and naval services for | 1942 fiscal year at $8,768,783,500, in- cluding $4,598,783,500 in cash and $4,170,000,000 contract authoriza- | tions. The President also asked $7,193,- | 861,521 net additional for the Navy program in the fiscal year begin- ning next July 1, raising the 1943 fiscal year program to $13,124,056,- 589. For the Army, he asked an emer- gency appropriation totaling $12,- 525,872,474 for the 1942 fiscal year, | including more than $9,000,000,000 for the Air Corps. For the Inter-American Highway, | he requested $7,000,000 and for the Federal Bureau of Investigation $5,- | 950,000. | New Axis Military Pact Is Reported Signed By the Associated Press. LONDON, Jdn. 19—A D. N. B. broadcast from Berlin, heard today by Reuters, said a military conven- tion signed yesterday by Germany, Italy and Japan was designed ‘to safeguard “proper and appropriate distribution of military forces in preparation for operations of great striking power which will be of out- standing significance.” Seeds Scarce, ‘Green’ Urbanites Told to Shelve Garden Plans City dwellers planning to con- vert flower gardens to vegetable plots were advised today by the | Agriculture Department to stick to | the flowers, as officials sought to conserve existing stocks of seeds. This country’s supply of seeds from Europe has been cut off by the war, the department pointed out, and farm experts want to save surpluses for more experienced gardeners than are usually found in cities. Victory gardens might be satis- factory in rural and suburban areas if planted by people who know about seeds, fertilizer and spray material, the Department said, but it is a different story when city folks take to their back yards. City Farmers Usually “Green.” City soil is usually unproductive of good crpps, according to depart- ment officials, and the would-be farmers lack experience in caring for seedlings. Secretary of Agriculture Wickard has pointed out that our domestic seed industry bas expanded to make up for the European loss so that we won't suffer from lack of vegetables. But we don't have such large sur- pluses that we can be wasteful of seeds, fertilizer or spray materials. The department makes these points to city gardeners: City, town and suburban people who normally do not grow vege- tables should not do so now, be- cause of any fear of a shortage of vegetables, fresh or canned, or be- cause of a belief that their con- tributions will, in any large measure, add to war food supplies. Protection of Parks Urged. Park and playgrounds or other public spaces should not be torn up for the sake of community or in- dividual gardening based on & fear of a shortage of supplies. In the last war, home gardens were cultivated in all parts of the (8ee GARDENS, Page A-8) 2 Lost Rescue Ship Lands 13 Survivors At Norfolk By the Associated Press. The battle of the Atlantic, a phase of the European war which has reached out toward the shores of the United States, brought over the week end the U-boat sinking of the Standard Oil tanker Allan Jackson, the third such victim in less than a week. Thirteen survivors of the 6635- ton tanker’s 35-man crew were landed at Norfolk, Va., yesterday afternoon; six of them were hospital cases, the others uninjured. The rescys vessel also brought in' four bodfes. The other 22 crew members are presumably lost. The Public Relations Office of the Pifth Naval District at Norfolk an- nounced that the Allan Jackson was en route to New York and was un- armed when she was torpedoed, but further details were withheld for reasons of security. The attack occurred yesterday off the North Carolina coast. The first two shipg in the cur- rent wave of U-boat activity along the American coast also were tank- ers, the first sunk last Wednesday, the second on Thursday. Great Search by Sea and Sky. ‘The Axis raiders appeared to have reached coastal waters in consider- able force and their scattered as- saults have touched off a great search by sea and sky, but Ameri- can authorities are not likely to announce the results of the U-boat hunt until well after any successes. That 's part of the technique of striking at the morale of other Axis U-boat men. The uninjured survivors, who were questioned by naval intelligence of- ficers at the naval operating Base, are Rolf Clausen, boatswain; Ross F. Terrell, able seaman; Onis M. May, able seaman; Teague F. Burke, storekeeper; Aracelio Lopez, mess- ¢ Foening Star MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 