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Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS Nazi Struggle for Russia and Egypt Takes Spotlight From Pacific Battle; Growing Force of U. S. Air Power Is Displayed on World's Many Fronts (EDITOR'S NOTE When opinions are expressed in these columns, they I are those of the news analyst and not necessarily ol this newspaper.) I Released by Western Newspaper Union. RUSSIA: Pincers When the Nazis finally drove the Russian defenders out of gallant Sevastopol, they succeeded in opening open-ing the second claw of a giant pincers pin-cers movement which had for its other base the Kharkov foothold. But success in Sevastopol was difficult dif-ficult to obtain. Even the Nazis admitted ad-mitted that. For 27 days everything every-thing the Nazis had was blasted against the besieged naval base. The Red navy had to retire from it to less secure bases in the Black sea. Still the Nazi bombers came. U.S. AIR POWER: Around the Globe From widely scattered sections of the world's fighting front came reports re-ports of the increasing strength of America's hard-striking air power. Most dramatic was the announcement announce-ment from London that for the first time the United States army air force had made an attack on Nazi occupied Europe. Six bombers, American made and American manned, took off and during a daylight day-light raid smashed Nazi planes and troops on the ground at three Holland Hol-land airdromes. Later enemy ships were attacked off the Dutch coast. One interesting sidelight of the raid was that its principal hero, Capt. Charles C. Kegelman of El Reno, Okla., was awarded the Distinguished Dis-tinguished Service cross by Maj. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander com-mander in chief of U. S. forces in the European theater, and Kegelman Kegel-man thus became the first member of the 1942 AEF to be decorated for gallantry in action against the enemy en-emy in Europe. His feat was described as a demonstration dem-onstration of "superior airmanship and extraordinary coolness in the saving of the lives of his crew" after the plane he was piloting was struck hard by anti-aircraft fire over the bombing target." Chinese Front Meanwhile, the newly Installed U. S. army air force in China started things off in good fashion by shooting shoot-ing down five Japanese planes in a battle which came as the result of a direct challenge by the U. S. forces to the enemy. Background to the battle was a Jap radio report that their forces in the Hengyang area would "blast the new U. S. air forces out of China" and a reply by Brig. Gen. Claire L. I if sf I 1 - 1m 1 I V ' ? " 1 MARSHAL SEMEON TIMOSHENKO ISo rest for Nazis. Finally the last Russian foothold in the Crimea fell and Hitler had gained an important wedge in his drive toward the oil fields of the Caucasus. Not only did they open up to this rich prize, but the fall of Sevastopol meant that more men could now be diverted to the fighting around Kharkov. Khar-kov. But before the Nazis had a chance to rest and to realign themselves, cagey Russian Marshal Semeon Timoshenko struck savagely at them and regained several villages. The Nazis in turn had their eye on the Don river and would not be s'flpped until this objective was won. Although Al-though another front was opening to the northwest of Moscow, the battle bat-tle of Kursk-Kharkov was viewed generally as the scene of Hitler's all-out all-out 1942 offensive. For this was what he needed most of all oil. And the winning of the Kharkov engagement engage-ment meant that his goal would be much closer. ALEUTIAN FOG: Lifts a Bit Navy censorship and the dense fog that hangs over the far tip of the Jap-invaded Aleutian island chain, lifted alike to disclose that the U. S. naval air forces had been busy. A navy communique reported that "our aircraft returned safely" after five new raids on Kiska and Agattu. Agat-tu. A Jap force of three transports and their escorting vessels were inflicted in-flicted with undetermined damage off Agattu and four attacks were made on the Japs at Kiska. But the best news from that area was the announcement that on Independence Inde-pendence day U. S. submarines sent three Jap destroyers to the bottom and left a fourth severely damaged. The communique reporting these sinkings said that three destroyers were fired upon near the Jap-occupied island of Kiska and the other one near Agattu island. EGYPT: Rommel's Romp While the German high command withheld any actual forecast as to the number of days it would take them to reach and capture Suez, British forces were letting nothing stand in their way of giving the Nazis the very fiercest resistance possible in the battle of Egypt Reports from Britain's Eighth army in this sector told of a weakening weak-ening of German power under the leadership of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. These reports said that many German soldiers had advanced ad-vanced to the British lines in surrender sur-render because they described themselves as "too tired" to fight. His mechanized forces had advanced ad-vanced to a line 65 miles west of Alexandria before the British could present even a show of strength to deter him. This stand by the British, as reported re-ported from Cairo, came in the form of the greatest aerial onslaught ever unleashed in the Middle East. The site of the battle was El Ala-mein Ala-mein and its pace was terrific. The British were fighting for a knockout to Rommel's already far advanced desert army. Rommel wanted to save what he had gained and push forward, of course. Egyptian government sources said that raids had been made on the Suez canal and Premier Mustapha Nahas Pasha announced a complete blackout of Cairo. BRIG. GEN. CLAIRE CHENNAULT Off to a good start. Chennault, commander of the Americans, Amer-icans, that any such attempt would get a "cheery welcome." Then came the Jap raid and the skies over Hengyang were subjected to what was described as perhaps the fiercest air battle over central China. Australia Sector General MacArthur's Australian headquarters reported that on the same day as the battle over central China," American and Australian planes shot down six Jap planes and damaged six others in heavy attacks on invasion bases Salamaua and Lae, New Guinea. Three United Nations Na-tions planes were reported missing. In addition to the Jap planes destroyed, de-stroyed, the report added that direct di-rect hits were scored on enemy airdromes, air-dromes, striking runways and buildings. build-ings. MORE SPIES: In Caribbean Shortly after the FBI announced its arrest of the eight Nazi saboteurs sabo-teurs who reached the U. S. via a submarine route, U. S. army headquarters head-quarters in the Panama Canal Zone came through with the seizure of 20 alleged Nazi spies. It was claimed that these persons were engaged in a plot which included fueling of Nazi submarines and spotting of Allied shipping targets in the Caribbean. Arrests were made from Panama to British Honduras, and business men, night club hostesses, trusted Canal Zone workers and shipping employees were involved. SUBMARINES: Pacific Too? While Washington officials had announced an-nounced that convoys were being used to protect shipping in America's Amer-ica's Atlantic coastal areas, a threat appeared in a new sector. This came in the form of dispatch from Santiago, Chile, which disclosed dis-closed that the Chilean ministry of the navy and the Pan-American Grace airways were checking reports re-ports that submarines had been observed ob-served in the Pacific. J |
