Québec, 15 August 1943
Secret
Urgent
Standstill order issued by Combined Chiefs of Staff in their message of 14th August regarding bombing of Rome is revoked. For Eisenhower FREEDOM Algiers, FAN 194, from the Combined Chiefs of Staff. You are free to carry on these operations to the extent that you consider necessary or advisable subject to previous limitations regarding safety of Vatican.
Québec, 15 August 1943.
Secret
CCS 310
Recent events have indicated the necessity for establishing some machinery whereby propaganda policies to be followed by London, Washington, and Theater Headquarters may be coordinated, particularly in emergency cases.
The enclosure is presented by the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a possible solution to this problem. They consider it desirable that something along these lines be accomplished during the QUADRANT Conferences.
Enclosure
[Propaganda Committee]
To establish a central agency with power of decision regarding propaganda lines to be followed.
The recent removal of Mussolini disclosed the fact that in emergencies there is no United Nations agency immediately available to coordinate and determine the propaganda policy that should be followed in order to derive the maximum benefit from the situation. As a result, there has been a divergence in the propaganda aims as between the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Theater Commander, which will be difficult to correct.
The time involved in obtaining agreed views from the Chief Executives of the two governments, the State Department, the Foreign Office, and the military and naval leaders of the two countries is too long to permit taking full advantage of a situation which requires immediate action.
That the Combined Chiefs of Staff recommend to the President and the Prime Minister:
a. That a Propaganda Committee be set up in Washington to include one high-level representative each from the U.S. State Department, British Foreign Office, U.S. Chiefs of Staff and the British Chiefs of Staff.
b. That this Committee be authorized to make decisions and issue broad directives on propaganda policies to be followed by the propaganda agencies of the two countries. These should be such as to insure the maximum benefit in furthering the military and political aims of the two governments. It should be understood that this committee ordinarily is free to seek guidance on the highest levels, but in emergencies to have the responsibility of taking immediate action without reference to higher authority.
c. That the Combined Chiefs of Staff be charged with the implementation of the above.
| Present | ||
|---|---|---|
| United States | United Kingdom | |
| General Marshall | Prime Minister Churchill |
From the minutes of the 105th Meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held at 10 a.m., August 16:
General Marshall said that last night it was evident that the Prime Minister had been informed of the results of yesterday’s CCS Meeting. Mr. Churchill did not mention the subject at first. He talked about Burma and the COSSAC command and referred to the misunderstanding with General Eisenhower about a certain dispatch. Finally, the Prime Minister got around to the subject of OVERLORD and said he had changed his mind regarding OVERLORD and that we should use every opportunity to further that operation, General Marshall said he told the Prime Minister that the Combined Chiefs of Staff had had a difficult meeting yesterday afternoon and that there had been frank differences of opinion but that he believed such a situation was excellent at the start. He said there was discussion regarding the “right” and “left” method of approach and that he informed the Prime Minister that he could not agree to the logic of supporting the main effort by withdrawing strength therefrom in order to bolster up the force in Italy. The Prime Minister finally dropped the subject, saying “give us time.”
Völkischer Beobachter (August 16, 1943)
In schneidig durchgeführten Angriffen Torpedotreffer auf 32 Schiffseinheiten
dnb. Aus dem Führer-Hauptquartier, 15. August –
Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt:
In den Abendstunden des 13. August griff ein deutsches Torpedofliegergeschwader unter Führung des Majors Klümper ostwärts Gibraltar einen starken in das Mittelmeer einlaufenden Geleitzug überraschend an. In schneidig durchgeführten Angriffen erzielten unsere Besatzungen Lufttorpedotreffer auf 32 Schiffseinheiten. Zwei Zerstörer und vier vollbeladene Handelsschiffe großer Tonnage, darunter ein Tanker, sanken sofort. Acht weitere Schiffe blieben brennend mit starker Schlagseite liegen. Wegen hereinbrechender Dunkelheit und starker Flakabwehr konnte das Schicksal der übrigen torpedierten Schiffe zunächst nicht erkannt werden. Die laufend durchgeführte Aufklärung bestätigte aber, daß mindestens 170.000 BRT. aus dem Geleitzug versenkt oder vernichtend getroffen wurden. Sieben eigene Flugzeuge kehrten nicht zurück.
