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Show WEEKLY MEWS ANALYSIS U. S. French North African Campaign Aimed to Aid British Egyptian Drive In Annihilating All of Rommel's Army; AEF Operations Proceed on Schedule fEDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these columns, they are those of Western Newspaper Union's news analysis and not necessarily of this newspaper.) I I - , Released by Western Newspaper Union. rf u.s.s.R. p" UBYA pTal '"VV l-'-FR. W. AFRICA v'-fAARABIA O A F R rl""C A r 1 ,r ANGLO j M-- i ' ' W VfUOAHJTALlAHy - L. : imii&X. v . INTER-UNION ROW: Affects Detroit Firms Because of alleged interference with their organizational efforts by members of the United Automobile Workers (CIO), 7,000 workers left their jobs in a half dozen Detroit war plants, suspending operations in the production of vital war materials. ma-terials. The strike was Detroit's largest since Pearl Harbor. It was called off at the end of the first day after War Labor board intervention. In a single day it forced the shutdown of 15 Detroit factories. The workers involved were members mem-bers of the Mechanics Educational Society of America (Independent). Matthew Smith, M.E.S.A. president, presi-dent, described the work stoppages as a "labor holiday" designed to "see if there is any law and order in this town if a man can join a labor union of his own choosing." Smith said the trouble started between be-tween his union and the U.A.W. when, several weeks ago, a group of M.E.S.A. officials called at the Briggs Manufacturing Co. to attempt at-tempt to organize workers there. He said some U.A.W. members threw his men bodily from the plant. MANPOWER: And Production There was much discussion throughout government, industry and labor circles regarding the advisability ad-visability of increasing the number of hours in the standard American work-week. General opinion seemed to be that to increase the standard number of hours from 40 to 48 was a good step but further than that few wanted to go. President Roosevelt at his press conference disclosed some interesting interest-ing data on the subject. He said that intelligence reports show that last spring the German government decided to greatly increase the work-week, especially in certain munitions mu-nitions plants where the number of weekly hours went up from 70 to 80. For about two months, Nazi production produc-tion greatly increased but then began be-gan to slip until the time came when the output of the 70-to-80-hour workweek work-week was actually less than the former for-mer 48-hour week. Latest monthly reports of U. S. war production show that the nation's na-tion's industrial machine continues to gain speed as it rolls along; munitions mu-nitions production was up 7 per cent over the month before; airplane production pro-duction up 10 per cent; ordnance 7 per cent; navy and army vessels 22 per cent, merchant ships 10 per cent. VOICE: From a Beer Cellar Speaking at the Loewenbrau beer cellar on the anniversary of his 1923 Munich putsch Adolf Hitler spouted loud and long about the latest developments devel-opments in the U. S. drive into the French North African colonies. He declared that the landings there would "no more win the war than the British landings in France early in the conflict," But while his words were strong and scornful there was evidence to indicate that the recent events in Africa had given him cause for concern. con-cern. Said he: "We will prepare all counter blows as thoroughly as always, al-ways, and they will come in due time." He spent much of his speech in a review of the war and was careful to stress the fact that there would Arrows near top of map show general locations of American troop landings in opening the long-heralded second front. V. S. troops struck at Algiers and other key cities, carrying out operations at a speed even greater than anticipated. FIRST BLOWS: Gain Objectives Even as the city of Algiers fell to attacking United States "troops, official offi-cial communiques from Allied North African headquarters announced new successes in the second front drive to forestall an Axis invasion of French territory. The Algerian port of Oran was reported in American hands, as was near-by Arzew. The capitulation of Algiers, first announced by Vichy and later confirmed by Lieut. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower in North Africa, Af-rica, provided for American occupation occupa-tion of the city. Before the city had surrendered, American combat teams and Rangers Ran-gers had captured two air fields in that area and a third near Oran. Possession of the airdromes will enable en-able Allied forces to beat off Axis air attacks from Sicily and Sardinia Sar-dinia and gives Mediterranean convoys con-voys much-needed aerial protection. From Allied headquarters in Africa Af-rica came word of heavy fighting from several French naval units and shore batteries at Algiers and Oran ports, but th's was dealt with by British and American naval forces. Coastal defenses at Algiers, manned by Admiral Darlan's navy, sank two light Allied vessels in the harbor. Big guns from some of the greatest warships afloat put an end to the opposition. OPERATIONS: 'Proceeding Rapidly' While Vichy evidenced its reluctance reluc-tance to believe battlefront reports, authoritative dispatches from American Amer-ican correspondents said that everywhere