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forecast + \ -- umuutfmt nnrnuj s’lctr | V0L_7^^_-------WLMINGTON, N. C., MONDAY, JUNE 5, 1944 _FINAL EDITION ESTABLISHED 1867 CLARKS FORCES FIGHT WAY TO CENTER OF CITY AGAINST BLOCK BY BLOCK RESISTANCE FIRST EUROPEAN CAPITAL TAKEN 16,000 Prisoners Bagged; 600 Vehicles Wrecked; Foe Finally Routed ROME, June 4. — (IP) — Rome, the Eternal City, was liberated tonight by tanks and infantry troops of the Allied Fifth Army which bat tled German rear-guards to the edge of the ancient Fo rum. A force from the old Anzio beachhead completed the mop up of Nazi forces at 9:15 p. m. (3:15 p. m., Eastern war time.) The Fifth Army . force fought its way into the heart of the city after a four-hour battle against German armor in the suburbs of the ancient capital. 5th Army In Lead ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, Na ples, June 4—(41—Allied Fifth Ar my troops burst into the city limits of historic Rome late today after a fierce battle at the suburbs. Block by block Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark’s men edged into the metropolis, and Rome's fall was nearing hourly tonight. “Sporadic resistance continues,’* said a Laconic headquarters an nouncement. The huge air-wreaked toll of Nazi transports on congested roads above Rome indicated the enemy intended no major stand in the an cient city—first European capital to be entered by Allied troops. The enemy made it a battle every WASHINGTON, June 4.—(J» —The battle for Rome, from the time the Allies swept across the Messina straits on to the Italian O Veininsular Laut Sept 3, cost the lives of more than 9,GOO Americans. foot of the way through the sub urbs into Rome. The Germans hurl ed all they had—tanks, armor and artillery — into fierce fighting to block the Fifth Army steamroller at least until they could pull out more of their own menaced forces. This break into Rome, center of Catholicism and once the seat of the ancient Roman empire, came 24 days after the Allies unleashed a powerful combined offensive of the Fifth and Eighth armies, and . 12 days after Fifth Army men on | the Anzio beachhead hurled forth ' their powerdrive aimed at the capi ’ tal. Lashing at the Nazi columns re treating from Rome, Allied fighter bombers destroyed or damaged at WITH THE FIFTH ARMY IN THE SUBURB OF ROME, June 4.—l/P)—One hundred and thirty-five German soldiers mutinied, shot two officers and surrendered to an Ameri can infantry company west of Lanuvio, as the final drive to ward Rome got under way, it was reported today. least 600 motor vehicles finding “excellent targets in congested traffic” above the city to Viterbo, Lake Bracciano and Lake Bolsena, headquarters said . Other planes struck troops con centrations and gun positions. U. S. heavy bombers 500 to 750 strong’smashed meanwhile at tar gets on two main rail lines on the French-Italian frontier. The fighter-bombers found the Nazi columns retreating as far north as Viterbo, 38 miles above Rome, and Lake Bracciano, 50 miles from the capital. The great roundup of prisoners continued—with more than 15,000 now taken by the Fifth Army alone. The Eighth Army has captured at least 1,000. Five of the 18 German divisions engaged in Italy already had been virtually annihilated. Thus the Allies were well along in their avowed purpose of this offensive to crush the Nazi le gions. Battlefields were strewn with vast amounts of wrecked Nazi equip ment. The blistering drive to Rome (Continued on Page Two; Col. 4) a German self-propelled guns and other vehicles smashed by tactical Allied bombing near the stra tegic town of Velletri, Italy, are given the once-over by American troops shortly after they began to en circle the Nazi bastion. The flanking of the town re suited in the capture of the Heights in the Alban hills from which the Yanks can see the dome of St. Peter’s Cathedral in the city of Rome. This is an OWI Radiophoto. (International). BILES BOMBED 5 DAYS IN ROW Americans Wage Bitter Battle At Approach Of Tokyo U. S. PACIFIC FLEET HEAD QUARTERS, PEARL HARBOR, june 4.—CP>—American bombers attacked the Kurile islands on the northern approaches to Tokyo and Truk in the central Pacific for the (;f;h consecutive day, Adm. Ches ter W. Nimitz announced today. Three separate smashes were made before dawn Friday at the Kuriles. Two fires were started on Shumrshu, northernmost of the is land chain, Paramushiro and Mat sueva were also hit. Fires and explosions were start ed Saturday on Truk, major target in a two-way aerial offensive ijainst the Carolines by central and south Pacific air forces. Po : ape. eastern stronghold of the Carolines, was bombed Thursday a n the north. Bombers from the south hit Friday at Truk, Nomoi, Puluwat and Woleai in the central and western Carolines. Navy and Marine planes smash 'Continued on Page Two; Col. 2) -V Rein Clouds Lower And Barometer Falls Over Dover’s Strait LONDON, June 4.