October 5, 1944; Greek Islands Invaded:

THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY, OCTOBER 5, 1944:

MADISON, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1944

Drive Into Patrai,

Control Almost All

of Peloponnesus

BULLETIN

LONDON — (U.P) —

The Exchange Telegraph quoted the Swiss radio today as reporting from Turkish sources that the Germans had evacuated Athens. The Ankara radio reported that the Germans were blowing up ammunition dumps, preparatory to evacuating the island of Rhodes off southwestern Turkey.

By REYNOLDS PACKARD

(United Press War Correspondent)

ROME —

Allied troops, opening the second battle of Greece have invaded the Greek mainland by air and sea and several airfields, and driven into the fortified medieval port of Patrai, a communique announced today. Virtually the whoel of the Peloponnesus, comprising a quarter of the Greek mainland, was believed already in Allied hands or under Allied control. Embattled Patrai, on the north coast of the Peloponnesus, was described as one of the enemy's last strong holds on the peninsula.

The  c o m m u n i q u e  reported merely that "land forces of the Adriatic" had entered Patrai Tuesday night, and it was possible that the port, once the principal seat of Greek comi icrce, had since been captured.

Greek Islands Invaded

The invasion opened the final phase of the liberation of the southern Balkans, completing a three-quarters encirclement of some 100,000 Germans in Greece.

Albania, and Yugoslavia. Red army forces and Marshal Tito's Partisans in Yugoslavia rapidly were cutting across the enemy's last routes of escape to the north.

Some Greek islands" also were invaded by the Allies, It was revealed, and the speed with which the campaign was developing was indicated by a Cairo dispatch reporting that an Allied military mission in Greece had sent a surrender ultimatum to German and pro-Axis f o r c e s on Ewoia. (Eubea), largest Greek island in the Aegean only 30 miles north of Athens.

Belgrade

Within Range

of Red Guns

BULLETIN

LONDON — (U,P) —

The Berlin radio reported today that Soviet forces had attacked Pancevo, Belgrade suburb across the Danube 9 miles from the heart of the capital.

BULLETIN

LONDON—(U.P.)—

The Berlin radio said today that the Russian army had opened a powerful offensive In northwest Lithuania west of Siaulial, transport center 65 miles

from the frontier of East Prussia.

MOSCOW — (U.P) —

The Red army swept to within 10 miles of Belgrade today, bringing the Yugoslav capital within range of its mobile artillery. Jumping off from Banat Kraljevicevo, 14 miles northeast of Belgrade, Marshal Rodion Y. Malinovsky's Second Ukrainian army was expected to overrun Pancevo, last enemy

 Nazis Blame Losses

on Fake Generals

LONDON-(U.P)—

The Berlin radio said today that Soviet agents contrived to get into the uniform of German generals last summer, "issue fake orders, and repeatedly lead our troops into unfavorable positions." L'ieut. Gen. Kurt Dittmarr, Nazi radio commentator, attributed the German reverses on the eastern front during the summer in part to the Russian infiltration of the German officers' ranks.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

stronghold above the capital, sometime today in a dash for the north bank of the Danube opposite its goal. Marshal Tito's Partisans Wednesday were reported fighting inside Pancevo.

Face Encirclement

The German garrison of Belgrade faced encirclement as well as frontal assault. Other elements of the Second army were surrounding the capital from the north and southeast and Tito's Partisans were closing in from the west and south. (Marshal Tito reported in a communique released in London that

his Partisans had routed an enemy column south of Avala in the Kosmaj hills sector 15 to 18 miles south of .Belgrade.)