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Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS United Nations Rout Japanese Forces To Score Major Milne Bay Victory; Soviet Bombers Blast German Cities; Offensive Nets Air Bases for Chinese I (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed Id these columns, they are those of Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not necessarily of this newspaper.) Released by Western Newspaper Union. J - ' ; - 7 ' : :j ; :vs U. S. BOMBERS: In Desert Action As a prelude to the actual reopening reopen-ing of the Egyptian desert offensive, British and Axis forces sparred daily by raiding each other's supply and patrol lines via the air route. U. S. bombers were aiding the British Brit-ish in these attacks. While German Marshal Erwin Rommel was still "digging in" around El Alamein and consolidating consolidat-ing his position before the Nazi drive toward Alexandria and Cairo, the British navy was striving desperately desper-ately to cut his supply lines in the Mediterranean. RAF and U. S. planes, meanwhile, were striking hard at Nazi bases at Tdbruk and El Daba. Both cities have vital Axis-held airports. As the tempo of this new desert battle increased British and American Amer-ican planes also attacked enemy encampments, en-campments, tank concentrations and armored units, behind Rommel's front lines. RAF bombers and torpedo-carrying planes set two Axis ships afire and hit at least one other in an attack at-tack off the coast of Libya, and set fire to an oil tanker in the Mediterranean. Mediter-ranean. CRUSH JAPAN: Grew Warns A "crushing defeat" of the Japanese Japa-nese militarists is the only thing that will assure future peace in the Pacific area, Joseph C. Grew, former for-mer American ambassador to Japan, told the nation upon his return to Washington. Grew, who returned from Japan on the exchange ship Gripsholm, said: "We shall crush the Japanese machine and caste system in due course, but if we Americans think that, collectively and individually, we can continue to lead our normal nor-mal lives, leaving the spirit of self-sacrifice self-sacrifice to our soldiers and sailors, letting the intensification of our production pro-duction program take care of itself, we shall unquestionably risk the danger of a stalemate in this war of ours with Japan." He pointed out that Japanese can surmount economic hardship and that force alone will defeat them. "Let's put it in a nutshell," he said. "There is not sufficient room in the area of the Pacific ocean for a peaceful America, for any and all of the peace-loving United Nations and swashbuckling Japan." KAISER: Record-Breaker Ten-thousand freighters launched within 18 days after their keels are laid. That was the goal announced by Henry J. Kaiser, master shipbuilder of the Pacific coast, when he spoke just before the record-breaking Liberty Lib-erty freighter, John Fitch was These Italian prisoners were captured on the North African front by New Zealand and Indian forces. Almost all prisoners taken were from Pavia and Brescia footslogger divisions. Reports from the front indicate a mutual feeling of dislike between the Italian and German troops and officers. German troops are said to have refused to salute Italian officers. TRAPPED JAPS: Outguessed, Outfought "Milne bay area is rapidly being cleared of the enemy . . . His losses have been heavy . . . All his heavy supplies and equipment, including tanks, were lost," This happy communique from General MacArthur's headquarters , in Australia made it clear that the Japanese were smashed in their Milne bay thrust and that Port Moresby was saved for the fourth time. The Japs were outguessed and were caught in a carefully prepared pre-pared trap. The communique said, in part: "The operation represents another phase in the pattern of the enemy's plans to capture Port Moresby . . . His latest effort was to turn the right flank by a surprise attack at Milne bay. The move was anticipated, antici-pated, however, and prepared for with great care. With complete secrecy se-crecy the position was occupied by our forces and converted into a strong point. Solomons American forces in the Solomons continued to consolidate their positions posi-tions in the newly won outpost in preparation for their next, move, which may be a blow at Jap bases in the northwest Solomons, or, if the enemy renews land and sea attacks, defensive action. Two waves of Jap planes attacked U. S. troops and installations on Guadalcanal island, where a large enemy airport fell to invading American marines. The position of the marines has grown strong enough for the navy to announce that only "mopping up" operations were in progress. The navy also announced further strengthening of positions on six Solomon islands in American hands Guadalcanal, Tu-lagi, Tu-lagi, Florida, Tanambogo, Makam-bo, Makam-bo, and Gavutu. THE GOOD EARTH: Recaptured by China The recapture of Chuhsien and airport cities in eastern China, marked one of the greatest victories of the war for Chinese soldiers. In a few weeks of fighting the Chinese counterattack virtually wiped out Japanese gains of the May and June campaign in the Chekiang and Kiangsi sector. Best news to America is the fact that both towns are within 700 miles of the Japanese mainland, and may soon base United States bombers for attacks on the enemy at home. Among Chinese officials there was little tendency to look upon recent gains as a clear victory resulting from superior offensive power. Belief Be-lief was expressed that the Japs had overextended themselves. WARNING: Attention, Nazis Something new had been added to Moscow's reports of the war with Nazi Germany. It was