1942 o BUREAU OF THE BUDGET D. C. May Have 500 '0r 1,000 Paid Civilian, Police, Young Asserts Sees Need of Volunteers; Opposes Pay Raises For Regular Force #By JAMES E. CHINN. Commissioner Young revealed today it may become necessary to | augment Washington’s regula police force with 500 or 1,000 ci. vilian defense volunteers and to| | pay them salaries. | Warning that the District “doesn’t | know what might happen,” the| Commissioner, who is also the city’s | defense co-ordinator, declared that | steps already had been taken to | add another 150 men to the regular police force through a deficiency appropriation. | man; Elmo E. Burden, oller, andi Mr. Young made his statements Jeremiah A. Donovan. The .injured at the Mar: - pital in' Norfolk are Clp:neP‘.HDst'. Kritchmer, master of the kson; Melvin A. Rand, second mate; Boris A. Varnéoft. third mate; Thomas B. Hutchins, chief engineer; Steaphen Verbonich, radio operator, and Ran- dolph H. Larso, able seaman. ; Dead Identified. The dead were identified as W. A. Hoerle, third engineer; Hamon Brown, seaman; Dimingo Pinerio, fireman, and Carl 'Z. Webb, oiler. No home addresses of any of the survivors were given. Every licensed officer on the ship was either injured or lost. The tanker was not armed and no at- tempt was made by the submarine crew to board the craft or take pris- | oners. According to the stories told by survivors, an officer on the bridge sighted the first torpedo when it broke water about 150 yards from | the tanker. A desperate effort was made to avoid the torpedo but it | crashed into the vessel about amid- | ship. No one saw the second tor- pedo but a second terrific explosion was heard within a couple of | minutes after the first crash. The tanker apparently gave way in the center, with the bow listing to starboard and the stern to port. Only one lifeboat managed to get | away as the ship caught fire im- mediately and the flames enveloped the entire deck and rapidly spread into the ofl slick on the water. Several Narrow Escapes. ‘The seven uninjured survivors were in the lifeboat and they had several narrow escapes before get- ting clear of the ship._The pro- peller was still turnln! as the tanker settled and it set up a suc- tion that threatened to pull the boat to destruction despite the efforts of the occupants. After a struggle of minutes which seemed like hours, the lifeboat got clear and a short time later it picked up the radio operator. Once clear of the tanker, the boat crew faced another peril in the burning oil slick which ap- peared to be closing in on them. Some of the survivors reported hearing cries from within the sheet of flame on the water, but they could not take the boat in for fear it would catch fire. They also reported seeing a light, presumably on the submarine, off in the dis- tance, but they could not see any- thing of her superstructure. After about an hour in the boat, they were all clear of the fire and rigged their sail. Some three hours before a sub-committee of the House | District Committee, -where he- testi- | fied in opposition to a bill it is con- sidering to raise the pay of police- men and firemen up to and includ- ing the rank of captain a maximum of $300 a year. “Prankly and bluntly,” he de- clared, “the District can't afford to pay “higher salaries to policemen |and firemen.” Despite Mr. Young's opposition, the subcommittee ordered the biil favorably reported to the full House District Committee. It must be ap- | | proved by the full committee before | being placed on the House calendar. | Budget Expense Outlined. | District Auditor Arthur Pilkerton | told the subcommittee enactment of the pay raise bill would add $717,- | 609 to the budget the first year and | that the figure would rise there- | after as a reserve of retirements.| | The retirement pay of police and | | firemen is one-half their basic sal- | a1y, The bill, a substitute for one killed by the House a week ago, which would have raised the pay of all policemen and firemen, in- cluding those above the rank of cap- tain, a maximum of $600 a year, i is sponsored by Representative | Schulte, Democrat, of Indiana. He | also is chairman of the subcommit- tee holding hearings on the meas- | ure, “D. C. May Have 1,000.” “I have & high regard for both the Police and Fire Department,” Commissioner Young declared at the outset of his testimony. “We are commencing now to see daylight on the Police Department. It is coming along fine since the