Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS U so S north african occupation seen As springboard for european front hillers seizure 0 of southern fr france ance thins axis aids forces for russ campaign EDITORS when pinions in theme columns h those of western union news an s sand not necessarily of th ws paper lie leased by wester newspaper union 7 IRAN A T LON soo MILE SPAI N TURKEY il MAY M K EDITE EA N S FA F A p cascill g i TS ve P 4 iab SAFI P 0 p of 1 f U SHANDS M 11 1 illila CONTROL S caasi of MO ROCCO dp il SAHARA it zu M gg V I 1 it mi 1 awrum 1 1 dilill 11 MN OL iiii eny X i mill DA ill lit vici ill i i lili ILI I 1 I 1 territory in north africa occupied by U S expeditionary under gen dwight D eisenhower Elsen hower will be used wi as a springboard for offensive action against italy the adriatic balkans and possibly southern france military experts believe principal features on above map show 1 american control over atlantic ports in french morocco 2 mediterranean ports ot of oran and algiers in american hands 3 strategic bizette in tunisia which would complete allied control of the south mediterranean and 4 vichy hild held dakar which military experts expect to be taken over by allies BLITZ TIMETABLE beats schedule two immediate jobs had remained for gen dwight D iron mike Elsen Eisen howers american invasion forces after t they hey had completed their spectacular blitzkrieg of french morocco and algeria in the record t time ime of 1 77 hours one job was to secure control of rectangular tunisia a french protectorate ate jutting northward into the mediterranean and offering via strategic bizette an ideal stepping stone toward the axis soft spots ot italy and the adriatic balkans the other job was to ito complete with their british allies the nutcracker drive into libya to smash forever marshal brommels Rom mels all but extinguished afrika korps the capture of morocco and algeria had given the americans control of 1300 miles of precious north african seacoast on the atlantic ocean ocean and the mediterranean sea including the key ports of casablanca rabat oran and algiers significantly enough it was adm jean darlan french chief of all defense forces who had given thi the e cease firing order to the french north african colonies darlan was now in adew a new role of collaborationist with the united nations after secret negotiations with american army officers the welcome of the Alne american rican forces by the french afi af rican inhabitants had bad been warmed by the presence with them of heroic gen henri giraud dramatically flown to algeria from france after a secret rendezvous with british airmen neighboring tunisia was of key import importance ince not only because of its strategic value for future off offensives en against hitler dominated europe but because of the concentration th there of axis airborne air borne troops and combat planes es hitler had not intended to give up north africa without a struggle his hold upon it would not have been possible without tunisia possession of the port of BIzer bizette te best equipped ed fren french ch mediterranean naval base by the united nations would mean that the allies would have relatively easy access to sicily and the italian mainland and an effective springboard to nearby tripoli former powerhouse of axis north african activities success of the operations prompted president roosevelt to raise gen mark dark Clark second in command to therann the rank of lieutenant 9 general beneral ROMMEL nutcracker Nu cracker cr bait like a groggy prize fighter back pedaling rig before a knockout punch marshal brommels Rom mels shattered afrika korps had scurried across libya pursued by general C conquering on eighth british army the C chase h as e had been nip and tu tuck k with rommel trying to re reach ach tripoli his main base near tunisia in in an effort to use his remain remaining ng strength to m make dikea a stand but tri tripoli meant no rest for rommel for oncoming american armies from algeria in the west and Mont gorn battering ram from egypt in the east cast would converge in a mighty nutcracker nut cracker movement to annihilate axis power in north alrica africa LA VALETTA MALTA A british forces tn in malta opened a now new airdrome with ceremonies presided over by viscount gort commander iri ili chief lord gort said he was looking forward to the day when the island which has withstood so many axis aerial attacks would become an advanced base for an offensive against italy in movements from north africa HITLER seizes all france flarice military observers agreed that hillers Hit lers seizure of unoccupied france meant a further lengthening of his lines and a weakening of his forces the fuehrer had no other choice than to try to close the back door to prospective allied invasion by ordering his own leg legions ions southward to the mediterranean and the spanish frontier and those of his italian stooge northward to the riviera corsica island birthplace of napoleon was likewise seized but hillers Hit lers move into southern france meant that 20 to 30 ax axis Is divisions would have tied down in occupation duties thus weakening the english channel invasion coast 0 and nd also his forces along the far flung russian front where action was at a stalemate he had likewise enlarged the area where the nazis would be sabotaged as they already have been elsewhere in occupied europe reports from russia indicated the nazis had already begun to withdraw troops to build up their defenses I 1 benses elsewhere in europe these vere irti further substantiated byword by word from greece indicating the arrival ot fresh german units at k key ey seaport bases i significantly hitler had first stopped his ct occupation c cu pation forces 30 aniles iles short of the French naval base at toulon designating it as st a camp fez et ran ranche chell to be bypassed by passed and set apart from occupation center of speculation since the 1940 