America at war! (1941–) – Part 3

Mr. Smith und die Invasion

dr. th. b. Stockholm, 10. Juni –
Welche Stimmungen, Gefühle, Überlegungen beherrschen den Mann auf der Straße in London und Neuyork nun, da das „große Abenteuer,“ wie Winston Churchill von der Landung auf dem europäischen Kontinent sprach, seinen blutigen und über alle Erwartungen verlustreichen Anfang genommen hat? Wie haben Mr. Smith und Mr. Brown reagiert, als am frühen Morgen des 6. Juni der Londoner Nachrichtendienst und die vielen großen und kleinen Sender der Vereinigten Staaten die ersten deutschen Meldungen von dem Beginn der Invasion brachten und erst drei Stunden später das erste amtliche Kommuniqué aus Eisenhowers Hauptquartier kam? Wie denken sie sich den weiteren Verlauf? Sind sie überrascht oder haben sie sich die Invasion genauso vorgestellt, wie sie sich jetzt auf der Halbinsel Cotentin abspielt?

Es sind dies alles Fragen, die von einem neutralen Beobachtungsposten aus schwer und nur zum Teil beantwortet werden können. Versuchen wir trotzdem auch zwischen den Zeilen der uns hier vorliegenden Berichte aus London und New York zu lesen und skizzenhaft ein paar Bilder festzuhalten! Für die feindliche Propagandazentrale kam es von vornherein darauf an, in der englischen und amerikanischen Bevölkerung eine religiöse Massenhysterie zu erwecken, um die ungeheuren Blutopfer des „Unternehmens Eisenhower“ als notwendig, unvermeidlich und gerechtfertigt erscheinen zu lassen. Es scheint das unter den leicht erregbaren Yankees leichter gelungen zu sein als unter den Briten, obwohl auch bei ihnen eine zunehmende Neigung zu Hysterie und Massenwahn festzustellen ist.

„Feierliche Szenen,“ so heißt es in einem Bericht aus Neuyork, „spielten sich im ganzen Lande ab, von Neuyorks stattlichen Kathedralen bis zu den kleinen und ärmlichen Bethäusern im Negerviertel Harlem und den einfachen Hauskirchen in unzähligen kleinen Dörfern. Eine Woge von Religiosität war erweckt.“ Wie wenig echt aber diese Erweckung war, zeigt ein Blick auf die amerikanische Presse. Die Daily News brachte einen Leitartikel mit der Überschrift „Vater unser,“ New York Times, Daily Mirror druckten Gebete ab, die Kinovorstellungen begannen mit Gebeten, Roosevelt wurde im Gebet versunken gezeigt, während die amerikanische Flagge im Dunkel von Scheinwerfern angestrahlt, im künstlichen Wind flatterte, die großen Geschäfte in Manhattan schlossen, „um es dem Personal zu ermöglichen, an den Abendgottesdiensten teilzunehmen.“

Nicht viel anders wirkte sich dieser religiöse Rummel – man muß dieses harte Wort gebrauchen – in London aus. Sehr viel schneller wurde ja auch die englische Bevölkerung Zeuge der außergewöhnlich hohen Verluste, die bereits die ersten vierundzwanzig Stunden kosteten. Die Bewohner der Küstengebiete sahen am Mittwoch Kolonnen von Autos den Küstenstädten zustreben, von Londoner Privatärzten gesteuert, die in aller Eile aufgeboten werden mußten, um ihre Arbeit in provisorisch eingerichteten Lazaretten aufzunehmen. Seit Mittwoch früh lief dann ein Lazarettzug nach dem andern in den Londoner Bahnhöfen ein, die polizeilich gesperrt wurden, um die Verbreitung von Nachrichten unter der Bevölkerung möglichst zu verhindern.

Zweifellos kann man den Berichten glauben, die von einem feierlichen Ernst sprechen, der sich am Dienstag über alles gebreitet habe. Auch Mr. Smith wird gewußt haben, was für England mit dem „Unternehmen Eisenhower“ auf dem Spiele steht. Plötzlich war London von Uniformen leergefegt.