reorganization. But we need more patrolmen who | will make it safe for men, women and children on the streéts. One hundred and eighty men already have been added to the force. But we need 150 more without delay,| and wé are trying to get them in a deficiency appropriation bill.” The bill's preface declared the salary increases are needed in view of advanced living costs. Comment- ing on that, Mr. Young said: “As far as the high cost of living goes that would hold good for all 17,000 District employes, not the police and firemen alone.” Schulte Sees Favored City. “I don’t know of a city in the country where profits are as large and the tax rate is as small,” de- clared Representative Schulte. “The Federal pay roll alone is $31,000,000 a month.” Commissioner Young pointed out that the real estate tax is $1.75 and 1 (See SINKINGS, Page A-3) (See POLICE, Page A-8) Summary of Foreign. Desultory fighting goes on in Luzon, Army reports. Page A-1 14,000 Axis prisoners crowd Briti camps in North Africa. Page A-3 Debate on reverses in East demand- ed in Parliament. Page A-4 Argentina shying at first test of Americas’ unity. Page A-4 British arrest Burmese Premier for plotting with Japs Page A-4 Churchill himself piloted huge flying boat part of way home. Page A-4 Jap planes attack Borneo oil port and isle off Sumatra. Page A-6 Canada puts certain pulpwood prod- ucts on export list. Page B-2 National. Bodies of Carole Lombard and eight others recovered. Page A-2 ‘White House program to launch In- Today’s Star $5,000,000 collected in slot machine taxes. Page A-6 Lewis proposal fails to bring quick labor unity move. Page A-8 A. F. L. Defense bond quota set at $1,000,000,000. Page B-9 Washington and Vicinity. Prelinginary motions in Viereck trial to be heard today. Page A-2 Retired tailor held in fatal shooting of wife. Page A-2 Tydings says Army of 8,000,000 is needed. Page A-12 Attorney General Biddle to visit Mile 0’ Dimes stand. Page B-1 Henry M. Fowler refuses to serve as Rent Board examiner. Page B-1 Train wreck causing thousands de- lay is investigated. Page B-1 One dead, dozen hurt in traffic in D. C. area. B-1 Home owners swamp defense housing Knudsen's Offices Are Shifted to New War Building William S. Knudsen, under- going the official change from director-general of the O. P. M. to lieutenant general in the Army, moved his offices today from the Social Security Build- ing to the new War Department Buijlding. He took with him his secretary, Willilam M. Collins. The quarters he will occupy are those originally intended for Secretary of War Stimson, who later decided not to use them. Mr. Knudsen's office workers spent all last night getting his belongings ready at O. P. M., and he went to his new War Department quarters this morn- ing after paying a brief visit to his former O. P. M. offices. President Appoints Patrick J. Hurley Brigadier General Knudsen’s Nomination As Lieutenant General - Also Sent to Senate Col. Patrick J. Hurley, former Secretary of War, today was nominated by the President for the rank of brigadier general. Mr. Roosevelt also sent to the | Senate the nomination of William S. Knudsen as a lieutenant general, a rank he was given on being chosen to take charge of the Army's war | production and procurement pro- | gram. Col. Hurley, 59, will be in active Army service as soon as the Senate approves his nomination. He is now an officer in the Reserve. Stephen Early, White House sec- retary, said Col. Hurley would be assigned to a special task, but would not reveal its nature beyond saying he would not be a line officer. Practiced Law Here. The Oklahoman who practices law here and lives near Leesburg. Va., | holds the Distinguished Service Medal and was cited for gallantry in action in France with the A. E. F. in 1918. He was a lieutenant colonel in the World War and took part in the Aisne-Marne, Meuse-Argonne | and St. Mihiel offensives. The former Hoover cabinet officer began his military career 40 years ago as a private in the Indian Terri- tory Volunteer Militia. At the request of Senator McNary, Republican, of Oregon the Presi- dent also nominated William A. Ekwall, former Representative from Oregon, as a judge on the United States €ustoms Court which sits in New York. Officer’s Promotion Asked. Mr. Ekwall put the name of Sen- ator McNary in nomination as the Republican candidate for the vice presidency on the ticket with Wen- dell Willkie at the Philadelphia con- vention in 1940. At the same time, President Roosevelt asked the Senate to ad- vance Brig. Gen. Julian F. Barnes, U. 8. A, to the rank of major gen- eral. Hong Kong Governor Named TOKIO, Jan. 19 (Official Broad- cast) (#).