—(/P)—Rain clouds gathered over Dover strait tonight after a day of tubed cloud and sunshine and a gusty southwesterly wind. The barometer dropped and dte temperature was down to 35 at 9:30 p. m. The wind mod erated a little, but breakers "ere whitecapped. Visibility "as good. High tides at Calais 12:29 p. m. Monday and 12:47 a. m. and p. m. Tuesday (1:29 a. m. and 5:47 p. m. Monday and 7:07 a. m. Tuesday, Eastern ^"ar time). Ward Case In Spotlight To Speed Adjournment By HOWARD SUTTLE Star-News Washington Bureau WASHINGTON, June 4.—Inves tigation of the government’s seiz ure of the Chicago properties of Montgomery Ward and company returns to the congressional spot light Tuesday to vie with*an all important floor slate of measures being rushed through both houses to clear the decks for a planned recess about June 20 Chuckling over the widely-dis tributed photograph of two sol diers carrying Sewell Avery, ex ecutive head of Ward’s, from his Chicago offices after President Roosevelt had ordered seizure of the mail order store, solons here have speculated upon the possibi lity of providing Avery with a similar escort when he arrives on Capitol Hill to testify Tuesday morning before the house commit tee investigating the matter. After Paul Porter, Democratic publicity chief, had reportedly of fered a cash award to two Wacs who would volunteer to carry Av ery into the committee room, one congressman said that if Porter’s suggestion was not adopted, he’d be glad to “use my influence with Romney (House Sergeant-at-arms Kenneth Romney) to obtain two capitol policemen for the assign ment.” The Ward hearing before the house committee, of which Rep. J. Bayard Clark of Fayetteville, is a member, is just one of about a dozen Capitol Hill headliners in a week’s schediule that will begin Monday with house debate on the controversial issue of what should be done with the cases of Major General Walter C. Short and Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, Ar my and Navy commanders, re spectively, of the Hawaiian area at the time of the Pearl Harbor disaster. „ Desoite the fact that both Short and Kimmel have signed waivers declaring they will not invoke the statute of limitations in event of court martial on charges of dere lict in duty, several congressmen, mostly Republicans, are pressing for legislation directing early trials (Continued on Page Two; Col. 1) American Subs Hit Japs 4 Times As Hard As In *42 XE\V YORK. June 4— (/?] —Am c«n submarines are hitting at ?ast .^our times as hard at enemy ^ PPing as in 1942, a study of navy communiques indicated today. Announcements in the past five m-nths list 187 Japanese vessels s^nk by U. S. submersibles, an av!r®ge monthly toll of 37.4 ships. % contrast, the average month y rate of destruction in 1942 was approximately nine Japanese ships <’r'Q in 1943 was about 23 ships. n the American underseas raid bag” of 573 enemy ships in and one-half years of war f .Cre 4" warsbips, including at least •'■e cruisers and 20 destroyers. Ine fact that since January the dPanese have lost four destroyers °ac* a cruiser through submarine ? roay indicate an attempt > Nippon to stem the American Unuerwater threat by convoy op erations. Lending emphasis to the dis abled effect of the submarine cam paign on Japan’s ability to supply her overseas bases, naval com muniques in the past five months have credited submarines with de struction of 21 enemy tankers. Adding to Japan’s woes, British submarines since January havt chalked up 19 successful attack: on Japanese shipping, mostly or the Burma supply route. The total wartime “catch” ir far eastern and Pacific waters o United Nations’ submarines, othei than American, is upward of 5( enemy vessels, including at leas six warships. Most observers believe the pre sent rate of sinking more than on< enemy ship daily reflects mounting skill and experience of U. S. nava personnel in waging offensive un derseas warfare, plus the rapic wartime growth of the submarine fleet. KERMON TO SEEK NO RUN-OFF VOTE R. M. Kermon, present repre sentative of New Hanover county in the General Assembly, stated last night that be would decline to make a request to the New Han over County Election board for a second primary. Kermon stated that an exten sion of the city limits on a sound and economical basis was essen tial to the future growth of Wil mington, and during the 