Wien, 15. August –
Am Sonntag erklangen zum erstenmal seit geraumer Zeit wieder die Fanfaren einer Sondermeldung über den Tonnagekrieg gegen die englisch-amerikanische Schiffahrt. Die glänzende Tat eines deutschen Torpedofliegergeschwaders unter Führung des Majors Klümper, das ostwärts Gibraltar im Mittelmeer 32 feindliche Schiffe mit seinen Torpedos traf und mindestens 170.000 BRT. versenkte, hat im Herzen des deutschen Volkes freudigen Widerhall gefunden. Darüber hinaus hat der harte Schlag der Torpedoflugzeuge der deutschen Luftwaffe gegen ein stark gesichertes Großgeleit in der ganzen Welt besonderes Aufsehen erregt. Er zeigt auf das eindringlichste, daß uns wirksame Kampfmittel der verschiedensten Art zur Verfügung stehen, um den Aderlaß am feindlichen Schiffsraum kräftig weiterzuführen.
Deutsche Torpedoflugzeuge, die im westlichen Mittelmeer nun einen so konzentrierten Angriffserfolg erringen konnten, haben in diesem Kriege schon häufig ihre Angriffskraft gegen feindliche Schiffe unter Beweis gestellt. Das geschah nicht nur im Mittelmeer, sondern auch in den Gewässern um England und vor allem im Nordmeer, wo die Torpedoflugzeuge im Vorjahr erheblich an den Erfolgen gegen die Geleitzüge nach Murmansk beteiligt waren. Diese englisch-amerikanischen Geleite zu den sowjetischen Eismeerhäfen sind übrigens wegen der außerordentlich hohen Verluste durch die Bomben und Torpedos deutscher Flugzeuge und Unterseeboote seit einer Reihe von Monaten zum Erliegen gekommen und durch den langwierigen Nachschubweg über iranische Häfen ersetzt worden. Als die englischamerikanischen Truppen am 10. Juli auf Sizilien landeten, verkündete die feindliche Agitation, daß damit das Mittelmeer wieder zu einem bequemen Durchgangsweg für die Schiffahrt nach Indien und Iran geworden sei. Doch bereits beim Nachschubverkehr für die Truppen auf Sizilien hat der Feind erfahren müssen, daß die Flugzeuge und trotz der schwierigen Kampfverhältnisse auch die Unterseeboote und Schnellboote der Achsenmächte im Mittelmeer den englischen und amerikanischen Transportern schwerste Verluste zuzufügen wissen.
Bekanntlich haben die Regierungen Englands und der USA. am 10. Juli, dem Tage der Landung auf Sizilien, vorsichtigerweise erklärt, daß ihrer Presse und auch ihren Ministern fortan alle Äußerungen über den Stand des Tonnagekrieges verboten seien. Nur noch am 10. eines jeden Monats sollte eine kurze zusammenfassende Meldung erscheinen. Der erste Stichtag, der 10. August, ist jedoch vergangen, ohne daß der Feind sich auch nur zu einer farblosen Sammelmeldung über die Schiffsverluste aufschwingen konnte. Statt dessen wurde erklärt, daß London und Washington sich geeinigt hätten, überhaupt keine Meldungen über die Schiffsverluste mehr herauszugeben. Dies ist eine eindrucksvolle Unterstreichung der Tatsache, daß die Aktionen im Mittelmeer dem Feind weitaus mehr Transporttonnage gekostet haben, als er je erwartet hat, obwohl er sich in Sizilien noch im insularen Vorfeld des Festlandes befindet. Es ist ein weithin sichtbares Vorzeichen für alle weiteren feindlichen Unternehmungen der sogenannten „amphibischen Strategie“ im Mittelmeer, daß schon im ersten Monat der Kämpfe auf Sizilien mehr als 1,2 Mill. BRT. an feindlichem Schiffsraum, in erster Linie durch deutsche Flugzeuge, versenkt oder für längere Zeit ausgeschaltet werden konnte. Die feindlichen Bemühungen, die bitteren Schiffsverluste im Mittelmeer totzuschweigen, ändern die Sachlage nicht im mindesten, sondern kennzeichnen nur ihre Bedeutung. Im Falle des Sieges deutscher Torpedoflugzeuge vor Gibraltar ist die feindliche Schweigetaktik völlig vergebens, denn diese Geleitzugschlacht ist von der spanischen Küste her beobachtet worden.
