tpgp ilmuujtmt nntttuj ■SE* VO1^-——:------- , WILMINGTON, N. C., TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1944 FINAL EDITION ESTABLISHED 1867 I I ^_I ic ★ 'A' it X X. _i_ iii j. — -■■ in— ■« oviets Cross Into East Prussia _- v Great Blow Also Struck At Warsaw RUSSIANS ON MARCH Powerful New Offensives Unleashed By Red Units On Reeling Nazis LONDON, Tuesday, Sept. jo_(/p)—Russian troops in one of the fiercest strugggles of the war yesterday drove to within two and one-half miles of Lomza, gateway to lower German East Prussia, and Moscow announced offi cially today that Red army patrols had crossed from Li thuania into that imperilled Nazi province. Berlin also announced that the Russians had penetrated German lines in a “concentrated assault” on Warsaw’s eastern suburbs, 75 miles southwest of the Narew riv er stronghold of Lomza, and said feat in southern Poland other So viet troops in a fresh offensive i.rr.ed at northern Hungary had raptured the fortress town of Krosno in the east Beskids chain ot the Carpathian mountains. The Soviet midnight communique telling ol the entry into East Prus. sia came a few hours after Allied headquarters had announced that American troops now were fighting inside western Germany. It coin r’-'de with reparts frob both Ber lin and Moscow that three power ful Red armies were on the verge of unleasing new offensives on a 300 - mile front opposite East Prus sia, extending from northern Pt> land up to the Baltic sea. Moscow said that the patrols had crossed the Sesupe river border be. tween Lithuania and east Prussia, "gathered valuable information” (® German troop dispositions, and then returned safely. For several days unofficial’ re- i ports h a v e told of these patrol i stabs, made while Gen. Ivan Cher-! Kakhovsky's third white Russian, army amassed men and material, kr a new drive. in the flaming sector northeast Warsaw the Russians were towing in masses of men backed swarms of tanks and covered h terrific artillery barrages and toe bombardments. Berlin said, to German front reporter was toed as saying the drive was hunched ‘‘with such . hellish artil fire that it was a relief when «:et infantry and tanks at last ““toed.'' He added: “It cannot e described in words what Ger man erenadiers endured here.” . finfflzj. 20 miles south of Ger tovs east Prussian border, ap peared about to fall to the Rus- ; in 1 hom Moscow said captured 11 localities on three sides of the ‘ !0r- These included Konarzyce, 0 ancl one . half miles to the “thwest. Gielczyn, three miles to., Pniewo, seven miles south* l,as ‘ ail(3 Sulki, seven miles on “ie west. 3° capture of the Sulki cut the !”;_'5y between Lomza and Ostro i',a; and put the Russians only 1 miles south of Nowogrod, [Ji Lomza, is another im f‘.ant Narew crossing point on Continued on Page Two: Col. 7) Sleeps On Job Harriet Bergman, above, of New York, actually sleeps on the job —and gets paid for it. She tests sleeping qualities of new-style pa jamas for designer Harry Berger. Most of her work is done at home although she has a cot in the Ber ger offices. She’s the wife of Sgt. Mannie Bergman, now overseas with the Air Corps. SHARPTON GIVEN PASSENGER POST J. B. Sharpton, who now holds the position of assistant to the vice president in charge of traffic, R. J. Doss, has been appointed as sistant passenger traffic manager of the Atlantic Coast Line Rail road company to fill the position made vacant by the retirement and recent death of the' late' W. H. Howard. The appointment was announced yesterday by George P. James, passenger traffic manager, andj will become effective September 15. Sharpton has been connected with the Atlantic Coast Line for the! past 21 years, all of which time, has been spent with the traffic de-1 aartment. Since his association with the executive head of the traffic de partment for the past several years tie has given much of his time and attention to matters . directly con nected with passenger travel. Sharpton’s headquarters will con tinue to be in Wilmington. -V SOLON SAYS WAKNlNli GIVEN PEARL HARBOR WASHINGTON, Sept. 11. — (/P) — Rep. Harness (R-Ind) declared to lay "there appears to be an abun lance of evidence" that 72 hours lefcre the Pearl Harbor attack of 3ec. 7. 1941, the Australian govern nent advised Washington a Japan :se aircraft carrier force was head id toward Pearl Harbor. He stated ie was informed the information vas not relayed to Mhj. Gen. Wal ler C. Short, then commanding Ar ny forces in Hawaii. In a speech in the house, Harness jharged ‘‘the Commander in chief las concealed the truth" of the Pearl Harbor disaster, by denying i hearing to General Short and Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, the latter Naval commander at Pearl Harbor at the time of the at lack: IWrightsville Beach Gets $25,000 For Repair Work ’ V "C Fedei'al Works agency Jjcrday announced approval ■ we President in Washington ais grant of $25,000 for repairs .', rehabilitation of streets B». boardwalks in Wrightsville f'o!