1943 ses sion he introduced a bill to ex tend the city limits by permitting the voter in the affected area to vote upon it on a zoning basis. J. Q. LeGrand, who received the highest number of votes in the primary, has stated in his speech over WMFD that he favored the ex tension of the city limits and would support a bill in the General As sembly to that effect, which now settles the question of the city ex tension. There is no other issue at con troversy locally, said Kermon, and for the best interest of Wilming ton and the Democratic party, and in view of the immediate pro posed invasion of Europe, the ad ditional cost to the taxpayers, and the manpower hours that would be lost by holding a second primary, he does not believe it would be to the best interest of New Hanover county and Wilmington to request a run-off. Kermon further stated that he is interested in Wilmington and New Hanover county and its future growth and development, and to achieve that end. he would sacri fice any personal ambition for a seat in the 1945 General Assembly. The insistence of his friends to enter into the second primary has been great, he said, but he be lieves that the decision made will make for greater coordination oi purpose and cooperation of ef forts. -V- - General Uark unaer Enemy Fire At Rome ROME, June 4.—TP)—The Allied Fifth Army entered Rome slowly today, for the Germans had drop ped all pretense that it was an “open city.” Self-propelled guns, tanks anc jnipers impeded the progress oi the Allied troops as they pushed through the suburbs toward the center of the city along th-e Casi linian way. (Tnis dispatch was filed at ! p.m.—11 a.m. Eastern War Time —or more than three hours before the final cleanup.) Early in fne afternoon Lt. Gen ; Mark W. Clark, commander o the Fifth, arrived in the fighting 1 area. Bullets whizzed over hi! head. Military police accompany ing him fired on the snipers. The ■ general, without insignia, wai ! wearing his customary black rid ; ing boot and his shirt was opei 1 at the collar. Shortly after 3:30 p.m. grea I clouds of thick smoke rope fron : Rome as the Germans began de molitions in earnest f- ■£. Bombers ilast 2 Foe Areas In Day DOUBLE-TINED BLOW ■ — ■ 1,200 American Planes Pound Strongholds In France And Italy LONDON, June 4.—(#)— Upward of 1,200 American heavy bombers struck Eu rope again today — some 500 pounding German strongholds along the invasion coast while their comrades from the Med iterranean made a strong at tempt to sever two main rail lines between France and It aly. Swarms of medium bom bers and fighter bombers from Britain kept the thun derous assaults going as for the second straight day the fortresses and Liberators re turned from France without loss after saturating defenses around Boulogne with 1,500 tons of bombs. Radio Chain Broken Spitfire bombers and fighters hammei ed enemy radio installa tions along the northern coast of France this evening and the air ministry announced that more links fci the Nazi radio chain had been broken. Between 500 and 750 Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers swept up from southern Italy to attack such vital rail centers as Turin and Genoa. One force hit the Turin yards, the double-track Mount Cenis rail road leading west from Turin to Lyon. France, the Gad bridge on the Italian side of the Modane tun nel through the Alps, and tracks near St. Michel on the French side. Other bombers singled out the Riviera line, bombing a viaduct i southwest of Cannes and the Var river bridge, southwest of Nice, while other formations hit the Ge noa raiiyards and the Recco via duct to the east. Yards at Novi Legure, 25 miles north of Genoa, and the harbor at Savor.ia, 25 miles west of Genoa, also were targets. In this seventeenth successive day of attack for American light and medium bombers, more than 250 of them ranged along 200 miles of French coast line. A section of one bridge, representing about one-quarter of its length, was tum bled into the Seine river. The Paris radio reported tonight an Allied air attack on the eastern and southeastern suburbs of Paris (Continued on Page Two; Col. 4) -V Three Burn To Death In Flames At Cherry Point Training Base NORFOLK, Va., June 4.