armistice the krench french fleet comprising 62 warships was theorize the prize it at stake with the axis standing on the near side of bf the mediterranean and allies on the other N now ow an allied collaborationist rat in africa adm jean daran had added his voice to that of gen 0 n dwight D eisenhower Elsen hower in a S for the french fleet to join pirn im in Alg algeria erid ALLIES ALLIES optimistic OPTIMIST ICi channel thrust from both sides of th the e Atlant atlantic iq I 1 official optimism over the wars fu ture outlook was expressed by leaders au as a result of the allied successes in north africa I 1 president roosevelt predicted the axis ax is inevitable defeat and a nd welcomed the increasing number of frenchmen who are joining the united nations cause in london prime minister churchill for the he first time slice the bleak days dt df 1940 told the british public to rejoice mr churchill pointed out that a direct thrust across the english channel was coming in due time he suggested that the day would be nearer as soon as it was evident that germany was becoming ide demoralized mor zed 11 the prime minister said s 8 ld that the allied drive in africa had as its primary objective the exposure of the underbelly of the axis especially italy to heavy attacks the extent of the armada that had carried american and british forces to the te shores of north africa was disclosed by oliver lyttleton british minister of production who said that transports and war ship shad comprised the mammoth invasion fleet II 11 I 1 G 11 LJ LI G H T S y le weeks news fi HAVANAS HAVANA president Fulgen fulgencio clo abatista batista of cuba will pay an official visit vi to the united states arriving in washington december 8 it was announced here the cuban chief executive will confer with president roosevelt and then visit various american cities gen general eral batista will make the trip on the invitation of president roosevelt angwill and will be a white house guest overnight DRAFT inductions soar induction of 18 and 19 year olds into the nations armed forces by january 1 1043 appeared certain as the senate finally approved legislation lowering the selective service induction age in order to fill military requirements up to the first of the year local boards throughout the country indicated they would soon have to begin drafting childless married men final impediment to the laws passage was hurdled when a group of senators decided not to press their attempt to require a full years training for all the 18 and 19 year olds before they could be sent into combat service overseas the house had previously approved a measure eliminating this lea feature ture meanwhile selective service headquarters disclosed that local boards had been advised that increasing demands of the armed forces require that a large number of men in essential activities who are liable for service be released for induction duct lon this meant that thai war plants would have to rele release ase key workers for the army and navy ru RUSSIAN FRONT nazi drives stalled from moscow took on an increasing note of optimism as the russians maintained t that athe the german offensive against th the red ed lines from the baltic to the lack black sea had been smashed for the year southeast of balchik where the german drive for the strategic trans caucasian military highway had been stalled the russ defenders continued to repel attacks elsewhere in the caucasus the reds were holding the nazis well in check soviet armies continued to keep a german force encircled in the mountainous vicinity of black sea base and thwarted eve every ry enemy attempt td breakthrough break through the defenders of stalingrad Stal ingrad continued their heroic resistance while small enemy detachments infiltrated from the south these were thrown back meanwhile soviet troops northwest of the city continued to harass the germans SOUTH PACIFIC macarthur pincer slam bang warfare continued in t the h e air an and d 0 on n the ground in the south pacific with american and australian forces pressing the japs hard on new guinea and at guad guadal a canal in the solomon islands general macarthu macarthurs Mac Arthurs urs headquarters reported that at olvi oivi on new I 1 guinea allied forces were using pincer tactics to squeeze the japs out australian columns had cut off a 1 1 r 1 I I 1 W 4 g q 1 GEN DOUGLAS macarthur MacAR pincer squeezes japs japanese retreat by means of a flanking movement the japs effort to cut their way through to the rear had been stopped by american troops flown by aerial transport to the vicinity of buna 55 miles northeast of theolai the olvi battleground in the owen stanley mountain area at guadalcanal Guadal canal american troops met enemy attempts to recapture henderson airfield by an offensive that threw the japs back several miles an example of spectacular acelar heroism in the guadalcanal Guadal canal fighting was cited by a navy department release recounting the feat of marine marin e pt albert A whose companions in arms say he killed more than japs in a single night while manning j a machine gun from washington came a navy announcing the sinking of seven more jap ships in the southwest pacific by american guama submarines U US S ARMED FORCES to total armed forces for the united states totaling by the end of 1943 were envisioned by president roosevelt mr Roosevel ts estimates include ed cd an army of a nay navy g of and marines and coast guard forces totaling The bulk of future additions to the military forces will io go to the army whose present strength is the president pointed out the navy will be augmented by and the marine corps corp sand rand coast guard by men mea during the next 12 months on the basis of calculate calculations I 1 ons that it requires nine workers to support one fighting man in the field the presidents estimates would mean s that a working force of men and women at home homel would be needed to back up the armed forces |