Seit Juli ist nun das Mittelmeer im Tonnagekrieg die Hauptquelle der englischamerikanischen Schiffsverluste geworden. Der Feind mußte im Mittelmeer durch den Untergang so vieler Schiffe erkennen, welche starke Stellung wir in Europa besitzen. Aber auch auf den anderen Meeren muß der Feind immer wieder empfindliche Einbußen an Schiffsraum hinnehmen. Zwar haben die Engländer und Nordamerikaner im nördlichen Atlantik, wo sie ihre Abwehr durch See- und Luftstreitkräfte gegen die Unterseeboote auf ein Höchstmaß gebracht haben, eine Zeitlang den großen Geleitzugschlachten ausweichen können. Ihre Abwehr haben sie hingegen auch dort nicht abbauen können, da sie im Unterseebootkrieg an plötzliche Wendungen und Überraschungen gewöhnt sind und der künftigen Entwicklung nicht recht trauen. Jedenfalls haben die Unterseeboote in anderen Teilen des Atlantischen Ozeans, so an der südamerikanischen und westafrikanischen Küste und im Indischen Ozean bis nach Madagaskar und Mauritius hin zahlreiche Schiffe vernichtet und ihre Versenkungserfolge seit dem Tiefstand des Juni bereits sichtbar steigern können.
Fügt man die mehrfachen Erfolge deutscher Fernkampfflugzeuge gegen englische Geleitzüge im westlichen Atlantik und auch die ständigen feindlichen Schiffsverluste der Amerikaner durch japanische See- und Luftstreitkräfte im Südwestpazifik hinzu, dann kann man wohl begreifen, warum Churchill und Roosevelt sich so viel Mühe geben, die weiterhin für sie schwierige Lage im Tonnagekrieg zu verschleiern. Seit Juli ist die Fieberkurve der feindlichen Schiffsverluste wieder in die Höhe gegangen. Die Torpedos deutscher Flugzeuge im westlichen Mittelmeer aber haben nicht nur die Bordwände feindlicher Frachter und Tanker, sondern auch die feindlichen Tarnschleier über die Schiffsverluste zerrissen und der Welt offenbar gemacht. Der Tonnagekrieg geht mit allen Kampfmitteln der See- und Luftkriegführung und auf allen Meeren weiter.
Erich Glodschey
dnb. Aus dem Führer-Hauptquartier, 15. August –
Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt:
Vom Südabschnitt der Ostfront werden nur örtliche Kämpfe gemeldet. Das große Ringen im Raume südwestlich Bjelgorod hält in unverminderter Heftigkeit an. überall, wo die Sowjets anrannten, wurden sie blutig abgewiesen. An einzelnen Stellen gingen unsere Truppen zum Gegenangriff über und zerschlugen, von starken Verbänden der Luftwaffe unterstützt, vorgedrungene feindliche Stoßverbände.
Im Kampfgebiet westlich Orel und an der Front südlich und südwestlich Wjasma scheiterten ebenso zahlreiche Angriffe der Sowjets in schweren Kämpfen und unter hohen blutigen Verlusten für den Feind.
Auch südlich des Ladogasees brachen gestern alle Angriffe der Bolschewisten zusammen.
Die Sowjets verloren gestern 86 Flugzeuge und 179 Panzer, davon allein 117 im Bereich eines nordwestlich Jarzewo eingesetzten Armeekorps.
In Sizilien erlitt der Feind bei stärkeren Vorstößen am Nordabschnitt empfindliche Verluste.
Ein deutscher Unterseebootjäger versenkte im Mittelmeer ein feindliches Unterseeboot.
Über dem nördlichen Reichsgebiet flogen in der vergangenen Nacht nur vereinzelte Störflugzeuge ein.
dnb. Rom, 15. August –
Der italienische Wehrmachtbericht vom Sonntag lautet:
In den neuen Stellungen der Sizilienfront leisten die italienischen und deutschen Truppen zähen Widerstand und halten den feindlichen Ansturm auf.
Italienische Jäger schossen in Luftkämpfen über dem Schlachtfeld, mit einem zahlenmäßig überlegenen Feindverband sechs „Spitfires“ ab. Weitere fünf Flugzeuge wurden von deutschen Jägern vernichtet.
Verbände italienischer Torpedoflugzeuge erzielten im Golf von Palermo Treffer auf einem mittelgroßen Dampfer und vor Bizerta auf einem Tanker von mehr als 10.000 BRT. Der Tanker erhielt einen Volltreffer und explodierte.