Für einen Fremden dürften es kaum mehr als die Sperrballons, die Ruinen und die Militärautos, die in rasender Fahrt die Straßen durchsausen, sein, die den Eindruck erwecken, daß er die Hauptstadt eines Empire erlebt, in der gleichzeitig die Drähte der Kriegführung der Westmächte zusammenlaufen.

Als einen „Kreuzzug,“ als einen „Kampf zur Befreiung Europas“ versuchten die Zeitungen den Invasionsversuch zu stempeln. Für Mr. Smith ist es doch vor allem der Kampf um England, wobei im Unterbewußtsein immer wieder der Wunsch durchdringt, endlich einmal die ärgerlichen amerikanischen Besatzungstruppen Bus dem Straßenbild und aus den Gaststätten und Kinos verschwinden zu sehen.

Die größte Überraschung dürfte es wohl gewesen sein, daß es Eisenhower nicht gelang, den deutschen Atlantikwall von der See her und durch Luftlandetruppen vom Lande her in einem Umfang aufzubrechen, daß dem General Montgomery ein genügend breites und tiefes Aufmarschgebiet zur Entfaltung weit angelegter Operationen zur Verfügung stand. Es kann kaum in dem Invasionsfahrplan vorgesehen gewesen sein, daß Eisenhower in die gewonnenen Brückenköpfe nun weitere Kräfte hineinpumpen muß, Kräfte, die wahrscheinlich für andere Unternehmen angesetzt waren, um dieses Aufmarschgebiet doch noch zu gewinnen. Wie weit solche Überlegungen, die in militärischen Kreisen sicher sehr ernsthaft angestellt werden, dem Manne auf der Straße geläufig sind, sei dahingestellt. Er wird mit den widersprechendsten Nachrichten überschüttet, auf seine schwachen Nerven nimmt das Pressehauptquartier Eisenhowers keine Rücksicht.

Denn dieses will nur folgendes erreichen: Vor allem eine Siegespsychose schaffen, um bei dem bolschewistischen Verbündeten den Eindruck zu erwecken, daß alles zum Besten stünde, um eine möglichst frühzeitige Offensive an der Ostfront zur Entlastung des eigenen Unternehmens herauszulocken, zweitens für die politische Offensive gegen die Neutralen agitatorische Unterlagen zu schaffen und drittens auf der Gegenseite Dementis zu erzielen, die zur eigenen Unterrichtung dienen sollen. Die Zusammenballung von Hunderten von Journalisten im Londoner Informationsministerium tut ein Übriges, um die britische Hauptstadt zu einem Wespennest von Meldungen und Gerüchten zu machen. Vor diesem bedrohlichen Wespennest steht Mr Smith und wundert sich. Er wird sich noch mehr wundern.

Schwere Panzerkämpfe im Raum Caen-Bayeux –
Kämpfe in der Normandie nehmen an Heftigkeit zu

dnb. Aus dem Führer-Hauptquartier, 10. Juni –
Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt:

Die Kämpfe im feindlichen Brückenkopf der Normandie nehmen durch die von beiden Seiten zugeführten neuen Kräfte immer mehr an Heftigkeit zu. Ein Versuch des Feindes, dicht südlich der Seinemündung bei Trouville zu landen, scheiterte im Feuer unserer Küstenbatterien unter starken Verlusten für den Feind. Ein Kriegsschiff wurde versenkt, die übrigen zum Abdrehen gezwungen.

Unsere Säuberungskämpfe auf dem Ostufer der Orne schreiten gut voran. Feindliche Gegenangriffe gegen Touffreville scheiterten.

Im Raum Caen-Bayeux halten schwere Panzerkämpfe an. Es gelang dem Feind dort nach erbittertem Ringen, unsere Sicherungslinien, hinter denen unsere Reserven aufmarschieren, zurückzudrängen.

