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Served By Leased Wire Of The ^ ^ ^ - associated press _T 1 . ^ ^ lTfl¥ ^ * CT w REHEMBEB 5555 umttuamt Mnrmttg mar “■ VOL. 781--NO. 286______WILMINGTON, N. C., SATURDAY, AUG. 21, 1943 FINAL EDITION ESTABLISHED 1867 0DS SMASH DEEP INTO UKRAINE TO CAPTURE LEBEDIN ABOVE KHARKOV Russia’s New Steppe Army Crashes Into Foe In Sudden Lunge WINTER DRIVE MARK Latest Conquest Is High water Level Of Last Year’s Offensive LONDON. Saturday, Aug. oh-f/P)—Russia’s new step np armv smashed deep into he Ukraine almost 100 miles northwest of Kharkov to cap ture Lebedin, highwater mark of last winter’s offen sive Moscow announced ear lv today, while London re ports indicated the Red army had encircled all but 13 miles of Kharkov itself Lebedin is iuu nines the starting point of the So viet Ukanian offensive near Belgorod and mid-way be tween captured Akhtyrka and 1 threatened Sumy. The Rus I dan column that took it ap f narently was aiming for the I vital rail junction of Konotop on the Kiev-Bryansk railway 70 miles to the northwest. Russians Attack Furiously (The BBC quoted a Berlin broadcast as saying the Eussians "are now attacking furiously at six widely-separated points along a 1,000-mile front” between Len ingrad and Murmansk in the far north. NBC heard the BBC broadcast, which, if true, means the Russians are opening a new offensive on the long-stalemated Finnish front.) A Moscow communique record ed by the Soviet monitor said a total of 6,100 Germans were killed yesterday on all fronts, including 1,400 in the Kharkov zone, 2,600 on the central front southwest of Spas Demensk, and 1,300 on the Bryansk front. On the Bryansk front tne Soviets acknowledged fierce German op position as they pounded on fron captured Karachev, 25 miles to thf east. Farther north, in the Spa: Demensk offensive, the Russians were moving between the two rail roads leading to Smolensk roughly L75 miles northwestward. | In the Ukraine offensive over >20 towns and villages fell to driv *ing columns northwest ot Kharkov, said the communique. The Ger mans countered with \resh infan cy and tanks in an effort to stem he Red army advance. Opposing tanks crashed over the countryside in a weaving bat tle of armor but the Germans re ceded after 45 of their tanks were disabled by Soviet fire. Victoi .ous Russians captured fuel ana am munition supplies as the Germans Red, the bulletin added. A number of fortified places kere reported captured by the Russians southeast of Kharkov. It jvas m this general area that the ast German escape corridor nar anved to a single railway. The mermans were making every sub 11 an cl°s*roads a resistance cen fr their effort to delay the •omplete encirclement of the city, ouet planes were soaring over ground troops, crushing enemy OMftK «,ndfStr°ng poinls in Vne m ! ? f01' Kharkov- Russan PS on the east and southeast n « ! •Jreported only a few tcel rtS,lde the efty- and for a ci'iiwSh°Ckr lroops have been bat lorthw ?lnforced Germans in the lortneastern suburh* nans L?7ansk fiShufig the Ger e;Gns,' back to well-prepared ^Positions and “offered ah]. n„S anae'the communique 3 have J ®oviet unit was said 1 camn °Ugkt through these lines tins out son'ral hamlets after aptured 1 r Germans- Another nd be-if • G,ei'man defense nest hacks k:?rck rePeated counter *»««s ",!"tGer,n! ,n<1 stPn„„b .',ar material. •ernenfk fintS4 southwest of Spas \n ],a)) , 10 the Russians after lans \\-pl °ns °* defending Ger krrnans eK”!ped out. The dogged irought up more re °ntmucd 011 Page Five: Col. 6) weather North d-^RECAST a"Peta‘ure Satoday/ Slowly rising ‘‘m»8ton High )Low i„ 1:54a «:03a i01*°ro j.,., 2:24p 9:39p i. el -11:51a 5:57a .*s Inlet 12:21p 6:32p . ll:5fia 6:02p 6:07a "m:s Eas'tVrn~ gtandard)1P 6 ;42P t. / ,illr 01 IridJiVCr. *t Fayette dav »t * a.ir.., 9.85 feet. Entire State Reports Drop In Temperature During Past Two Days With the entire state report ing e.tremely low tempera tures during the past 24 hours as contrasted with the usual August weather, Wilmington weather bureau officials re corded a minimum temperature of 62 degrees Friday. After nearly two months of sweltering days and nights, the drop of over 30 degrees found many residents wearing a coat for the first time this month and othern reported a “chilly” night’s sleep. Prospects for a slowly rising temperature were in order Friday night and no estimate was given as the extent of the rise. ACL LINE CHANGE PARLEY IS ENDED Request To Abandon Route To Fayetteville To Be Acted Upon Soon RALEIGH, Aug. 20.