June 30, 1944; BRITISH AND CANADIANS SUROUND CAEN:

 THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY, JUNE 30, 1944:

 Beating back nine fierce counterattacks by German tanks along the Caen-Tilly front, British and Canadian forces smashed forward yesterday in an arc half-surrounding Caen from the northeast to the southwest to strangle German communications with the strongpoint.

 Rolling back the German armies at a tremendous cost to the Nazis in men and equipment, the Russians drove deep into the enemy's White Russian lines yesterday in a swift broadening of the Soviet summer offensive.

 

New York, N.Y.—London, England—France Friday, June 30, 1944

British,  Canadians

Smash On in Arc

Around City

Beating back nine fierce counterattacks by German tanks along the Caen-Tilly front, British and Canadian forces smashed forward yesterday in an arc half-surrounding Caen from the northeast to the southwest to strangle German communications with the strongpoint.

A murderous four-hour barrage by Allied guns, which fired more than 10.000 shells, broke up the heaviest counter-attack southwest of Caen.

The crack German division which opposed the main British advance southwest of Caen was cut up so badiy that it had to be withdrawn from the line. It was learned at SHAEF that 121 German tanks had been destroyed in Normandy since D-Day and another 171 disabled. Ike Confers With Commanders Meanwhile, a dispatch from Advanced Allied Headquarters reported that Gen. Eisenhower held a series of important conferences this week at his main headquarters with all his commanders, with Prime Minister Churchill also present.

He Pledges the U.S.

To Victory and a

Lasting Peace

CHICAGO, June 29—

With a promise that "a change in administration cannot and will not involve any

Change in the military conduct of the war," Gov. Thomas E. Dewey, of New york, late last night accepted the Republican Presidential nomination find pledged himself to "preserve" the U.S. as "a free nation of free men."

 Addressing the national convention in steaming Chicago after a flight from Albany, Dewey at the outset made clear that. "the military conduct of the war is

outside this campaign. Gen.(George)  C. Marshall and Adm. (Ernest J.) King are doing a superb job. Thank God for both 'of them."

"Let us send this message to our Allies," he said. " The American people are united with you to the limit of our resources and manpower and are devoted to the single task of victory and the establishment of a firm and lasting peace.' "

Drive for Brest-Litovsk,

Vilna Is Developing;

Mogilev Seized

Rolling back the German armies at a tremendous cost to the Nazis in men and equipment, the Russians drove deep into the enemy's White Russian lines yesterday in a swift broadening of the Soviet summer offensive. with Mogilev fallen, last of the Nazi "Fatherland Line" bastions to be overrun, the offensive took on the appearance of a gigantic operation to smash straight to the borders of East

Prussia and into central Poland.

Where earlier in the week Minsk had seemed to be the Russians' next objective, yesterday that key communications point and last Nazi fortress on the central front appeared to be only one part of a grand-scale scheme to entrap the German armies and sweep on to Brest-Litovsk and Vilna—the roads to Warsaw.

Germans Admit Threat

German alarm over the "immensely powerful" drive was only thinly concealed.

"The Russians are all out to force a battle of annihilation on the greatest possible scale on the central front," said Col. Ernst von Hammer, German News Agency commentator. "There can be no other meaning."

Japs' Advance

Costs U.S. Big

China Air Base

Chennault Forced to Pull

Out of Hengyang; Allies

Gain in N. Burma

Maj. Gen. Claire L. Chennault announced in Chungking yesterday that the U.S. 14th Air Force had abandoned its base at Hengyang, the largest in China, as Tokyo Radio claimed that Japanese troops had captured the Hunan Province city, which is also a junction of north-south and east-west railroads.

Loss of the big advance airfield was a serious blow to the whole strategy of Chinese defense against the Japanese invasion. From it U.S. planes had long operated with telling effect against the Japanese^ communication and transport

lines along the Yangtze River and the enemy bases in south China.

Before pulling out, Chennault said, P51s dropped 100-pound bombs on the airfield and destroyed the runways. The Tokyo communique which reported that Hengyang had been occupied three days ago, however, claimed that Japanese already were using the field.

From other bases, U.S. airmen battled to stem the Japanese advance southward from Hengyang along the Hankow-Canton railroad, making concentrated attacks at

a dozen points. Against the embattled Japanese "in northern Burma, meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell's troops scored further successes in their drive from captured Mogaung and destroyed several bunkers ami other strongpoints in Myitkyina.

ejt