Current Events November 24, 1943;

THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY NOVEMBER 24, 1943:

Huge fires blazed across Berlin all day yesterday in the wake of the war's heaviest raid on the German capital—a 2,300-ton attack on Monday night by the biggest fleet of four-engined bombers ever assembled to hit that target. While defense reserves were rushed into Berlin to try to check the fires still spreading from the RAF's early night attack, American Marauders and light RAF forces swept across the Channel in daylight yesterday^ and hammered Nazi airdromes in France.

 The Gilbert Islands attack was today called the beginning of a new drive to oust the Japanese from the Central Pacific by Secretary of Navy Frank Knox, a few hours after the news of another landing in the Gilberts area was announced.
A communique from Pearl Harbor this morning said Marines landed on Abemama atoll, 80 miles southeast of Tarawa, while the other landing forces improved their position on both the Tarawa and Makin atolls.

It also was disclosed that Lt.Col. James Roosevelt landed with the infantry on Makin Island. His landing was presumed to have been made primarily as an observer as it was with the Army instead of his own Marines, and marked his return to the atoll he assaulted with Marine raiders in August

 Gen. Koniev's army broke through in the south of the Kremenchug bridgehead today and joined up"with the Russian forces in the Dnepropetrovsk bridgehead to clear the Germans from the western bank of the Dnieper

              THE STARS AND STRIPES
             Daily Newspaper of U.S. Armed Forces in the European Theater of Operations
                                      New York, N.Y.—London, England       Wednesday, Nov. 24, 1943

     Berlin Fires Rage After Heaviest Raid

Greatest Air Fleet
Drops 2,300 Tons
On German Capital
2nd Raid in 5 Days Indicates Record Blitz
Is On to Wipe Out Whole City;
Marauders Hit French Field
Huge fires blazed across Berlin all day yesterday in the wake of the war's heaviest raid on the German capital—a 2,300-ton attack on Monday night by the biggest fleet of four-engined bombers ever assembled to hit that target. While defense reserves were rushed into Berlin to try to check the fires still spreading from the RAF's early night attack, American Marauders and light RAF forces swept across the Channel in daylight yesterday^ and hammered Nazi airdromes in France.
The raid on Berlin was the second major blow in five nights against the first city of the Reich, and the first reports to get out of Germany indicated that the Nazi capital was getting a beating similar to that which removed Hamburg from the war this summer. Soon after supper-time last night Berlin radio went off the air again, another RAF attack might be in progress.
Air warfare observers in London saw the raid as evidence of "one of the most terrible experiments in military history, namely, an attempt to wipe out a great enemy capital from the air."
                                                 Wilhelmstrasse Hit
The area hit can be described as the "nerve center" of Nazi Germany. Berlin radio and news agencies, whose contact with the outside world was cut off during two bomb-torn hours Monday night, were the first to give an indication of the extent of the damage. The district around the Wilhelmstrasse, the government
area; Unter den Linden, the Alexanderplatz (site of the Gestapo prison), suburban areas housing workers
and containing large factory sites where much of the Wehrmacht's electrical and navigational equipment is made—all were heavily hit in the mass raid by a force which included many hundreds of fourengined bombers. 1 he Germans claimed that many buiidings housing neutral legations and diplomatic staffs were
damaged or destroyed.

New Gilbert Landing in Drive
To Oust Japs from Cen. Pacific
WASHINGTON, Nov. 23—
The Gilbert Islands attack was today called the beginning of a new drive to oust the Japanese from the Central Pacific by Secretary of Navy Frank Knox, a few hours after the news of another landing in the Gilberts area was announced.
A communique from Pearl Harbor this morning said Marines landed on Abemama atoll, 80 miles southeast of Tarawa, while the other landing forces improved their position on both the Tarawa and Makin atolls.
It also was disclosed that Lt.Col. James Roosevelt landed with the infantry on Makin Island. His landing was presumed to have been made primarily as an observer as it was with the Army instead of his own Marines, and marked his return to the atoll he assaulted with Marine raiders in August.
Troops on Tarawa and Makin Islands are still encountering considerable enemy ground resistance.
Liberators meanwhile heavily bombed the airdrome area at Nauru Island again and Army Libs continued diversionary attacks on the Marshalls.
Central Pacific operations are being directed by Vice Adm. Raymond Spruance. The amphibious forces are
under the command of Rear Adm. Richmond Turner. Landings were made on Tarawa by the second marine division (Guadalcanal veterans) under the command of Maj. Gen. Julien Smith, USMC. Those on Makin were made by troops of the 27th infantry division, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ralph Smith, U.S. Army.
Maj. Gen. Holland Smith of the Marine Corps is in command of the landing forces. Col. Knox, commenting on the Pacific operations, said the purpose of the attacks was, first, to clear the Japanese from the islands and, secondly, to shorten the U.S. supply line in the Southwest Pacific.

Russians Press 
DnieperDrive;
2 Forces Unite
Koniev's Forces Clear
More Nazis From
Southern Bank
MOSCOW, Nov. 23 (UP)—
Gen. Koniev's army broke through in the south of the Kremenchug bridgehead today and joined up"with the Russian forces in the Dnepropetrovsk bridgehead to clear the Germans from the western bank of the Dnieper.
After the break-through, they advanced 12 miles and entered the Dnepropetrovsk bridgehead several miles east of the Kremenchug-Pyatikhatka railway. The victory was only won by the Russians after a battle which went on night and day for three days. The German losses were extremely heavy. They lost 133 tanks and self-propelled guns and 143 field guns. Large numbers of German prisoners were taken and 4,000 were left
dead on the battlefield.
During the move, Russian forces in both the Dnepropetrovsk and Kremenchug bridgeheads pushed steadily towards one another.
On the northern side of the Dnieper Bend bitter fighting is still raging on the southern flank of the Kiev salient. The German attacks have been switched more to the west and are now coming from, the sector between Chernyakhov and Korostichev. They are still throwing men and tanks into this area in an attempt to cut through towards Kiev and throw the Russian attacks in the northern part of the salient off balance, but the Russian lines still hold, even after a week of some of the heaviest German attacks of the year.
Winter is gradually creeping south across the plains of the Ukraine and the black earth roads which have been stretches of mud during the autumn are now hardening and providing better going for the armor and transport of both sides.