— MB —Yhe State Utilities Commission today completed its public hearing into the application of the Atlantic Coast Line Railway company to abandon passenger service on its line between Fayetteville and Wil mington and the addition of pas senger trains on its Wilmington to Roqky Mount line. Commissioner Stanley Winborne said taking of testimony offered by the road in support of its ap plication and that of the protes tants was completed earlier than was expected. He said the com mission would render a decision possibly within 10 days. The proposal to discontinue pas senger train service between Fay etteville and Wilmington was op posed by more than a hundred residents of the area served by the branch line. Witnesses for the protestants said that the one train the road operates each way each day be tween Wilmington and Fayetteville was not sufficient to accommo date the number of passengers wishing to use the line for an out let to the area. They testified that passengers often were forced to ride in baggage cars. a he railroad’s petition requested permission to transfer its equip ment now being used on the Fay etteville-Wilmington run, to a d d one train each way each day be tween Wilmington and Rocky Mount in order to facilitate the movement of soldiers goir.g north o week-end leaves and furloughs. The Wilmington-to-Rocky Mount line serves several Army and Navy camps in the area. The clause asking permission to add additional trains on the road’s northern run had the backing of military and naval authorities. Both clauses of the application were approved by the Office of Defense Transportation. In a brief filed with the appli cation, the railroad company said the discontinuance of passenger service between Wilmington and Fayetteville “would greatly incon venience residents living in the area served by the line.” But the service between Wilmington and road officials conntended that ad dition of other train service on the Wilmington-to-Rocky Mount run was necessary to the war ef fort. Road officials said that no equip ment was available to place the extra trains on the line serving the military areas and that equip men would have to be moved i from some other branch. -V- j Next Blackout Drill May Mix Signals To Test Public Response RALEIGH, Aug. 20.—</P>— The usual sequence of signals probably will not be followed in North Carolina’s next black out or practice drill, R. Walker Martin, ^sistant director of the State Office of Civilian De fense, in charge of protection, said today. Martin said the purpose of the mixture of signals is to “simulate as near as possible actual air raid conditions.” He explained that often in actual air raids no danger signal fol lows the alert and often a dan ger signal may follow an all clear. A general mixture of the red, blue and white signals may be had in the next test, he said, so that the public may know what each signal means. Falla Poses For Lensmen - ...... ■■■ i The canine world is represented at the important Roosevelt Churchill conference at Quebec by the President’s pet, Fala. The scottie is giving his views on the strategy conference in canine lan kuake as he poses for newspaper photographers. (International) Roosevelt Will Address The Canadian Parliament QUEBEC, Aug. 20.—(JP)—President Roosevelt will ad dress an informal meeting of the Canadian Parliament at Ottawa Wednesday, following conclusion of the high strate gy conference here in which he and Prime Minister Chur chill are working in “complete harmony’’ and making ex cellent progress. Plans for the speech were announced officially late to day at the same time that a Citadel spokesman gave the first picture of how the chief executive arid prime minister are putting in their time. Mr. Roosevelt and Churchill set such a pace last night, by working until 2:30 a. m., that today they were com pletely caught up on current tasks. This enabled them to go ALLIED PLANES HAMMERING AXIS Shuttle Of Craft Of Dover Strait Signals Continu ing Air Attacks LONDON. Aug. 20.-A shut tle of Allied planes over Dover strait and the distant rumble of gunfire today signaled the sixth day of virtually non-stop Allied aerial attacks concentrated on en emy airfields in western Europe. An Air Ministry communique an nounced tonight that Mitchell me dium bombers with Spitfire escort attacked enemy aircraf and a fac ory at Flushing in the Nether lands and that Boston mediums also escorted by Spitfires bombed railways and marshalling yards at Abbeville, France. “One bomber is missing but the crew is safe,” the communique added. The attack on Flushing follow ed yesterday’s FI y i n g Fortress raid there. Squadrons of planes renewed the assault today after RAF Mosquito bombers struck at Berlin last night and fighters pounced upon air fields and railway targets on the continent. Fifteen uerman anuiumca nau been hit in 26 attacks from Sunday morning to Thursday evening. In that period, the Allies ham mered home anew proof of their mastery of the air over western Europe. They shot down 123 German fighters over the French coast, enemy airdromes and the channel with loss of eight. Flying Fortress es two fighter-bombprs and 23 fighters. Fifty of the e n e m y planes were downed yesterday in raids upon four major air bases in Holland and France. Into this developing week of the air-front offensive, the Allies have thrown virtually their full aerial armory in types of planes if not in maximum force. The Fortresses, medium Mauar ders, Mitchells, Bostons, Typhoon fighter-bombers and Thunderbolts, Spitfires and Typhoon fighters