—(/P> —Three persons were burned to death in a fire of undeter mined origin which swept the training building at the Marine Corps air station at Cherry Point Saturday afternoon, Fifth Naval District headquarters announced today. The names of the victims were withheld. A board of inquiry was nam ed to conduct an investigation of the blaze. Kisses, Tears And Flowers Mark U.S. March On Rome - -T By DANIEL DE LUCE IN THE SUBURBS OF ROME June 4- Amid kisses and tears from hysterical Ro mans, Fifth Army tanks and infantry fought a four-hour battle this morning against German armor five miles from the heart of the city. In a dawn dash from Borgata Finocchio, 13 miles distant on the Via Vasilina, a spearhead of 24 Sherman tanks, eight ar mored cars and 150 U. S. and Canadian infantrymen pushed beyond suburban Torre Spac cata before they ran headlong into a German road block. Old men and young girls and toddling children were wav ing the Americans on vrnen the fire of German 83-milli meter guns knocked out the leading tank and snipers started pouring machine-gun fire from hideouts next to a white church whose bells were ringing for early mass. An Italian partisan who said the fascists had put out his left eye in torturing him kiss ed me on the cheek and vol unteered the information that -r- « Commander General Mark Clark, command er of American forces in Italy which entered Rome. he was leading an armed band of civilians back into Rome “to kill Germans.” (Smiling, brown-eyed girls brought bouquets of flowers to dust-covered riflemen who were crawling up a sloping field of wild barley and pop pies to scout German positions flanking the heavily-mined air port at Centocelle. A bald clerk, carrying an empty wine flagon, showed soldiers bruises on his face and explained that the Ger mans had beaten him as he walked into the suburbs look ing for milk for his five chil dren. “The enemy blew up Rome’s water, gas and electric works yesterday,” he said “There is nothing to eat. For four months there has been no meat and for two months not a single egg. There is great con fusion. All .the big fascists are fleeing.” The historic Via Casilina probably never had witnessed a more thundering military spectacle than that of the past 24 hours in which the onrush ing Allies broke through the German lines in the Sacco val ley and into the green Cam pagno facing Rome’s seven hills. Continued on Page Two; Col. 3) HITLER DECLARES FIGHT WILL GO ON LONDON, June 4.—(JP)—Hitler announced tonight in two special communiques — broadcast after Allied troops had liberated Rome —that the withdrawal of German troops to the northwest of the city and said the Allies had been of fered a plan whereby Rome would be regarded as an “open city.” In the first word from the fhue rer’s headquarters in several days, it was asserted the fight in Italy would continue and that measures were being taken “to force final victory for Germany and her al lies.” “The year of the invasion,” one communique said, ‘‘will bring Ger many’s enemies an annihilating defeat at the most decisive mo ment.” The order to evacuate troops from the city, it was said, was in tended “to prevent the destruction of Rome.” The German radio said Field Marshal Gen. Albert Kesselring had submitted to the Vatican pro posals to make Rome an open city with a request that they be convey ed to the Allies, but that “so far no reply has been received from the Anglo-American high com mand.’’ The proposals were said to have been advanced at 11 p. m. Satur day. This was less than 24 hours before Rome changed hands. (Field dispatches from Rome re ported Allied troops met fierce re sistance from German armor and snipers in street to street fighting before final Nazi opposition was crushed.) Two Major Problems Face Allies In Italy _ +— By JOHN M. HIGHTOWER WASHINGTON, June 3— UP) — Capture of Rome confronted the Allies today with two immediate problems—the delivery of food and relief supplies in huge quantities and the re-organization of the Ital ian government. Both problems have been under study here as well as in London and at headquarters in Italy and officials were confident they would be tackled with all possible speed. Diplomatic and military officials here had expected the liberation of the city for several days and while obviously delighted that it had been achieved, they had no immediate comment. The first step in reorganization of the Italian government will be | the retirement of King Vittorio Emanuele. He pronvsed several weeks ago that upon the liberation of the Italian capital he would move into the background and ap point as his successor, Crown Prince Umberto. American officials have accepted that promise quite literally and believe the king’s fulfillment of it should be forthcoming soon. Once Umberto takes office, ex perts on Italian political affairs here said, Premier Marshal Pietro Badoglio and his cabinet will re sign. Umberto is expected to re appoint him and his coalition gov ernment. Badoglio’s task then will be to seek recruits among the political parties in Rome. The assumption here has been that the