In der vergangenen Nacht warfen feindliche Flugzeuge Bomben auf Mailand, die den Einsturz zahlreicher Gebäude und viele Brände hervorriefen. Drei Bomber wurden von den Abwehrbatterien und einer von Nachtjägern abgeschossen.
Der Feind verlor bei mit Brandbombenabwurf durchgeführten Unternehmen gegen Ortschaften der Provinz Catanzaro ein Flugzeug.
Zwei unserer Flugzeuge sind vom Einsatz der letzten zwei Tage nicht an ihren Stützpunkt zurückgekehrt.
In der vergangenen Woche vernichteten unsere Marineeinheiten sowie Motorflöße beim Einsatz in der Straße von Messina elf Flugzeuge verschiedenster Bauart.
The Pittsburgh Press (August 16, 1943)
Americans, British speed along coasts toward tip of island
By Reynolds Packard, United Press staff writer
Within shelling range of Messina, U.S. and British troops drove against the Axis bridgehead in Sicily. Many Germans were trapped inland when U.S. soldiers cut off Milazzo as an enemy escape port. The British 8th Army drove beyond Taormina and captured Castiglione on the north slope of Mt. Etna.
Allied HQ, North Africa –
The U.S. 7th and British 8th Armies drove forward along the north and east coasts of Sicily to within artillery range of Messina today, and the triumphant end of the campaign was officially reported to be at hand.
A U.S. artillery expert said the 7th Army was probably using 155mm guns with a range of 20,000 yards, which on the basis of the headquarters report, would put U.S. troops within a little more than 10 miles of Messina.
Lt. Gen. George S. Patton’s flying column had struck 14 miles eastward to the Milazzo area, isolating that Axis evacuation port 16 miles from Messina and plunging on toward the last Sicilian stronghold in Axis hands.
Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery’s Imperials seized Taormina, 25 miles below Messina, and joined in the swift pincer movement against the last tottering Axis toehold on the island.
The battle of Sicily was finished except for the mop-up of the ragtag Axis elements covering the panicky evacuation of the island, and Allied big guns were now in positions to shell the mainland of Italy.
Captured documents indicated that in the Taormina sector, the Germans left two Italian coastal regiments behind for a delaying action while they scurried up the coast and across the narrow Strait of Messina.
The Axis evacuation, a pale shadow of a “Dunkirk,” continued under the day-and-night assault of Allied land, sea and air guns and bombs.
Seventh Army reports revealed that a large number of Germans were trying to infiltrate into the American lines, disguised as civilians and their hair and skin darkened with nut juices and olive oil to simulate the appearance of Sicilian peasants.
The reported infiltration might indicate that the Germans were trying to escape through the American positions or sneaking in on sabotage missions as part of the rearguard action.
As the cattle went into its final phase, it was announced that Gen. Patton’s army had captured or destroyed 188 Axis tanks of all sizes and 293 guns of 75mm or larger during the campaign.
Only skimpy details were available on the American push along the north coast. An official announcement said they had reached the Milazzo area, representing an advance of 14 miles in a single day from Oliveri.
The port, the last one of value in Axis hands except Messina, lies on a tongue of land thrusting a few miles north from the coastal road, and it appeared that the Americans had sliced across the base of the miniature peninsula.
On the other wing of Allied advance, the British troops pushed on five miles to seize Taormina. Inland they took nearby Gaggi and Castiglione, on the north slope of Mt. Etna.
The advances made yesterday were describe at headquarters as the most spectacular made in the Sicilian campaign for weeks. They made it clear that the Axis had written off the Messina bridgehead.
Allied quarters, easing the tight reserve which they had imposed on the accounts of the Sicilian campaign, made it evident that the rearguard action was expected to last no more than a few days, perhaps even a matter of hours.
Yesterday’s gains deprived the Germans of virtually all roads except the two coastal ways directly in front of the 7th and 8th Armies. Fleeing Nazis from the central sector were confronted by the appalling handicap of hiking across the rugged tip of Sicily, probably to find themselves trapped if and when they reach a highway.
A new danger arose to the advancing Allied armies. Their gains had carried them near the range of Italian coastal batteries on the mainland. There was no indication so far that the big guns across the Strait of Messina had taken any part in the campaign, possibly because of Allied air operations.
Where the German evacuees were escaping the Sicilian beaches and the hazards of the crossing, Allied planes were pursuing them right on the mainland and bombing all railroad lines leading northward from the tip of Italy.
