President Roosevelt announced n a worldwide broadcast today the
appointment of General Dwight D. Eisenhower to the supreme command of
the Anglo-American forces which will open a second front against Germany.
Fighting in snow and rain,' the Eighth army has driven northward and
captured the village of Vezzani three miles south west of Ortona and the
Canadians are digging the last Germans out of Ortona with bayonets, it
was announced today.
The German high command announced today its naval shore batteries had
-shelled targets at Dover, Deal and Folkestone, across the channel from
nazi-controlled France. Translations of the Berlin radio's first account
of the action had led to belief the Germans had announced use of
'rocket shells," but a recheck showed the phrase "leuchte-granate"—meant
"flare employed by the Germans —shells" or tracers.
MUSCATINE, IOWA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1943
Announcement Given in
President's Message: No
Mention Made of Marshall
Hyde Park, N. Y. —(AP)—
President Roosevelt announced n a worldwide broadcast today the appointment of General Dwight D. Eisenhower to the supreme command of the Anglo-American forces which will open a second front against Germany.
He made no reference as to the future of General George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the army, who had been reported earlier as the choice for the vital European invasion command.
A British officer who will be announced by Prime Minister Churchill of Britain will take over Eisenhower's present Mediterranean command.
Approved At Meet.
Mr. Roosevelt, in a Christmas Eve address to his fellow countrymen at home and in the armed forces overseas, made it clear that the selection ol Eisenhower had been approved at the recent war conference in the midle east.
He said that he, Churchill and Premier Joseph Stalin of Russia, in three days of intense and consistently amicable discussions at Teheran, had "agreed on every point concerned with the launching of a gigantic attack upon Germany."
The president added: The Russian army will continue its stern offensive on Germany's eastern front, the Allied armies in Italy and Africa will bring relentless pressure on Germany from the south, and now the encirclement will be complete as great American- and British forces attack from other points of the compass.
Spaatz Leads Planes
"The commander selected to lead the combined attack from these other points is General Dwight D. Eisenhower. His performances in Africa. Sicily and Italy have been brilliant. He knows by practical and success-he knows by successful experience the way to coordinate air, sea and land power.
All these will be under his control.
Lieut. General Carl D. Spaatz will command the entire American strategic bombing force operating against Germany.
Fighting in
Streets of
Italian City
Allied Head q u a r t e r s ,
Algiers —(AP)—
Fighting in snow and rain,' the Eighth army has driven northward and captured the village of Vezzani three miles south west of Ortona and the Canadians are digging the last Germans out of Ortona with bayonets, it was announced today.
The whole Italian front was blanketed by wet, wintry weather which handicapped operations both aground and in the air. American infantry of the Fifth army plodded through the snow to take one high point but was
pushed off another. "Marauder bombers of the loth U. S. airforce pounded the railroad along the French Italian riviera in threeplaces.
The most violent fighting continued in the Ortona area, where the Germans battled desperately to retain,the eastern anchor of their crumbling defense line.
Nazi Batteries
Pound England
Across Channel
London — (AP) —
The German high command announced today its naval shore batteries had -shelled targets at Dover, Deal and Folkestone, across the channel from nazi-controlled France. Translations of the Berlin radio's first account of the action had led to belief the Germans had announced use of 'rocket shells," but a recheck showed the phrase "leuchte-granate"—meant "flare employed by the Germans —shells" or tracers.
Leucht-Granate is a phrase which could reasonably be translated "rocket," but in the sense of a distress rocket. Because of current talk abroad of alleged German plans to 'use giant rocket guns to shell Berlin, listeners here made their original translation in this connection.
There have been many Allied air attacks on a ' section of the French coast which has come to be known as the "rocket gun coast" because of supposition that emplacements for such guns may be located there.
No damage from last night's over-channel shelling was announced.
Allies Step
Up Air War
In Pacific
(By MORRIE LANDSBERG)
(Associated Press War Editor)
The Allies have stepped up aerial operations to deliver another series of blows at obvious Japanese attempts to build up anti-invasion defenses in the southwest and central Pacific. Allied planes not only smashed at enemy transport ships, cargo vessels and troop-supply carrying barges in a continuing offensive, but weakened the Japanese ability to strike back by pounding at their air facilities over a widespread area.
Japs Retaliate.
The enemy sent bombers to attack American positions at Arawe, New Britain, and at Tarawa in the Gilbert islands which United States forces captured last month. Damage in both cases, however, was announced as light. Indicative of the Japanese effort to pour more men and supplies into threatened territory,
American army and navy fli-srs spotted 20 enemy vessels in the Kwajalein lagoon in the Marshall islands, north of the Gilberts.
Raids on Kwajalein and Jaluit stretched the mid-Pacific air offensive to the 14th successive day. While the navy announcement did not mention any of the-ships being hit, General MacArti- ir reported "his -bombers scored two direct hits on each of two 6000-ton transports and a 3000-ton freighter in the harbor of Wewak, which is about 300 miles north of Allied holdings on the coast of
northeast New Guinea.
Fifteen enemy planes were destroyed in the raid on the Wewak harbor and airdrome at a cost of three Allied aircraft. Other bombers attacked the Alexishafen airdrome to the south.
22 Barges Sunk.
Cape Gloucester, across New Britain from Arawe, was plastered with 153 tons of bombs in continuance
of the offensive designed either to knock it out as an enemy barge and air base, to soften it up for invasion, or both.
.
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