*Ca wd'cd were damaged or ro-’ed by the tropical T? on August j t to resurtace streets and Mu' boardwalks have been ci.',eived by Wrightsville offi ).“‘s and contract is scheduled final* awarded soon, subject to tm aPPrt>val of the Washing a central office of the FWA. Ira 'e;firm to which the con* u„'„‘s awarded is to remove l4-r8 cubic yards of sand, lay ,L“a. cubic yards of gravel on st'c* S' ^ cubic yards on eiS’ and 200 square yards — ▼ surface treated patching; and regrade and repair 30,495 square feet of boardwalks. The application ot the Town 1 of Carolina Beach for a grant oi $33,300 to be used in repair ing storm damages was ap proved by the FWA on August ^ 28. The money will be used to repair streets, boardwalks, the sewer system, and other muni cipal property damaged by the storm. The grant i* considered an emergency appropriation, and will not be supplemented by Carolina Beach funds. The money will cover only public property damage, and cannot be used to repair pri vate property damage. t 52 Jap Vessels Sunk By Planes Task Force Wipes Out Entire Enemy Convoy In Strike Against Philippine Islands U. S. PACIFIC FLEET HEADQUARTERS, Pearl Har bor, Sept. 11. — (/P) — In a shattering sea-based action against the Philippines, first of the war by the Allies, a U. S. carrier task force destroyed an entire enemy convoy of 52 vessels, blasted five airfields and wiped out 68 Jap anese planes in widespread raids against Mindanao last PYiHnv _ The blazing action marked ar advance of approximately 500 mile: beyond the westernmost previously reported positions of carrier-basec aircraft, and was coupled with nev heavy attacks on Paramushiro ant the Volcano islands far to t h < north. The overall total of ships sunk probably sunk, damaged and se afire as announced in the Navy’: communique was 90. Many wert small cargo ships and Sampans The American force which swep into the heart of Japan’s southwes1 Pacific holdings was part of the third U. S. fleet, commanded bj Adm. William S. Halsey, Jr., anc its attack on Mindanao was s crowning blow in wide - spreac actions which for the last few days have struck at Yap and Palau is lands to the east of the Philip pines. The Navy’s communique said: “The airfields at Del Monte. Val encia, Cagayan, Buayan and Da vao were bombed and strafed. In these attacks two enemy aircraft were encountered near our carriers five were encountered over Caga yan, and one over Davao. All Were shot down. Approximately 60 ene my aircraft were destroyed on the ground. “A convoy was discovered ofi Hinatuan Bay consisting of 32 load, ed coastal cargo ships and 20 Sam pans. This convoy was brought un der attack by Pacific fleet cruisers, destroyers and carrier aircraft, and all of the enemy ships were de stroyed.’’ Barracks, warehouses and han gars were hit at the several air dromes attacked. Enemy water front installations at Matina, Ca gayan and Surigao were also bomb ed, the announcement said. The hard - hitting units of the third fleet found enemy shipping in other vulnerable spots, and opened up. In attacks in*6aragani Bay, Davao Gulf, near Cagayan and Surigo, 16 small cargo ships, one medium cargo vessel, one pa trol craft and many sampans were sunk or probably sunk. They set (Continued on Page Three; Col. 3) -V REPUBLICANS LEAD IN MAINE ELECTION PORTLAND. Me., Sept. 11—W— I\vo Democratic congressional can" didates, endorsed by Maine’s affili ate of the CIO Political Action committee, ran far behind their Republican opponents in today’s elections as nearly one-third of the returns were compiled unofficial ly A third Republican congression al candidate likewise held a long lead over his Democratic oppon ent. The GOP candidate for governor, state Senate president Horace Hil dreth. held a lead of 18.463 to 4, >37 over Democrat Paul J. Jullien n 200 out of the State’s 627 .pre cints. -V Conferees Aoorove Bankhead Amendment WASHINGTON, Sept. 11. —(/P)— louse conferees on the surplus aroperty disposal bill accepted to lay a Senate-approved amendment o raise the government loan rate m cotton from 92 1-2 to 95 per cent af parity. The amendment, sponsored by senator Bankhead (D-Ala). is one >f a series of moves by the Ala sama senator to force the price of cotton up to parity. -V TRAINING FAVORED NEW YORK, Sept. 11—I#!—Navy Secretary Forrestal urged today that a year of compulsory and uni versal military training for all American youth over the age of eighteen be provided “as prompt ly as legislative schedules will permit.” Submarines Sink 9 More Jap Ships In Pacific Waters I WASHINGTON, Sept. 11.—UP) United States submarines have trimmed nine more ships, three of them fighting craft, from Japan’s dwindling ton nage, the Navy announced to day. The new tally brings the to tal of all types of Japanese ships sunk by U. S. subma rines to 732, of Which 61 are fighting ships and 61 cargo carriers and miscellaneous craft. BLACK WIDOWS ROUT JAPANESE GENERAL HEADQUARTERS, Southwest Pacific, Tuesday, Sept. 12.