Auf der Halbinsel Cherbourg wird erbittert gekämpft. Unsere Truppen schlagen sich gegen starke feindliche Kräfte und gegen eine überlegene Luftwaffe hervorragend. An der gesamten Front halten sich viele vom Feind eingeschlossene Widerstandsnester und Stützpunkte in hartnäckigen Kämpfen. In den ersten drei Tagen wurden über 200 feindliche Panzer abgeschossen und mehrere tausend Gefangene eingebracht. Darüber hinaus hatte der Feind, besonders seine Luftlandetruppen, schwerste blutige Verluste.

Deutsche Seestreitkräfte und Kampfflieger fügten auch gestern der feindlichen Landungsflotte schwere Verluste zu. Im Westausgang des Kanals stießen leichte Seestreitkräfte mit einem überlegenen feindlichen Kreuzer- und Zerstörerverband zusammen. Im Verlauf des mehrstündigen harten Gefechts wurden ein feindlicher Kreuzer und ein Zerstörer durch Torpedotreffer schwer beschädigt. Ein eigener Zerstörer ging verloren.

Bei Gefechten unserer Sicherungsstreitkräfte mit feindlichen Schnellbooten vor den Landestellen und im Kanal wurden mehrere feindliche Boote beschädigt. Drei unserer Vorpostenboote gingen verloren.

Seit dem 6. Juni wurden durch Kriegsmarine und Luftwaffe sowie durch Küstenbatterien der Kriegsmarine und des Heeres 2 Kreuzer, 3 Zerstörer, 6 Transportschiffe mit 38.000 BRT, 5 Panzerwagenlandungsschiffe mit zusammen 15.700 BRT und 7 Panzerwagenlandungsboote mit 2600 BRT versenkt.

Durch Torpedo-, Bomben- und Artillerietreffer wurden beschädigt 1 schwerer Kreuzer, 3 weitere Kreuzer, 6 Zerstörer, 5 Schnellboote, 8 Transporter mit 41.000 BRT und 14 Landungsspezialschiffe. Außerdem wurden zahlreiche kleinere Landungsfahrzeuge und Sturmboote versenkt oder beschädigt.

Viele feindliche Kriegs- und Landungsschiffe sind auf unsere Minensperren gelaufen. Die hiebei eingetretenen Verluste des Feindes betragen mindestens zwanzig größere und mittlere Einheiten, hinzu kommen zahlreiche kleine Landungsfahrzeuge.

In Italien lag der Schwerpunkt der Kämpfe auch gestern wieder im Frontabschnitt westlich des Tiber. Der Gegner griff hier unsere Nachtruppen mit starken Panzerkräften an und drang nach heftigen Kämpfen in Viterbo ein.

Östlich des Tiber folgt der Feind unseren Absetzbewegungen in den Sabinerbergen und auf die Südhänge des Gran Sasso, aufgehalten durch Nachtruppen und zahlreiche Straßenzerstörungen, auch weiterhin nur zögernd.

In den schweren Abwehrkämpfen der letzten Tage haben sich eine Kampfgruppe der deutschen 4. Fallschirmjägerdivision unter Führung des Majors Gericke, wirksam unterstützt durch Sturmpanzer der Sturmpanzerabteilung 216, sowie Teile des italienisch-republikanisch-faschistischen Fallschirmjägerregiments „Folgore“ und italienische Flakkanoniere in deutschen Flakbatterien besonders ausgezeichnet.

Schwere Kampfflugzeuge griffen in der Nacht zum 10. Juni Schiffsansammlungen vor Nettuno an und beschädigten dabei sechs feindliche Schiffe.

Aus dem Osten werden außer örtlichen Kämpfen im Raum nördlich Jassy und im Karpatenvorland keine besonderen Ereignisse gemeldet.

Im rückwärtigen Gebiet des Nordabschnitts wurde ein Bandenunternehmen durch Sicherungstruppen des Heeres und lettische Polizeiverbände in siebentägigen Kämpfen unter schwierigen Geländeverhältnissen erfolgreich abgeschlossen. Starke Bandenkräfte wurden zerschlagen und dem Feind hohe blutige Verluste zugefügt. Außerdem verloren die Bolschewisten 850 Gefangene und zahlreiche Waffen aller Art.