every-where operations were proceeding rapidly. Americans were quick to seize airfields air-fields in the region of Algiers and Oran. Veteran fighter pilots set their planes down on the fields immediately immedi-ately after ground forces overran the airports. The split-second timing tim-ing was revealed when, in one case, American fighter planes coming in to land aided in the capture of the field at the last minute with a ground strafing attack which removed re-moved the last vestige of resistance. resist-ance. ' ! : The feat of one eager American combat force was reported in early communications. One of the few submarines which reached the convoy con-voy disabled a transport, packed with the combat force. Instead of waiting to be towed back to port by the destroyers, the army commander com-mander ordered his men to take to their assault boats, tiny, flat-bottomed craft designed only for short forays to landing beaches. With destroyers de-stroyers as an escort the strange armada sailed 120 miles through rough water to land at one of the many beachheads. The seasick soldiers sol-diers stuck to their posts throughout the dangerous journey and achieved what was termed a feat without parallel in such an operation. VICHY: Breaks Relations I Meanwhile, the government of Marshal Petain, chief of state in Vichy, France, broke relations with the United States. Pierre ' Laval, as chief of government, summoned S. Pinkney Tuck, U. S. charge d'affaires d'af-faires at Vichy, and informed him that relations between France and the United States were broken off. Thus was ended a strong bond of friendship which had persevered for many decades and which lasted through almost a year of war between be-tween the United States and France's German conquerors. At a Washington press conference Secretary of State Cordell Hull disclosed dis-closed that the United States' relations rela-tions with Vichy had served their purpose and that the United States no longer cares what attitude the Vichy government takes. He pointed point-ed out that the major reason for maintaining relations was to prepare pre-pare for the drive into Africa. Past relations with Vichy aided the groundwork for that operation. Petain took his action after talking talk-ing to his highest advisers, including includ-ing Laval and Gen. Maxime Wey-,gand, Wey-,gand, former pro-consul for French North Africa. Early fragments of information reaching Vichy gave isolated reports of at least 10 American Ameri-can landings, air and sea bombardments bombard-ments and De Gaullist (Fighting French) uprisings. American forces were reported ashore in an area extending ex-tending over about 650 miles of France's North African coast on the Atlantic and the Mediterranean from' Casablanca to Algiers. ROMMEL: Distance Runner The battered remnants of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's African army had new worries. Pursued relentlessly re-lentlessly by the British Eighth army, the arrival of American troops in Algeria launched a powerfully pow-erfully equipped spearhead of power at Rommel's back. The pincers appeared ap-peared to be closing. Official British announcements told how the Germans abandoned their Italian allies to capture or annihilation. an-nihilation. A Cairo dispatch said that six entire Italian divisions have been captured complete with all their equipment. "It seems clear," said a British war bulletin, "that the Germans withdrew without attempting at-tempting to extricate any of the Italian Ital-ian infantry formations." The fleeing Axis armies already had left Mersa Matruh far behind Halfaya (Hellfire) pass, a narrow defile leading into Libya's arid regions, re-gions, loomed ahead. Even though the Nazis get through Halfaya pass, they are confronted with new obstacles. obsta-cles. They have lost the bulk of their armored forces and most of their Italian support They are a long way from home and face the possibility of being cut off. Should the battle be fought out in the Libyan Lib-yan desert, it will be possible for the British to flank the remainder of Rommel's men. This they could not do at El Alamein because of the sea on one side and the Qattara depression on the other. ADOLF HITLER "We will prepare counter blows." be no German capitulation as in 1918. He drew a parallel between himself and the kaiser, saying that: "The kaiser was a man who did not have strength to see things through ..." But Hitler indicated that he would have more strength In the hour of crisis: "All the time from my boyhood I have kept the bad habit of having the last word." Observers took the tone of his speech to mean that the trend of worrying noticed lately among German Ger-man citizens had finally reached the stage where officials were inclined in-clined to counter with an answer at least in words. Hitler said that so far in this war 350,000 Germans had been killed. He admitted the going was tough but claimed that Stalingrad was in Nazi hands. ITALY: Double Trouble News of the American landing brought further pessimism to an already al-ready unhappy Italy. The first official offi-cial comment came when it was announced an-nounced over Rome radio that ". .. the Italian people for this attack is directed against us is facing fac-ing a terrible trial. The maximum effort of the adversary has been directed against us, but shall we bow down before the . . . weight of this foe without a struggle?" |