—<7P)—American Black Widow night fighters broke up the largest Japanese aerial effort in this area for several month—a 10-plane raid Saturday on American island bas es off Dutch New Guinea—as Al lied bombers continued their un opposed pulverizing blows against wide-spread targets, headquarters announced today. The American fighters downed two of the Japanese twin-engined bombers raiding American air fields on Biak and OWI islands. Headquarters reported bomb damage was minor . The Japanese effort was a strik ing contrast to the 100-bomber raids which they were able to de liver in the New Guinea area last year. It showed the enemy still is able to send hit-and-run nigh* raiders into a sector dominated by Allied air power, but it also il lustrated the changing tide of the war. Escorted Liberator heavy bomb ers attacked Japanese bivouc and defense areas at Mapange* air drome, near Manado in northern Celebes, with another blistering raid Saturday. One hundred fif-^ ty-nine tons of bombs were drop ped, causing heavy explosions. The previous day, American planes dropped a 180-ton load on Celebes, the heaviest dropped on that major Nipponese base, west of New Guinea. Allied air patrols bombed and hit two 7,000-*on Japanese freight ers off Zamboanga Saturday night. (This second city of Mindanao is land lies about 230 miles west of Davao which was one of several targets on the island’s east coast struck earlier in the day in an American carrier task force raid.) Continuing their steady neutrali zation raids Liberator heavy bom bers and fighters swept Halma hera island, southern stepping stone to the Philippines, and other islands in the Moluccas Saturday and Sunday. There was no air op position. Biak island, which the Japanese attempted to raid, is the largest of the Schoutens, in Geelvink bay. The Americans won it last July. The conquest of all the Schoutens was completed by a landing, against no opposition, on Soepiori island, northwest of Biak. This was announced last Sunday., Churchill, F.D.R. Map War Plans JAP DOOM IMPENDING Premier Stalin Absents Self Due To Pressure Of Guiding Armies QUEBEC, Sept. 11.—(/P) — Within the weathered stone ramparts of Quebec’s ancient citadel, President Roosevelt and Prime Minis ter Churchill of Britain be gan forging tonight the stra tegy for the final victory over Japan. Absent from their deliberations was that third leader of the Unit ed Nations triumvirate, Premier Joseph Stalin of Russia—whose ar mies are not at war with Japan. He had been invited to a con ference which apparently had to concern itself primarily with the battle of the Pacific. But the fact that he sent back word that he was too busy directing offensives on multiple fronts to leave “the di rection of the army for the short est period” offered no great as surances to Japan. Stalin did not close the door to future participation in the Pacific war. A conference spokesman re ported the President and Prime Minister “thoroughly understood” the premier’s message and that he was “absent on the field of du ty”. The transmission through strin gent Soviet political censorship of an Associated Press dispatch from Moscow, saying foreign observers there foresaw continued military cooperation “elsewhere” after the defeat of Germany, contributed to a generally genial atmosphere here, despite the absence of So viet representatives. The Soviet official news agency, Tass, was represented here by one correspondent, Nikcnai Zhivayno^, and it was understood the Soviet government was being advised of at least part of the deliberations through diplomatic channels. The Russians, while becoming in creasingly critical of the Japanese in their press, have remained strictly correct in * carrying out their 1941 neutrality pact. Churchill and Roosevelt, with out jeopardizing any chances of a future turn by the Soviet Union against Japan, went to work on a plan to bring down Japan, based on the present situation and the forces already available, without taking Russia into their estimates. Not since they concluded signi ficant discussions last December, at Caro and Teheran, had Roose velt and Churchill met for one of their periodic war councils. Then, when Stalin’S counsel, they had seated the plans for the powerful (Continued on Page Three; Col. 6) -V 5,300 WORKERS IDLE IN WAGE SCALE ROW NEW ORLEANS,-Sept. 11. —{if) —Work stoppages occurred today in 14 New Qrleans Marine and in dustrial plants, after a protest by machinists of the proposed hourly wage under a new contract. Charles F. Elchinger, president of the Marine and Industrial Re pairers and Manufacturers asso ciation of New Orleans, said 1,500 machinists had failed to report for work today and about 3.800 work ers in other lines were thereby forc ed into temporary idleness. Elchinger said the machinists were opposing the new contract on the 'ground that it might reduce their per hour pay from $1.25 to $1.20. -j European War Flashback _» ’ _ By The Associated Press Sep*. 12, 1918—In the first all-American offensive after 16 months of wa*, doughboys in the St. Mihiel sector broke the enemy’s resist ance and advanced at some points to a depth of five miles and took 8,000 prisoners. British troops took three towns and 1,800 prisoners in their advance toward Cambrai. Washington said the German peace offensive was in full swing. Sept. 12, 1940 — Believing German invasion attempt imminent, Britain established some 2,000.000 soldiers at strategic points around her coasts. Italian forces began a drive toward Egypt along the Med iterranean coast. — 1 ' ■ .11 I I I Failed, Died nw ;mk iww Baron Manfred von Killinger (above), the late German ambas sador to Romania, killed himself after a dramatic interview with King Mihai, according to an in side story of the Bucharest palace coup reported by Associated Press Corespondent Joseph Morton. NAZI AIR FORCE ROUNDLY BEATEN LONDON, Tuesday. Sept. 12 —Iff)—U. S. Eighth Air Force fight ers and heavy bombers trapped and beat the German air force yesterday, destroying 175 Nazi planes in one of the fiercest air battles ever fought over Europe. It was the heaviest Luftwaffe loss in more than a year and one. which dug deeply into the air reserves which the enemy has been careful ly holding back until now for the final battle of Germany. Of the Germans destroyed, American fighters shot down 116. the greatest number ever shot down by fighters alone in a single day, while the heavy bombers knocked down another 17, and 42 were destroyed on their airdromes. Indicating the extent of the op positon, 48 of the American heavy bombers and 29 fighters failed to return. The bomber losses were the heaviest since April 29 when 63 failed to come home from a raid on Berlin. Early today the German radio said “enemy” planes were again over vast sections of the Reich, indicating that the non-stip Allied air offensive was continuing in its fifth day. Tired returning fliers described yesterday’s German aerial opposi tion as probably the heaviest offer ed in years. En route to their targets at Merseburg, Litzkendorf and Mis burg they saw few German planes. But just before they reached cen tral Germany the enemy sprang (Continued on Page Three; Col. 4) -V ROOSEVELT FLAYED IN DEWEY ADDRESS DES MOINES, Sept. 11— UP) — Thomas E. Dewey lashed out at what he called the Roosevelt ad minstration’s “incompetent” preparations for war and peace to day in the most caustic campaign attack he has $aade thus far on his fourth term seeking opponent. The Republican presidential nominee, arriving in the corn belt for a series of conferences with farm and political leaders, de clared the present administration has failed to. show itself able to cope with agricultur- and indus trial reconversion problems. He also accused the new deal of having done "absolutely noth ing” to prepare this country for war. -V Germans Preparing To Leave Aegeans ANKARA, Sept. 11. — (JP)— Tur kish newspapers said today that Germans are blowing up ammuni tion depots and fuel dumps in the Aegean islands preparatory to eva cuation. A dispatch from Izmir (Smyrna) said Greek motor boats have been coming and going between the is land of Samos and the Turkish mainland unhindered. --V . STORMS KILL 100 MEXICO CITY, Sept. 11—im probably 100 dead, thousands homeless, and millions of dollars of property damage is the toll of storms in three widely separated sections of Mexico where rescue crews worked today. Troops Make' Deep Thrust 1st Army Crashes Across Border Five Miles In Frontal Attack On Siegfried Line SUPREME HEADQUARTERS ALLIED EXPEDI TIONARY FORCE, Tuesday, Sept. 12.—(/P)—The ram paging First U. S. army burst into Hitler’s inner fortress of Germany yesterday and plowed ahead for five miles in to the Reich, meeting the enemy on his home soil north of the frontier town of Trier — 55 miles from the Rhine and the great industrial city of Coblenz. Invaders Converge Near Gap ROME, Sept. 11.—LR)—The U. 5. Third and Seventh armies com pleted a junction today in east ern France, sealing off German troops in the central region, in cluding possibly 20,000 in the Di jon area. Vanguards of the two armies met at a point described official ly here as “an undesignated spot” 28 days after Lt. Gen. Alexander M. Patch’s Seventh army invaded southern France. (A field dispatch from Lt. Gen. George S. Patton’s third army said the junction was made in the vicinity of Sombernon, 15 miles west of Dijon.) While units of the two American armies were joining hands French forces occupied the important highway center of Dijon and other American troops pushed within 15 miles of the vital Belfort gap, the gateway to southern Germany. The meeting of the southern and northern armies came dra matically with an officer from each unit coming forward '.o shake hands. This formality culminated the thrust begun by the Seventh army in landings on the Riviera coast Aug. 15 and the Normandy invasion from the north on June 6. French troops seized