by (Continued on Page Five; Col 8.) on # picnic ana iisning nip, wiui members of their immediate par ties, to an undentified lake about 50 miles north of here. This evening they swung back into conference routine at a din ner with Secretary of State Hull and Brtain’s Foreign Minister An thony Eden. Hull joined the Que bec group during the afternoon, his presence here dramatizing half a dozen urgent political problems, directly grown out of the war, for which solutions of one sort or another must be found. Foremost among these problems, in the opinion of many here, is the matter of closer coordination with Russia in the campaigns— apparently soon to be undertaken for final victory in Europe. Announcement of the president’s Ottawa plans was made at a press conference by Canadian, British and American spokesmen. Stephen Early, one of President Roose velt’s secretaries, was authority for information about how the chief executive and prime minis ter worked until the small hours this morning to wipe their schedule clean of all matters requiring their attention up to that time. Asked whether that meant “com plete harmony-’ marked the en deavors of the two chiiefs of state, Early repled that that was “en tirely so.” President Kooseveit s speecn ai Ottawa, Early said, will be brief and will be broadcast. It will be deivered about noon, E.W.T. on Parliament Hill outdoors, in a spot where the Parliament buildings form three sides of a rectangle around a green lawn large enough to accommodate three or four football fields. Thus, in addition to the members of the Senate and House of Commons, thousands of citizens will be able to see and hear him. The president, Early said, does not expect to come back to Que bec from the Canadian capital. Instead, he will move “in the di rection of Washington.” He will be in Ottawa only one day. These plans indicated that the confer ence among the principals, includ ing Prime Minister W. L. Mac kenie King of Canada, would wind up Tuesday at the latest, with a joint press conference and the is suing of a formal statement. No announcement was made of Mr. Churchill’s schedule after that time. But the Canadian prime minister will accompany the pres ident to Ottawa. (Continued On Page Two; Col. 7) Foggia Razed By Allied Air Bombardment Italy’s Railroad Sinews Blasted In Huge Block buster Raids AEOLIAN ISLES TAKEN American Naval Forces Capture More Stepping Stones To Europe ALLIED HEADQUAR TERS IN NORTH AFRICA, Aug. 20. — (/P) — Allied air fleets slashing at Italy’s rail road sinews of defense blast ed the communications cen ter of Foggia in saturation block-buster raids yesterday, while at sea American naval forces seized the Aeolian stepping-stone islands north of Sicily. The raid on Foggia, 20 miles inland from the coast opposite Naples, was describ ed officially as the heaviest of the Mediterranean war, and although the total num ber of planes participating was not specified, it was greater than the total hurled against Rome in the first at tack on the Italian capital. Seven hundred planes — 500 bombers and 200 fib ers _were used by the Al lies in the Rome raid. _ Strategic Defense Point The city is one of the master bastions in any Axis blueprint for the defense of southern Italy. The important industrial and communications center was left a seething mass of flame by three different types of bombers that attacked by daylight and darkness on a scale unparalleled in both size and ferocity in the Mediter ranean war. , Flying \ Fortresses in double waves, followed by formations of Liberators, struck the first blows. Their strings by bombs interlaced the freight yards, squarely hit a railway bridge and knocked out repair shops, warehouses, mili tary barracks and set fire to a large number of freight and pas senger cars. Sheets of flame shot upward from locomotive repair shops and the railway station itself, and ex plosion-hurled bits of wreckage and rubble filled the air as the last of the big bombers swept past. But even then the “triple strength’’ raid wasn’t ended. As darkness fell, RAF Welling tons, guided by fires visible 80 miles away, loosed a cascade of 2,000-pound bombs that spread the old fires and started now ones, and toppled the walls of buildings (Continued on Page Five; Col, 8) — — 1 Danish Leaders Meet To Consider Prospect i Of Revolt Against Foe STOCKHOLM, Aug. 20.—(0— Danish political leaders met in Copenhagen today to consider whether the government would back an open rebellion of the people against the Nazi occu pation and war services, or yield part of its justice admin istration to the Germans. The government of Premier Eric Scavenius appeared to seek a show-down between the rising public clamor for a new government with a more mili tant attitude toward Germans and the Berlin demands for a more submissive Denmark. Attacks on Nazi soldiers and sabotage against factories pro ducing German war materials have been reported rampant for a week. Details of the swelling cam paign against Nazi rule were brought here by Travelers ar riving from Denmark today. French Underground Movement Against Foe Reported Sputtering With Some Violence MADRID, Aug. 20.