October 7, 1944:

THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY, OCTOBER 7, 1944:

RACINE, WIS., SATURDAY AFTERNOON, OCTOBER 7, 1944

Clearing Skies Open

Way for Air Blows

LONDON.—(/P)—

The U. S. First army slugged away with both fists above Aachen today, jabbing German stop-gaptanks and infantry back half a mile north of Beggendorf and a mile and a half southeast of Ubach. The doughboys also pounded nearly a mile through the Hurtgen forest, 10 miles into Germany, a third of the way to Cologne.

On the middle Moselle front the Third army won-a solid hold on the northwest and southwest corners of Fort Driant, southwest of Metz, taking everything the Germans could hurl at them from t h e outside and blasting in doggedly to dig out the garrison buttoned into t h e honeycomb of tunnels'

below.

Menace Escape Road.

On t h e south flank French and American soldiers of t h e Seventh a r m y beat t h e i r w a y e a s t w a r d five to' seven miles to positions on t h r e e sides of the copper mine town of L e Thillot, 18 miles due n o r t h of Belfort and only six miles from t h e 2,398-foot Bussang pass through t h e h e a r t of t h e Vosges.

British Sweep

Toward Athens

By ROBERT VERMILLION

ROME.—(U.P.) —

German troops were reported evacuating Greece and t h e Aegean islands by sea  and a i r under merciless a t t a c k b y Allied planes and w a r s h i p s today as B r i t i s h invasion forces swarmed ashore on t h e islands and occupied  v i r t u a l l y all of t h e Peloponnesus mainland peninsula in a

s w i f t  d r i v e  on Athens.

Exacting a terrible vengeance f o r - t h e –defeat of their expeditionary force 'in ^Greece more than t h r e e  years ago, B r i t i s h  cruisers,

destroyers  a n d  a t least one aircraft c a r r i e r  h u n t e d  t h e  nazi evacuation fleet through the Aegean and bombarded t h e islands still in enemy

hands.

Americans Shell

Suburbs of Key

Po Valley City

By REYNOLDS PACKARD

ROME — (U.P) —

American 5^th a r m y troops advanced two miles n o r t h of previously captured  oiano to within 12 miles of Bologna today after their heavy artillery h a d shelled t h e outskirts of the key P o  v a l l e y  city. South African armored unitsfighting on t h e 5th a r m y ' s southwest flank captured Mount Vigese, 22 miles southwest of Bologna, a peak dominating long stretches of Highway 65  r u n n i n g  from Pistoia t o Bologna.

Nazis Fight Delaying Action.

The B r i t i s h 8th a r m y , which h ad been, bogged down for d a y s  in  m u d  a n d driving  r a i n, pushed across the swollen Fiumcino  r i v e r  a n d  reached  t h e  r i v e r ' s mouth on t h e Adriatic nine miles northwest of Rimini. Still other gains also w e r e  reported on t h e long-stagnant Adriatic front.