THE RACINE JOURNAL-TIMES
RACINE, WIS., TUESDAY AFTERNOON, JANUARY 5, 1943.
U.S. Sub Saves 29
From Jap-Held Isle
Daring Venture
Succeeds Under
Noses of Enemy
17 White Women
And Three Children
Taken From Solomons
WITH S O U T H P A C I F IC
FLEET, Jan. 5.—(AP)—A daring
submarine operation under the
cover of darkness has r e s u l t e d in
t h e rescue of 29 men, women and
children from a J a p a n e s e h e l d island
in t h e Solomon group. Admiral
William F . Halsey disclosed
today.
The commander of t h e south
Pacific force said 17 of those
rescued were white women known
to have been in imminent danger
of ill t r e a t m e n t and death. Three
were children.
The operation involved t h e detaching
of a fleet submarine from
t h e t a s k of sinking Japanese ship
ping and sending her to shallow
waters to effect t h e evacuation.
In Danger of Capture.
Reds Drive Ahead
On 5 Key Fronts
(By The Associated Press) |
Heavy battles raged on five
fronts in the Russian campaign
today, imperiling the
Germans on a 1,000-mile line,
with the red armies of Col.-
Gen. Nikolai F. V a t u t in
threatening to spring a fresh
trap around nazi garrisons in
the Don bend 100 miles west
of Stalingrad.
Soviet dispatches said two
Russian forces lacked only 30
miles of forging the final link
in a new ring around the Germans
following the capture of
Chernishkov and the nazi air
base at Chernishkovskaya 40
miles to the north.
Supplies Captured.
Axis Ring of Steel Ready to Smash
Allied Attack on Tunis and Bizerte
By WES GALLAGHER
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
NORTH AFRICA, Jan. 5.—(AP)—
Adolf Hitler's attempt to k e e p the
Mediterranean Blocked to Allied
shipping h a s t u r n e d t h e Tunisian"
war into a major effort with
thousands of German and I t a l i an
troops deployed from Bizerte to
t h e Tripolitanian border along
with p a r t of t h e first line strength
of t h e German air force.
T h i s p u r e l y personal conclusion
is based on a 2,100-mile t r i p to
t h e war front in a jeep, topped
w i t h another 700 miles of travel
i n a Flying Fortress, much of it
l^on a bombing mission over Tunis.
Seven Opinions Listed.
got i n traveling over t h e front:
1. Rain and t h e constant threat
of rain make Allied tank warf
a r e impossible in n o r t h e r n T u nisia
until late February.
2. The Germans, with short
lines of communication, a perimeter
defense of t h e t w o p o r t s , a nd
a great concentration of artillery
a n d aerial protection from Sardinia
and Sicily, could halt any
i n f a n t r y assault with murderous
losses.
3. In t h e n o i t h land warfare
has stagnated with neither side
able t o t a k e a definite initiative.
4. Despite the advantage of
established bases in Sicily and
Sardinia within easy reach of t he
front, t h e G e r m a n air force i s losing
i t s punch in t h e face of Allied
opposition and is only a shadow
of t h e t e r r i b l e weapon i t was i n
Greece and France.
5. The lack of airfields is
handicapping t h e Allied a i r effort,
but t h e m i l i t a r y punishment being
dealt out by Flying Fortresses,
Lockheed Lightning fighters a nd
RAF attacks is 10 t i m e s , a s effect
i v e militarily as t h e blows of t he
German air force.
6. French troops a r e fighting
with great gallantry, particularly
a t Pont De F a h s a n d i n t h e s o u th
along a winding irregular line
through the mountains toward
Gafsa.
7. The Germans are making
great preparations for t h e defense
of their positions i n Tunisia.
Country Is Rough.
One hindrance to t h e Allied
d r i v e is t h e t e r r a i n , which, next
to the weather, is the key to
t h e situation. It resembles that
of Arizona in appearance, with
fewer trees a n d w i t h great mount-
ains of rock cut b y n a r r ow twisting
roads.
50 Japs Killed
In Final Smash
AT Buna Pocket
GEN. MacARTHUR'S HEADQUARTERS,
Australia, Jan. 5.—
(U.P.)—United States a n d Australian
troops have wiped out t h e last
Japanese resistance in t h e Buna
a r e a of n o r t h e r n New Guinea by
smashing a small enemy pocket
inland from the captured area,
r e p o r t s from t h e front said today.
About 50 J a p a n e s e bodies were
found i n t h e pocket area.
Mopping up p a r t i e s combed t he
coconut groves for possible s t r a g glers
isolated from t h e force which
defended t h e pocket to t h e death.
Both American and Australian
troops were moving toward S a n -
ananda Point, 2% miles from
Buna village, to attack the last
remaining organized enemy troops
in the Papuan area of New
Guinea.
Australia Hears
Of Large Armada
Massed by Japs
MELBOURNE, Jan. 5. — ( - AP) -
Melbourne newspapers displayed
prominently today a statement by
a government official that the
Japanese were reported massing
t h e largest armada they have yet
sent into the southwest Pacific
and that Japanese aircraft apparently
operating from submarines
had been scouting the Australian
northeast coast.
( I n Washington, Navy Secretary
Knox said that there were always
enemy ships a t Rabaul, New B r i t -
tain, but t h a t "to t h e best of my
knowledge there is no unusual
concentration at t h e moment." He
h a d been asked at a press conference
whether t h e navy had i n formation
of a concentration of
Japanese shipping at Rabaul p r e sumably
for a n attack on Guadalcanal
or t h e Allied-held part of
New Guinea).
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