Nordamerikanische Bomber führten in den Vormittagsstunden des 9. Juni einen Terrorangriff gegen die Stadt München. Luftverteidigungskräfte schossen 35 feindliche Flugzeuge ab.

Einzelne britische Flugzeuge warfen in der vergangenen Nacht Bomben auf das Stadtgebiet von Berlin.

‚Der Strand ist rot von Blut‘

Stockholm, 10. Juni –
Zug um Zug mit zuverlässigen deutschen Aufschlüssen über die Entwicklung der Invasionskämpfe laufen hier in dem neutralen Nachrichtentreffpunkt die ersten näheren Berichte von den Erfahrungen der englisch-amerikanischen Invasionstruppen ein – soweit diese in der Lage waren, über ihr Ergehen noch etwas hören zu lassen.

Ein Mann von dem US-Transporter Henrice meldet folgendes:

Als unsere Landungsschiffe, mit Fahrzeugen und Personal an Bord, genau 6,45 Uhr Landberührung hatten, eröffneten die Deutschen aus verborgenen Stellungen heftiges Feuer gegen uns. Welle um Welle gut gedrillter Soldaten watete an Land. Die wenigen, die den tödlichen Feuergarben entgingen und denen es gelang, sich einzugraben, beantworteten das deutsche Feuer mit Gewehren und Karabinern. Die unentbehrlichen Tanks versanken in der siedenden Brandung. Von ihren Höhenstellungen aus richteten die Deutschen ihre Granatwerfer und MG‘s gegen die Angreifer, die ohne Aufenthalt an Land sprangen, den Tod vor Augen. Obwohl eine Gruppe nach der anderen fiel, versiegte der Strom der neuankommenden Soldaten nicht. Die ersten Kämpfe des Invasionstages heischten sehr große Opfer.

Ein anderer US-Berichterstatter, der an Bord des Transporters Thomas Jefferson die Überfahrt machte, erzählt:

In der Brandung vor dem Strand kenterten einige Landungsfahrzeuge, viele von den Soldaten und Seeleuten ertranken, als sie den Strand durch die starken Minensperren zu erreichen suchten. Unser Sturmbataillon litt schwer unter dem feindlichen Feuer und der groben See. Sehr viel an Ausrüstung mußte in den Landungsprähmen zurückgelassen werden, während kampfungewohnte Truppen an Land stürzten, um sich im Sande einzugraben. Die Deutschen eröffneten Kreuzfeuer und isolierten ein um das andere Mal Abschnitte des Strandes. Da unsere Transporter mit Material nicht herankommen konnten, wurden sie zu anderen Landungsplätzen dirigiert. Bald liefen Berichte ein, wonach Minen einige Landungsschiffe gesprengt hätten, wobei die Mannschaft getötet, Geschütze und anderes, dringend benötigtes Material zerstört wurden. 11,15 Uhr setzten unsere Kriegsschiffe ein furchtbares Bombardement in Gang, um den schweren Druck zu entlasten, der auf den Truppen an Land lag. Vor den Küsten spielten sich arge Szenen ab. Viele Transporter konnten nicht landen, sondern kreisten umher in der Erwartung, daß eigenes Artilleriefeuer die Küsten „säubern“ sollte, damit sie näher an Land herankommen könnten. Die Flut verbarg Unterwasserminen, die nicht unschädlich gemacht worden waren. Leutnant John Kolody, der zwei Fahrten zu einem Brückenkopf gemacht hatte, sagte, schon bei seinem ersten Besuch sei der Strand rot von Blut gewesen. Er hatte einen Offizier getroffen, dessen ganze Abteilung niedergemäht worden war.

Verwundert stellen die neuesten englischen Berichte fest, das Schwergewicht der deutschen Verteidigungsanlagen scheine nicht in den Befestigungen am Strande zu liegen, wo man eine fortlaufende Linie von Betonwerken vermutet hatte, sondern es handle sich um ein Tiefensystem mit motorisierten Formationen als Zwischengliedern. