THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY, JUNE 3, 1943:
Pantellaria, Italy's "little Malta" in the Sicilian Straits, now has been
isolated by the continual bombing by the Allied air forces and bombardments
by the Royal Navy.
Reports reaching Madrid from France said that no ships had been
able to put in at Pantellaria for several days past, that only rarely
did any airplane manage to get across from Italy and land there, and that all
Axis submarines had abandoned the base at the island.
War Labor Board today referred the deadlocked coal strike to President
Roosevelt "for such action as he deems necessary."
As commander-in-chief of the armed services, the President has the
power to send troops to occupy the mines. Army units were held ready
for such action today, but no such order was received.
Supported by American and Chinese air forces which virtually had cleared the
skies of Japanese opposition, victorious Chiinese troops proceeded yesterday with
the destruction of five Japanese armies surrounded on the Yangtse front.
Chinese troops, having checked a major Japanese drive on Chungking, were
engaged in "mopping-up" operations, wiping out numerous enemy forces Vho
were covering the retreat of other units near Lishutung. The Chinese captured
large quantities of materials.
An American Negro squadron flying P40 Warhawks has
arrived in North Africa and is now receiving advanced training, it was announced
today.
Veterans of the air fighting in the Tunisian campaign are instructing the
newcomers in the latest developed tactics.
May was the best month so far in the Atlantic battle against German U-boats,
A. V. Alexander, British First Lord of the Admiralty, told the House of Commons
yesterday.
Ninety-six merchant ships were at Gibraltar at sundown
last night, including two empty troop transports.
THE STARS AND STRIPES
Daily Newspaper of U.S. Armed Forces in the European Theater of Operations
VoL 3 No, 181 New York, N.Y.—London, England Thursday, June 3, 1943
Warships and Planes Pound Pantellaria
Pantellaria—Italy's .Malta in the Mediterranean
Navy's Guns
Add to Havoc
Of Bombers
Italy Now Unable to Send
Ships or Planes to Aid
Her 'Malta'
By the United Press
Pantellaria, Italy's "little Malta" in the Sicilian Straits, now has been
isolated by the continual bombing by the Allied air forces and bombardments
by the Royal Navy.
Reports reaching Madrid from France said that no ships had been
able to put in at Pantellaria for several days past, that only rarely
did any airplane manage to get across from Italy and land there, and that all
Axis submarines had abandoned the base at the island.
Following weeks of hammering by the bombers from Africa, Pantellaria was
visited twice in 18 hours by the ships of the Royal Navy, Allied headquarters disclosed
yesterday.
The first: attack was on Sunday night when British warships shelled island positions
for some time. They suffered no casualties or damage and met almost no
opposition. Most of the shelling was directed on the island's tiny harbour.
Afternoon Attack
Coal Strike
Is Referred
To Roosevelt
Negotiations Are Halted
By Labor Board;
530,000 Idle
WASHINGTON, June 2—The
War Labor Board today referred the deadlocked coal strike to President
Roosevelt "for such action as he deems necessary."
As commander-in-chief of the armed services, the President has the
power to send troops to occupy the mines. Army units were held ready
for such action today, but no such order was received.
The WLB also ordered the negotiations between union and operators' representatives
suspended until the miners went back to work in compliance with the
board's May 25 edict. The nation's coal industry, vital to
America's war effort, meanwhile was almost completely paralyzed as 530,000
miners—members of John L. Lewis' tinned Mine Workers of America—
remained idle. The strike was called yesterday, after repeated truces, to
enforce the union's demand for $2 more a day to meet increased living costs.
Negotiations Ordered Halted
Chinese Begin
Annihilation of
Encircled Japs
U,,S. Planes Help - Clear
Skies of Opposition;
New Advances
Supported by American and Chinese air forces which virtually had cleared the
skies of Japanese opposition, victorious Chiinese troops proceeded yesterday with
the destruction of five Japanese armies surrounded on the Yangtse front.
Chinese troops, having checked a major Japanese drive on Chungking, were
engaged in "mopping-up" operations, wiping out numerous enemy forces Vho
were covering the retreat of other units near Lishutung. The Chinese captured
large quantities of materials.
Enemy remnants west of Ichang, the big Yangtse port which was the main
base for the Japanese offensive, were thoroughly mopped up on Monday.
In northern Hunan retreating enemy troops are surrounded and a "battle of
annihilation" is going on. Heavy losses have been inflicted on the Japanese at
Yingshan, and the enemy airdrome southeast of that city has been destroyed.
Chinese and American planes caused immense damage in raids on objectives
on the Hupah-Honan border, south of the Yangtse. The Japanese air strength
has been greatly reduced, and hardly any Japanese planes appeared over the front
yesterday.
The Japanese have suffered more than 30,000 casualties on the Yangtse front
and in western Hupeh since May 18, when their new bid to reach Chungking
began, Chungking said. More than 10,000 Japanese wounded have been sent
to Ichang since last Sunday.
U. S. Negro Squadron
Flying P40s in Africa
ALLIED AIR FORCE HQ, North
Africa, June 2 (AP)—An American Negro squadron flying P40 Warhawks has
arrived in North Africa and is now receiving advanced training, it was announced
today.
Veterans of the air fighting in the Tunisian campaign are instructing the
newcomers in the latest developed tactics.
MayBestMonth
In U-Boat War
More German Subs Sunk
Than Built, Commons
Is Told
May was the best month so far in the Atlantic battle against German U-boats,
A. V. Alexander, British First Lord of the Admiralty, told the House of Commons
yesterday.
"It looks as if the number of U-boats destroyed in May will exceed the number
which'the enemy has been able to bring into the war," he said. "In the last two
months the number of U-boats in the Atlantic battle appears to have decreased."
96 Merchant Vessels
Sighted at Gibraltar
LA LINEA, June 2 (AP)—Ninety-six merchant ships were at Gibraltar at sundown
last night, including two empty troop transports.
The merchant ships ranged from small tramps to the biggest ocean-going
freighters, most of them carrying war materials or other cargoes. At one time
during the day there were 103 freighters in Gibraltar.
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