San Diego had blackout
San Diego, Cal., May 12 –
A five-minute blackout was ordered in San Diego last night because of the presence of an unidentified plane, which was later identified as friendly.
On the home front –
Air cadets awaiting call receive free mail rights
Postmaster explains men who draw pay from U.S. on enlistment come under ruling
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Simms says –
U.S. reluctant to use force in Martinique
Prefers assurances that island won’t be turned over to Axis
By William Philip Simms, Scripps-Howard foreign editor
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Burma border battle rages
Reinforced Japs attack Chinese positions
By Robert P. Martin, United Press staff writer
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Ever hear of the ‘grit girl’? She’s our wartime female!
Mary Astor says this new type has taken the place of he ‘glamor gal’
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Background of news –
Invasion of Europe
By Editorial Research Reports
Demands in England that the Allies open a land offensive somewhere in Western Europe, to relieve the strain on Russia of Germany’s spring offensive in the East, were heightened by hints given in Hitler’s address to the Reichstag of troubles on the military and home fronts and by reports of internal unrest in Italy. Hopes were raised that if the Nazis were forced to fight on a second front, victory in Europe in 1942 might be within the grasp of the United Nations.
At the same time, warnings were uttered that the Axis might be trying to tempt the Allies into premature action and leaders in the United States and Britain cautioned that an offensive must not be undertaken until sufficient force had been mobilized.
Lord Beaverbrook, ardent proponent of an early attempt at invasion of the Continent, has declared that Britain is now well equipped in weapons of war to direct an attack upon Germany. While it is agreed on all sides that the current shipping shortage is the principal restraining factor, advocates of invasion contend that that situation may be no better next year, and that it is imperative to strike now while the situation on the Russian front is still favorable.
Meanwhile, whatever the decision on a land offensive, U.S. officials have promised early American participation in the current heavy air offensive in Western Europe. “The British and presently the American bombing offensive against Germany,” Winston Churchill said Sunday, “will be one of the principal features in this year’s World War.” Mr. Churchill referred to the demands for a new front in Europe and praised the aggressive spirit demonstrated by those demands. “Naturally,” he pointed out, “I shall not disclose what our intentions are.”
Specuation as to the direction of an Allied invasion attempt has named France, Norway, and even Italy as possible points of attack. The air superiority vital to success of any such attempt could most easily be afforded on the Channel coast, within range of British-based fighter planes. On the other hand, that is believed to be the most heavily fortified coastal region, and the air, rail, and road facilities there would permit rapid concentration of defending forces. A successful invasion of Norway would have the advantage of enabling the Allies to safeguard more adequately the northern supply route to Russia and possibly to send troops overland to fight their way through Finland to join the Russians. It has been argued in behalf of a Mediterranean offensive that the war-weary Italians would offer little resistance to an invading force.
In planning for an offensive in Europe, the Allies hold the advantage of the initiative and can count on some measure of aid from the subjugated peoples whom it would be their mission to liberate. At the same time, the task of landing large armies and huge quantities of heavy equipment presents difficult problems. Japan has demonstrated in the Southwest Pacific that such operations are by no means impossible, but also that they require enormous amounts of shipping and demand maintenance of naval and air superiority.
During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, two British expeditions which sought to invade the Continent through the Low Countries met disaster. In 1808, however, when Napoleon had overcome all of Britain’s continental allies and occupied a position of dominance comparable to that of Hitler today, England took advantage of revolt in Spain to gain a foothold in the peninsula.
They plot in ‘paradise’ –
Enemy diplomats live in real luxury in world’s swankiest internment camp
But they fight among selves as Nazis hate Italians and Japanese
By David Charnay and William Wallace (as told to Warren Hall)
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U.S. War Department (May 13, 1942)
General MacArthur’s Headquarters No. 26
Northeast sector.
Weather conditions limited air activity throughout the area.
There was only routine activity in other areas.
The Pittsburgh Press (May 13, 1942)
Bodies of 56 recovered in mine tragedy
70 others escape blast near Morgantown at change of shifts
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