liberation , (Continued on Page Two; Col. 5) Indo-Burma Campaigns Regarded Satisfactory But Not Top-Notch SOUTHEAST ASIA COMMAND HEADQUARTERS, KANDY, Cey lon, June 4—(A1)—Results thus far of the Allied Indo-Burma cam paigns “can be regarded with sat isfaction, though not with compla cence,” an official headquarters summary said today. Expressing guarded optimism, the review reported that the arriv al of the monsoons brought but little slackening of aerial and ground operations, and added: “To the Japanese, Burma shows signs which must appear ominous of becoming a dangerous running sore, draining away men and sup plies, whose reinforcement and re placement will grow more costly and difficult as Allied pressure in creases.” All operations including those ir Arakan, and those of Lt. Gen. Jo seph W. Stilwell's Americans, Chi nese and Chindits, and the Japan ese thrust in Assam, “have proved that now in equipment, training, toughness and endurance, the troops of the United Nations are more than a match for the Japan ese,” the summary declared. ‘‘Overwhelming air superiority all over the theater, and the ab sence of any challenge at sea, in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian ocean, have been powerful factors in our favor against the Japan ese.” The account said that in May 78 enemy aircraft were destroyed, a3 against our Allied loss of 27 planes. Today’s headquarters communi que reported that Allied troops have forced the Japanese to abandom some of their positions northwest of the Indian town of Kohima. No mention was made of the north Burma fighting for Myitky ina. This lack of mention probably was attributable to weather inter ference with army signals. Last reports from Myitkyina yesterday said the Chinese and Americans were battering at the north of My itkina, while in the southern part of that Japanese bastion the Chi nese had retaken the railway sta tion and were making slow but steady progress within the town. In the Indo-Burma fighting, Al lied raiders captured large quan tities of Japanese supplies, ammu nition and gasoline 30 miles south east of Kohima, and southwest of the town a Japanese attack cost the enemy 30 killed, the communi que said. Southwest of Bishenpur the ene my -withdrew from a hill, leaving many dead, and operations to clear Japanese pockets still remaining north and northwest of Bishenpur were continued. Southeast of the Imphal plain, Allied troops took several prisoners, the bulletin said. JAPANESE THRUST NEARER CHANGSHA CHUNGKING, June 4.—(iP)—Jap anese troops have ploughed through Sinshih and stabbed si? miles beyond the town towarc Changsha, while another columr in the many-sided Hunan province offensive has attempted an assaul' toward Liuyang to the east for ar encircling movement against the major objective, a Chinese com munique announced tonight. Liuyang lies 30 miles due eas1 of Changsha and its possessior would enable the invaders to at tack the city directly from the east over mostly flat country. The column struck southward yester day from the Pingkiang area to ward Liuyang and tried to cros; the hilly region 20 miles to the northeast, but were stopped then by the Chinese, the communique said. Fighting was in progres there. At the same time heavy fight ing raged south of the Milo rive along a 30-mile front as enem; columns east of the Canton-Han kow railway continued to drive slowly down the route. Sharp en counters also were reported south west of pingkiang, where the ene my split into two columns, one foi the drive on Liuyang, the othei aimed directly southwest towarc Changsha, 50 miles from Pingki ang. This line extended from s point six miles west of Pingkiang to 12 miles south of the town. The new strategy placed the left wing of the invaders’ main bodj now 40 miles east northeast of the vital Hunan city, braced for its fourth battle of the war, field dis patches said, while directly from the north, the Japanese pushed to a point within 35 miles of the objective. The enemy has occupied Sinshih and driven six miles fur ther south along the rail route. -V Roosevelt To Discuss Rome In Broadcast On All Netivorks Tonight WASHINGTON, June 4~(A>)— President Roosevelt will dis cuss the fall of Rome, the first Axis canital captured by the Allies, in a 15-minute radio broadcast to the nation tomor row night. The White House announced tonight the President's talk will be carried over the four ma jor networks between 8:30 and 8:45 p.m., Eastern War Time.
Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, N.C.)
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June 5, 1944, edition 1
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