the story of increasing air raids by the Red bombers on German cities. Even Berlin was the victim of these attacks. at-tacks. And Berlin admitted it, too. But the Nazis claimed that the Russians Rus-sians had come in high and scattered scat-tered their bombs at random with little regard for military objectives. objec-tives. This was old stuff from the Nazis, and the world wondered. In addition to Berlin, the Moscow radio announced that Koenigsberg, Danzig, Stettin, plus many other cities cit-ies had been bombed in the stepped-up stepped-up air program. German citizens were warned that as the nights grew longer, the bombings would increase. in-crease. See-Saiv All this helped to divert attention from the bitter land fighting along the eastern front. Around Stalingrad Stalin-grad the battle had see-sawed for days. German forces had admitted that Soviet troops had pushed through counter-attacks with terrific pressure but claimed at the same time that these had been crushed after heavy battling. In the fighting northwest of Moscow, Mos-cow, Marshal Gregory Zhukov's Soviet So-viet forces were reported to be continuing con-tinuing their large scale counter-offensive by hurling the Nazis across a "strategic water barrier" at one point, recapturing several villages and following the foe westward. MEATLESS DAYS: And Shipping Space When President Roosevelt issued his statement on "meatless days" he brought the effect of war on the home front closer than it had ever been to the nation's dining table. For while sugar rationing had come, coffee was scarce, food prices were up, there was really no actual shortage short-age of any food commodity for the housewife to worry about. But "meatless days" were something else again. It wasn't about a meat shortage though that the President talked about in his statement on the subject. He said that conservation of meat through a meatless day each week would be calculated to save shipping space in overseas hauls rather than to alleviate any U. S. shortage. In such a system U. S. meat would largely replace Argentine, Australian Austra-lian and New Zealand beef and mutton mut-ton as food for fighters and civilians in Great Britain and on other fighting fight-ing fronts. Ships now hauling supplies sup-plies from Buenos Aires, Wellington and Sydney would be replaced by ones traveling the shorte route. HIGHLIGHTS in the week's news HENRY KAISER Back to Washington. launched only 24 days after keel laying. lay-ing. This launching broke' by two days the record established in one of Kaiser's Oregon yards when construction con-struction time was reduced from 35 to 26 days. It was at the John Fitch launching ceremonies that Kaiser disclosed he would again present to the government govern-ment plans for building huge cargo planes. A few weeks previously he had made his first proposal to Washington Wash-ington and obtained authority to present pre-sent specific plans for the plane construction program. V-MAIL: Saves Space Throughout the nation, some 45,000 postofflces and rural letter carriers are equipped to furnish free forms on which to write soldiers overseas by V-mail. By this process, V-mail letters written on special forms, are photographed, reduced to micro-film and sent overseas by air. Upon arrival ar-rival the letter on the film is developed de-veloped and full-sized letters are printed and delivered to the soldiers. Army officials are urging friends and parents of the boys overseas to increase their use of V-mail, thus saving valuable cargo space on supply ships. AIR OFFENSIVE: Hits Nazi War Plants The Allied air offensive against German war factories and seaports continued in strength as British long-range bombers, probably numbering num-bering at least 650, lashed out at southern and southwestern Germany for two consecutive nights. From London came word of a successful suc-cessful raid on Rotterdam, during which tons of bombs were dropped in the Dutch port and dockyards by Flying Fortresses of the United States army air force. TRAINING: Lieut. Gen. Brehon Somervell, commanding general of the Services of Supply, U. S. army, called upon schools and colleges to become pre-induction training centers cen-ters for the armed services. His prediction was that some colleges may be required to devote all facilities facili-ties for such purpose. OBDURATE: Despite British broadcasts to the contrary, the German Ger-man high command in a recent communique com-munique claimed that an Allied operational op-erational order seized during the raid on Dieppe showed the raid was Intended to be the opening of a second sec-ond front in Europe. ACTION: Back to Washington came Brig. Gen. Patrick J. Hurley, former secretary of war. He had been wounded three times in Pacific naval action. He had been assigned to get supplies through the Jap blockade when Gen. Douglas Mac-Arthur Mac-Arthur was in the Philippines. ESCAPE: Of the more than 1,000 officers and men interned when the German pocket battleship Graf Spee was scuttled in Montevideo, more than 100 have escaped internment in Argentina, Juan Antonio Solari, chairman of a senate committee investigating in-vestigating anti-Argentine activities, said. DEATH: Dr. Belisario Porras, 85, three times president of the Republic Re-public of Panama, is dead of a chronic respiratory ailment. He was one-time minister to the United States and represented his country at The Hague conference and in the League of Nations. POTATOES: Germany's 1942 potato po-tato crop, according to Nazi spokesmen, spokes-men, is a record one. Admitting that there were no potatoes to be had in Berlin last winter, authorities are promising the population nine pounds nf potatoes per person, per week. |