—(#)—The un derground movements of France —the fuse to what may be a pow erful bomb under the German forces of occupation — sputtered angrily today with increasing though sporadic acts of violence. Writing in the atmosphere of Chief of Government Pierre La val’s capital, the Vichy correspond ent of E^E, official Spanish for eign news agency, said that the French officials “live in perpetual dread inspired by terrorist ele ments whose acts sometimes ap pear in the form of destruction of large quantities of wheat and oats.” The correspondent did not say whose wheat and oats were burn ed, but other sources left no doubt these were German stores which had been going up in fires start ed by the very peasants from whose fields the grains were taken for German use. Continued Allied broadcasts to the French people that “the day” of invasion was close at hand stepped up French nervousness to a new high. The Vichy correspondent report ed that officials of the Vichy for eign ministry and other officials, "even a former chief of Petain’s cabinet," were arrested at Laval’s order in Paris. "Those arrested were charged with dangerous contacts with ele ments of powers considered as en emies of France,” said the corre spondent. The Germans, said this corre spondent, at the same time ar rested the chief of cabinet of Pi erre Cathala, the minister of fi nance, and the chief of cabinet of Jean Bichelonne, the minister of industrial production, and other high financial and banking fig ures. The official motive of these ar rests, said the correspondent, was for black market operations. “French masses,” the corre spondent continued, "dream of the fourth republic and of (EJdouard) Herriot, now interned in Vittel.” Even the cartoonists in the Paris press have begun taking back handed slaps at German and La val propaganda concerning the Al lied air raids. The correspondent reported on (Continued on Page Five; Col. 3) JT\ ■ JAP JUNGLE TROOPS IN FULL FLIGHT A T SALAMAUA FRONT Where Invasion Blows May Fall Patriots in occupied Europe (shaded area) have been told to pre pare for an Allied invasion (arrows) which observers declared could fall from the Mediterranean area or from England — or both. The broadcast was directed primarily to France. Swiss reports said Germany plans to fight a delaying action in Italy and will make a determined stand at the Brenner Pass in the north. Italian King’s Message Refrains From War Talk LONDON, Aug. 20.—(fP) —Italy was plainly a sick bel ligerent tonight, with her king issuing to the people of Si cily a proclamation which was silent about any intention to go on fighting the war. There was considerable feeling that Allied armies might move next against fresher and stronger objectives than the cracked Axis southern wall. Although it is far too early to play the bugles of con quest over the Italians, King Vittorio Emanuel’s curious and timorous message to the people and the loss of seven -—★ more Italian islands to the U. S. ‘MEATLESS DAY’ TERMED SUCCESS Officials Of Commerce Group Sav Plan Work ing In Restaurants Meatless day, observed here Fri day for the first time, with up town eaters consuming only non rationed meats, was handled suc cessfully by restaurants, cafes, and cafeterias, officials of the Chamber of Commerce declared Friday afternoon. All the participating eating es tablishments adopted the plan voluntarily. Perhaps the only con fusion resulting from the meatless day program issued from the fact that some concerns did not know whether or not the rule applied to sandwiches. Chamber officials were of the opinion that sandwiches should not come under the rationed meat ban. on Friday. Formal rul ing will likely come later. The measure was inaugurated to assist restaurants in the conserva tion and even distribution of meat ration point, which in many cases have proved inadequate. .Cafe operators signified their approval of the meatless day at a meeting in the courthouse a week ago, when R B. Roberts, district OPA: food rationing officer, addressed them. Final plans were laid at a committee meeting early this week. Navy — the Aeolian group off the west coast—were immensely heart ening to the Allied world. What the king told the people of Sicily in effect was that al though they now are “cut off” from the rest of Italy and have for the present nothing but hings to grieve about, they should hold faih “in a better futurei” In his future, he said, Italy— and he presented the country as a wounded nation with more hope for the future than reasoned con fidence for the present — would await her “resurrection.” “The future will bring a reward for your sufferings,” the king said in the proclamation, which was broadcast by the Rome radio and recorded by the Associated Press. “I have lived with you this ter rible moment,” the king told the Sicilians. “I have heard your voice. I have understood your sufferings. “Italians of Sicily, your king is near to you.” He called insistently