Dijon af ter a fierce 24-hour battle in the city's outskirts, sealing off a great network of roads that had been serving the Nazi retreat from all southern and western France. (Continued on Page Three; Col. 5) ATLANTIC STORM STAYSJTATIONARY MIAMI, -Fla., Sept. 11—(IP)—Pois ed 650 miles off the Atlantic coast due east of Miami, a severe At lantic hurricane was apparently hesitating between a course which would either endanger the United States coast or keep it out to sea. The dangerous storm has re mained nearly stationary during the past six to 12 hours, the weather bureau said in a 10:15 p. m. advisory. “It is attended by winds of full hurricane force near the center, with gales extending outward at least 150 miles. “Continued slight movement is indicated in next six to 12 hours. “Caution should be continued against high seas and increasing winds in the outer Bahamas and extreme caution is advised all shipping over the Atlantic north ward to 35 degrees during the next 48 hours.” ^ Ail ai LiArci j uaiiagc xuob tut tt* ed up the German positions and then in “reasonable strength" — that was’the official language — the doughboys crossed over to strike the blow for which the Unit ed Nations long had waited. The Americans probably were penetrating well into the Siegfried line defense system at this point. (The exact location of the Sieg fried line, also known as the West wall, never has been disclosed of ficially.) It was a black day for German arms, for the Third U. S. army seized a great part of the old French Maginot line intact, and was breaking the last German line of defense on French soil— the Moselle river positions. The British Second army broke across the frontier of Holland and was bound for the weakest link in the 400 mile* of the west wall — the thin line of pillboxes, tank traps and forts stretching south from the German city of Kleve across the shoritsj route to Berlin. Other elements of the First ar my already were fighting through the minefields of he Siegfried line south of the key city of Aach en, little more than eight miles from Germany’* frontier, and were blasting fortifications inside the Reich with heavy artillery. Not since the days of Napoleon has Germany been entered in strength and the doughboys who accomplished this modern feat had fougbt clear across the little duchy of Luxembourg in one day, freeing its capital of the same name en route. Since this was no mere patrol entry into Germany, such as the tentative thrusts of the French in 1939 and the American raid of last week, it may well be the opening wedge in a series £f full scale attacks against Hitler’s last prepared line of defense. The doughboys were overlook ing the valley of the Moselle riv er where it flows northeast to the Rhine at Koblenz. The Third army, driving over Lorraine’s hills, captured with guns intact the fortress of Au metz, the first city incorporated into the Reich by Hitler’s decree to be liberated. Aumetz is 22 miles northwest of Metz. ’ There was heavy fighting ten miles east of Liege and south of Aachen, where the First army consolidated its assault positions by occupying the town of Herve, northwest of Limbourg where the Americans are shelling positions in Germany which protect Aach en. The fate of the last German stand in northern. France was be ing decided by a blazing battle six miles south of Nancy, where the Third army captured the an cient Fort Pont St. Vincent and then hammered across the Mo selle river on a front of several miles. The pressure was on, waves of bombers were blowing up stub (Continued on Page Three; Col. » Austria Asked To Break With German Conquerors WASHINGTON, Sept. 11.—VP) —Secretary of State Hull today warned Austria to strike with out delay against the Nazi con querors who have held the na tion as a part of the German Reich for six years. The warning, linking Aus tria's action now to her post war future and promised inde pendence, is one of a long ser ies by which American diplo macy has sought to make trou ble for Hitler in preparation for Allied military forces advanc ing across the enslaved coun tries of Europe. Hull made no specific threat of what Austria would lose if she did not revolt now but em phasized that in the Moscow declaration by which this coun try, Britain and Russia pledged Austrian independence, it was also stated that “in the final settlement account will inevit ably be taken of her own con tributions to her liberation.” In response to a newsman’s inquiry today Hull said that the time for Austria to mak« that contribution is almost up. There has been no evidence to date of any resistance m Austria, other than occasional sabotage reports, or of any for ces organized to conduct resis tance. However, the war la sweeping toward Austria from several directions. It is ap proaching from the south as All'ed armies advance in Italy and from the southeast as Yu goslav partisan forces drive toward Germany. Outbreaks of resistance also are reported In Czechoslovakia.