All the air attacks on the Italian mainland were directed against key communication points and rail lines which the Germans would use to regroup disorganized forces.
The Desert Air Forces, assisted by Bostons, Baltimores, Mitchells and Warhawk and Kittyhawk fighter-bombers, maintained continuous attacks along both sides of the Strait of Messina where the enemy was shuttling back and forth in small speedboats and Siebel ferries imported from Germany. these ferries can carry more than 100 men.
London, England (UP) –
A Transocean (German) News Agency dispatch broadcast by Berlin radio said today that a Nazi U-boat had sunk a U.S. light cruiser of the Brooklyn class off the north coast of Sicily.
Brooklyn-class cruisers range from 9,650 to 10,000 tons and carry normal complements of 868-888 men. Nine ships were included in the class in 1941.
Roosevelt, Churchill may rule on open city
By Robert Dowson, United Press staff writer
London, England –
President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill will probably issue a pronouncement from Québec in reply to the Italian government’s designation of Rome as an open city, diplomatic sources said today.
Allied action on the Italian declaration rests with them and their military advisers, these sources pointed out.
Bern dispatches said all telegraph and telephone communications from Switzerland to Italy were cut off today, but no official explanation was forthcoming immediately.
Proof needed
Meanwhile, qualified observers believed that Rome would continue to be regarded as a military target until the United Nations satisfy themselves, presumably through neutral inspection, that the city is no longer being used for any military purposes.
Even the Rome radio told the Italian people that the open city declaration was not binding on the Allies, and only a bilateral declaration based on proof satisfactory to the Allies that the city contained no military objectives would prevent further air attacks.
No official word of the Italian government’s decision had yet reached London.
Evacuation reported
A Rome dispatch published in Sweden today said the Italians are rushing evacuation of military material from Rome at a “feverish” pace in an attempt to make the capital an open city.
A Madrid dispatch said the Germans were exerting heavy pressure on the Badoglio government to delay designation of Rome as an open city until an estimated 60,000 German troops south of Rome were moved to northern Italy.
Nazis build defenses
German forces, reinforced by reserves streaming through the Brenner Pass, are frantically building hedgehog defenses along the Po River in northern Italy for a stand against any Allied attempt to invade Germany from the south, according to a Swiss report published in the Stockholm newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.
Reports reaching Madrid estimated that some 20,000 German troops have been evacuated from Sicily to San Giovanni and Reggio Calabria in southern Italy and another 40,000 are stationed around Rome.
Sought to end alliance
Another Stockholm newspaper, Dagerns Nyheter, asserted that Italy sought to dissolve its alliance with Germany during conferences in northern Italy a little more than 10 days ago, but reluctantly consented to continue fighting when German troops, supported by tanks and planes, surrounded Rome.
Seeking to avert any flood of refugees from other bomb-ravaged cities in Italy in the event the Allies accept Rome as an open city, the Prefect of Rome has issued orders imposing a ban on visitors.
British fliers find fires still burning from Saturday night
By Walter Cronkite, United Press staff writer
…
Québec hears report of prediction end will come in 6 months
By John A. Reichmann, United Press staff writer
Québec, Canada –
Prime Minister Winston Churchill was reported without official confirmation today to have predicted the end of the European war within the next six months.
The report was published in the influential French-language newspaper Catholic Action and was understood to have been made before the Québec Cabinet, presumably early last week before Mr. Churchill left for his three-day conference with President Roosevelt at Hyde Park, New York.
The newspaper published the report as a “rumor” but it had also been known confidentially by a number of persons for the last several days.
Heavy blows hinted
The report, if true, would be almost revolutionary for the conservative Mr. Churchill, who has consistently promised his people nothing but “blood, sweat and tears,” and would support previous predictions that tremendous blows are planned against Hitler’s European fortress within the next few weeks.
The newspaper said Mr. Churchill’s statement was made in French and was to the effect the war would be over “d’ici a une demi-douzaine de mois” – or, literally, from now to within six months.
The Prime Minister’s prediction was supposed to have dealt only with Germany and not the war against Japan.
The fate of Rome will be decided by Wednesday, it was believed in Québec Conference circles.
The Chiefs of Staff of the United States and Britain were understood to have decided not to accept the Italian declaration that Rome has been declared an open city, unless Marshal Pietro Badoglio accepts the Allies’ unconditional surrender demand.