for Sicily’s loyalty to the crown and the house of Savoy. For years the Sicilians have been regarded as tepid in regard to Fascism. A later Rome broadcast indi cated that the proclamation was an attempt to forestall a separtist movement, rather than an impli cation that peace might be near at hand. The second broadcast quoted the newspaper il Messaggero as say ing that rumors had reached Italy that the Sicilians were trying to set up their own government. "At the present moment separatism is a crime against the mother coun try,” the' broadcast said. Swiss dispatches also suggested that the king’s message was is sued amid growing apprehensions that separatist feelings may in crease to a point which would cause a break with the Italian peninsula. A Milan dispatch to the Libera Stampa of Lugano stated that the Sicilians had not forgotten the cry of “we need only a glance o un derstand” with which they fought a losing battle against the impo sition of Fascism. La Suisse of Geneva declared editorially that separatist feelings in Sicily were complemented since Italy’s entrance into the war by the fact that for nearly three years the British were so strongly check ed in the Mediterranean that they preferred the long route around the cape rather than Suez passage exposed to Italian and German at tacks. The idea, the newspaper said, already has been expressed in some Anglo-Saxon publications that this could be avoided in the (Continued on Page Five; Col 7> NOW FALLING BACK Machine Guns And Artil lery Abandoned By Re treating Enemy CRACK CAME RAPIDLY Foe Has Long Been With out Proper Supplies Due To Allied Raids ALLIED HEADQUAR TERS IN THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC, Saturday, Aug. 21. — (/P) — Japanese jungle troops are in full flight from the mountain ridge defenses before Salamaua, New Gui nea, and are falling back on the inner defenses of the air base, Gen. Douglas MacAr thur announced today. “The enemy is in full re treat to his inner citadel of defenses at Salamaua itself,” a new communique reported. Machine gun sana arunery have been abandoned along with more than 350 buried dead. ' “Our troops are mopping up.” The Japanese troops, their supplies low as the result of Allied air attacks on coastal barges and their air support virtually wiped out on air dromes above Salamaua, sud denly gave up positions from which they long have held off Americans and Australians. Defense Cracks Open Today’s communique disclosed that their defenses cracked wide open. All at once, they gave up Orodubi, five miles southeast of Salamaua, the nearby strongpoint of Komiatum and the Goodview junction and Mount Tambu areas ■»'a.r the coast. The day before General Mac Artbur’s communique had an nounced the capture on the Fran cisco river of Bobdubi ridge, only t-’-re miles from the Salamaua airdrome whose possession would ' llies within easy fighter plane range of big Japanese hold ings on New Britain. The new successes enabled the Allies to forge a solid line for their advance upon the airdrome and the town, built on an isthmus connecting the mainland with Cape Parsee in the Huon gulf. In intensified attacks, given solid artillery support, the Americans and Australians won strong con nected positions running inland from Roosevelt ridge on Tambu bay in a curve running north and west across the Francisco river. The Allies now hold all the vital ridges. From Komiatum, a sup ply track runs near the airdrome only three and a half miles away. The Japanese now are expected to take up positions guarding the airfield. Salamaua, which the Japanese have held since January, 1942, re cently was laid in ruins by more than 1,000 tons of bombs. Today’s communique said that American and Australian troop*, which for long have approached it, driving the enemy from ridge and jungle positions, had taken several key points in a drive on the last defense. Twenty-four Japanese planes were destroyed and nine damaged in a new raid 350 miles up the coast on Wewak. This brought to 248 the number of enemy planes smashed there within a week. The other 215 out of a fleet of 225 which might have supported the Sala maua garrison were wiped out in raids Tuesday and Wednesday. Friday, 66 more tons of bombs were dropped there on air reen forcements. Liberators, escorted by Light nings, made this third smash at Wewak. Salamaua has a fine airdrome. From it in peace time big cargo planes took off for the nearby gold fields. The airdrome has been the ob jective of the left flank of the South Pacific offensive which the Allies opened on June 30. The first objective of the right flank, the Munda airfield on New Georgia in the central Solomons, was cap tured August 5. In the siege of Salamaua, the airforce played a tremendous part, sinking daily the barges by which the enemy sought to send supplies and reenforcements, and blasting bill top and jungle positions ahead (Continued On Page Five; Col. 4)
Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Aug. 21, 1943, edition 1
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