—Emperor Hirohito today appointed Lt. Gen. Rensuke Isogai, former chief of staff of the Kwan- tung army, governor general of Hong Kong. [Requiremenls Unit To Control Materials 'In War Qutput Sefup Nelson May Be Ready Wednesday to Reveal Executive Changes By THOMAS C. HARDMAN. Creation of a requirements di- | | vision to have over-all control of | | materials allotted for all war | and civilian purposes was under- } |stood today to be an integral | | part of the administrative reor- | | ganization being formulated by Donald M. Nelson, head of the new War Production Board. i Mr. Nelson spent the entire week | end working on reorganization | plans. Sources close to his office | | said he probably would be ready | to announce administrative changes of his new organization Wednesday. The production director was also one man to supervise the important | conversion of the automobile indus- | try and, subsequently, its all-out production of war weapons. Materials Will Be Divided. The requirements division en- visioned by Mr. Nelson would have authority to apportion materials to fill Army, Navy and lease-lend | needs, as well as those of the civil- | ian population. | ‘The “overlord” of the automobile | industry would replace the seven- | man subcommittee set up January | 7 to handle the conversion program | and would be vested with consider- | ably more power than the subcom- | | mittee was given. Identity of this individual was not indicated. H Some speculation centered on the name of Ernest Kanzler, long-time | | associate of Henry Ford and presi- | dent of the Universal Credit Corp., | who recently became head of the | automotive branch of the O. P. M.| Quick conversion of the automo- bile industry was understood to be | the principal concern of the new | | production chief. | and outline the physical make-up | reportéd favoring the desighatiort of | (UP) Means Associated Press. THREE CENTS. Russians Start Drive on lce of Lake Ladoga Aim to Pinch Off End of Nazi Line Before Leningrad BY the Associated Press. LONDON, Jan. 19.—The Rus- sian command apparently has opened a major assault across the ice of Lake Ladoga to pinch off the Schlusselburg end of the German line fronting Leningrad, | Soviet sources here said today. Reports from the area of the ice- locked lake fortress of Schlusselburg, 25 miles east of Leningrad, said the battle was “increasing in intensity,” and that one particularly sustained attack had carried the Red Army past German defenses between Schlusselburg and the Moscow- Leningrad Railway. However, the Russians had not yet managed a break-through in force, it was said. This attack to break German Field Marshal Gen. Ritter von Leeb's Leningrad front was reported as other Russian advices said Red troops were fighting hand-to-hand in the streets of a burning Mozhaisk, 57 miles west of Moscow, and in Orel, 200 miles south of Moscow. Exponent of Defense. London observers pointed out that Gen. von Leeb was known as the Nazis’ best exponent of defensive warfare, and said that when the Russians developed their assault around Leningrad he will have his mettle tested to the fullest. The Russians are expert at war- fare over broad ice stretches such as those on Ladoga. Over the ice of this same lake they carried out attacks against the Pinns in the winter of 1939-40 to take islands which flanked defense positions, and their thrust across the ice of the Gulf of Finland in the same war proved decisive in the capture of Viipuri. It was believed here that Premier Joseph Stalin was personally inter- ested in the Leningrad assault. He is said to realize that a break in the German chain around Leningrad would be recognized in Germany, as well as in Russia, as a major Soviet victory. Feodosiya, Crimea Port, Retaken, Nazis Claim (This dispatch was sent from an en- emy country, whose motive in releasing news is apt to be DI nds. 18 claims should be creds confirmed by American sources.) BERLIN, Jan. 19 (Official Broad- cast) (#).—The German high com- mand announced today that Nazi and Rumanian troops had recap- tured the port of Feodosiya, on the southeast coast of the Crimean Peninsula, stepping stone to the Caucasus. At the same time the high com- mand reported that Russian forces had launched heavy attacks along the entire Donets River front and said that fighting still was in prog- ress without indicating the direc- tion it was taking. 