May not occupy city
The Allies were said to be considering a decision not to occupy Rome and not to use it for any military purpose.
In such case, the Vatican, the International Red Cross, and possibly Swiss neutral representatives might be invited to form a commission which would guarantee Rome’s neutrality.
However, it was assumed that there will be no final decisions involving political policy for transmission to Badoglio until Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt have made their final review of Italian policy. This, it was assumed, will be one of their first acts when they hold their scheduled meeting here this week.
Plans completed
It was understood that the Anglo-American military plans for Southern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean have been completed and approved by the general staffs.
The conference, therefore, was expected to concern itself this week almost exclusively with plans for an attack from Britain along the shortest lines to Berlin.
The groups of specialists who have been working 16 hours a day in the Château Frontenac, are understood to have drawn up detailed reports outlining the basic military, naval and air needs for a series of attacks, a number of which would be diversionary sorties extending from the coastal area of Norway to the border between France and Spain.
May aim for Paris
The fundamental objective of the conference was to define where and how soon the greater part of Anglo-American strength now in England and Iceland can be landed across the continent.
There was reason here to believe that Paris will be among the first main objectives.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill was working with his chiefs of staff.
Confer at Hyde Park
Mr. Churchill returned here yesterday and it was revealed by the White House in Washington that he and Mr. Roosevelt had been together for three days at the Roosevelt estate at Hyde Park, New York. Mr. Roosevelt was back in Washington.
It was presumed that the two leaders had preliminary talks at Hyde Park but the presence of Mrs. Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill’s daughter Mary suggested that the social angle had been at least one reason for their meeting there.
Mr. Roosevelt held a series of meetings with top advisers in Washington, in preparation for his conference with Mr. Churchill.
To cover wide field
Weekend developments made clear the wide fields to be covered by the conference. Among them was the definite disclosure that British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden would be here.
From this, it was concluded that the agenda will roughly be divided into three parts:
Military considerations, which will come first and will be secret until they are transmitted into concrete action.
Immediate political problems which will be encountered as the armies move into new enemy territory.
Long-range political problems likely to be encountered as the Allies try to convert into action the objectives of the Atlantic Charter and related pledges.
Many observers believe that Mr. Eden, or even Mr. Churchill, will proceed to Moscow to discuss what has been done with Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin.
After conferring with Mr. Roosevelt, Secretary of State Cordell Hull said that neither he nor any State Department official planned, at this time, to participate in the Québec Conference.
London, England (UP) –
The Sunday Express diplomatic correspondent, commenting on the Russian TASS News Agency statement that Premier Stalin had not been invited to attend the Québec Conference, said President Roosevelt had earlier had invited the Russian war leader to a meeting at any place he might name.
Mr. Roosevelt, the correspondent said, sent Stalin a personal letter by former Ambassador Joseph E. Davis, inviting him to meet the British and American leaders “in the near future at any place Stalin named.”
The Soviet leader cordially and lengthily replied, thanking Mr. Roosevelt for the invitation and saying that while it was not impossible that circumstances might change before long, the military situation at the moment compelled all his attention and presence, the correspondent said.
Americans storm enemy pocket near Bairoko
By Brydon Taves, United Press staff writer
…
Sinister implications seen in Soviet Premier’s aloofness from Allied war talks
By William Philip Simms, Scripps-Howard foreign editor
…
Allied HQ, North Africa (UP) –
The Army newspaper Stars and Stripes caused a stir in the Red Cross officers’ club today with the revelation of the new order which permits WACs to date Army officers.
For a long time, second lieutenants have been watching wealthy sergeants, and privates, wining and dining the best-looking American girls in this theater. At the same time, the Red Cross girls seemed to confine their dates solely to the higher-ranking officers, resulting in the saying that you have to be a colonel to date a Red Cross girl.
Capt. Martha E. Rodgers new company commander, has opened the field to the shavetails with the order lifting the restriction on WAC dating.
The only string to the order is that WACs are still not permitted to date officers for whim they are working.
Allied HQ, North Africa (UP) –
Richard McMillan, United Press war correspondent, has been evacuated to North Africa after suffering powder blast burns on the head, face and forearms at the front in Sicily.
His condition was not believed serious.
Mr. McMillan has covered most of the principal campaigns of World War II in Europe and Africa, including France, Egypt, Libya, Greece, Crete and Sicily.
