Current Events October 24, 1943;

THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY, OCTOBER 24, 1943:

Melitopol, gateway to the Crimea, has been captured by Russian forces after nearly two weeks of some of the fiercest battles of the Russian war, Premier Marshal Joseph Stalin announced tonight in a special order of the day.

The major victory, climaxing days-of bitter see-saw street battles, threatened with entrapment the 17th German army of 500,000 to 1,000,000 men defending the Crimea and the territory extending westward to the mouth of the Dnieper

Field Marshal Gen. Albert Kesselring's forces, although thrown back by the Fifth Army after launching a fierce tank-led counterattack in the Alife region, dug in firmly today in their new positions on the Massico Ridge-Mount Matese line solidly blocking the road to Rome.

A great fleet of British four-engined bombers penetrated a heavy screen of fighters and murky weather last night and dropped 1,500 long tons of bombs in an effective attack on the German armament city of Kassel,
losing 44 bombers on the mission. A subsidiary force hit Frankfurt and the small but swift plywood Mosquito bombers raided the Cologne area.

Yugoslav partisans under the dashing young lawyer-general, Petar Dabcevis, today were involved in heavy fighting with Nazi motorized units in the vicinity of Mount Chakor on the Montegran- Albanian frontier, while other patriots captured four villages in southwest Slovenia.

       RUSSIANS CAPTURE MELITOPOL
        The Loredo Times
                                 LAREDO, TEXAS, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1943.


Stalin announces Fall InSpecial Order Of Day;
German's Loss Terrific
LONDON, Oct. 23—UP)—
Melitopol, gateway to the Crimea, has been captured by Russian forces after nearly two weeks of some of the fiercest battles of the Russian war, Premier Marshal Joseph Stalin announced tonight in a special order of the day.
The major victory, climaxing days-of bitter see-saw street battles, threatened with entrapment the 17th German army of 500,000 to 1,000,000 men defending the Crimea and the territory extending westward to the mouth of the Dnieper.
The Nazis lost more than 20,000 killed in their futile bidding to building defense of the, town, the announcement said. Premier Stalin termed Melitopol "the most vital strategic center of German defenses in the southern direction.
"Thus," he said, "the powerful German defense line on the river Molochna, which is stronger than the one they had on the River Mius (at Taganrog, on the Sea of Azov west of Rostov) in regard to the quality of their engineering equipment and antitank obstacles, as well as the quality of their infantry, artillery and tanks, has been broken on a decisive sector."

G e r m a n s Dig In On
     Road To Rome
 ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, Algiers, Oct. 23.—UP)—
Field Marshal Gen. Albert Kesselring's forces, although thrown back by the Fifth Army after launching a fierce tank-led counterattack in the Alife region, dug in firmly today in their new positions on the Massico Ridge-Mount Matese line solidly blocking the road to Rome.
The hard counterattack was one of the sharpest the Germans have put in, and it cost them dearly. A number of Nazi tanks were knocked out by the deadly fire of American artillery, but the fury with which it was launched was an indication of the German's determination to hold their new line stubbornly.
The Eighth Army also frustrated a counterattack near Montecilfone
and then advanced two miles, taking Lupara, which dominates high ground in central Italy.
The object of the German counterthrusts was to disrupt Allied offensive actions and the Germans invariably launch them just before they think the Allies are about to deliver a blow.

Allies Lose 44
Bombers In Raid
On Kassel
LONDON, Oct. 23.— (AP) —
A great fleet of British four-engined bombers penetrated a heavy screen of fighters and murky weather last night and dropped 1,500 long tons of bombs in an effective attack on the German armament city of Kassel,
losing 44 bombers on the mission. A subsidiary force hit Frankfurt and the small but swift plywood Mosquito bombers raided the Cologne area.
The RAF's losses on the Kassel raid raised the total for the month to 163 in nine major operations, but the Air Ministry described the blow as highly effective. The Nazis threw up an unusually heavy fighter force to check this latest phase of an air  bombardment running through both day and night.

Yugoslavs Fight
LONDON, Oct. 23 .—(AP)—
Yugoslav partisans under the dashing young lawyer-general, Petar Dabcevis, today were involved in heavy fighting with Nazi motorized units in the vicinity of Mount Chakor on the Montegran- Albanian frontier, while other patriots captured four villages in southwest Slovenia.