4,600 Declared Taken. The fall of Feodosiya, a commu- nique said, resulted in the capture of more than 4,600 Russians and large quantities of equipment, in- cluding 73 tanks and 77 guns. German forces in the action were commanded by Infantry Gen. von Manstein and Air Chief Marshal von Grein, the bulletin added. (It was the first time that the names of these officers had been on or Other Divisions in Offing. It was generally agreed that divi- | sions on procurement and produc- | | tion would be set up immediately | under the director to work through | and in co-operation with the re-; quirements division. A revised pri- | | orities setup also will be developed under the reorganization. Spokes- | | men indicated that some organiza- | | tion similar to the O. P. M. would | | be retained under the new program, although it was not known whether this agency would be called by that name. In fact, a number of O. P. M.| division heads are expected to be‘l given key places in Mr. Nelson's organization. Douglas C. MacKeachie, present | director of the O. P. M. Purchasers’| Division, was mentioned as a likely | head of the new Procurement Divi- | sion. Mr. Nelson feels that Mr. | MacKeachie has done a good job in | the present agency, it was under- stood, and would utilize his talents (See NELSON, Page A-8) Pell and Legation Staff In Spain on Way Homg By the Associated Press. BARCELONA, Spain, Jan. 19— Herbert Claiborne Pell, former United States Minister to Budapest, and the staff and families of the American Legation there passed through here today toward Madrid en route to Lisbon and home. Mrs. Roosevelt Is Undecided About Future Defense Job If Mayor La Guardia resigns as director of the Office of Civilian De- fense, the new director will decide whether or not Mrs. Roosevelt is to stay on as assistant director, the President’s wife indicated at a press Asked about resignations from the | 0. C. D. since Dean James M. Lan- | dis of Harvard Law School became executive officer, Mrs. Roosevelt said the only resignation she knew of was Miss Eloise Davidson, an assistant director. Her explanation of Miss Davidson’s resignation was that Miss Davidson had been away from her own job for five months and felt she had to go back to it. She sidded, however, that Miss Davidson will work on special assignments in New York under Mayor La Guardia. hoarding, Discussing , . particular] of sugar, she said people might as mentioned in German commu- niques dealing with operations in the Crimea. Appearance of the unfamiliar names may be sig- nificant in view of recurring re- ports from many foreign quar- ters of shakeups in the German military command since Adolf Hitler took over the supreme command from Field Marshal Gen. Walther von Brauchitsch several weeks ago.) In the central and northern sec- tors of the eastern front, the Rus- sians continued their attacks but suffered heavy losses, the high com- mand said. 430 Reds Declared Killed. It reported that German infantry and mechanized forces, in a two-day counter-attack in one unspecified sector, had captured 35 guns, 23 grenade throwers, 45 machineguns and “countless other material.” In this engagement, the com- munique said, 430 Russians were killed and 140 were taken prisoners. In addition to participat:ng in op- erations on the land front tae Ger- man air force was credited officially with damaging a large merchant ship off the Arctic port of Mur- mansk. Feodosiya, on the southeast coast of the Crimea, was captured by Ger- man troops early in November as they stormed across the peninsula toward Kerch strait, apparently in an sttempt to drive into the oil- rich Caucasus. Counterattacking Russian forces drove the Germans out of the port on December 31 after a fierce two- day fight. The Red Army forces, presumably aided by reinforcements moved aeross Kerch strait, were as- sisted by the Black Sea fleet. Hand-to-Hand Fighting In Mozhaisk Reported MOSCOW, Jan. 19 (/). — Grim Russian soldiers and Nazi troops comprising the “cream of the Ger- man forces” are fighting a desperate hand-to-hand battle in the blazing key city of Mozhaisk, the Russian army newspaper Red Star declared today. As Russia’s great winter offensive gained momentum along the entire ly | front from the Arctic to the Black Sea, Red Star also reported that (8ee MRS. ROOSEVELT, Page A-8.) A (8ee RUSSIA, Page A-6) L)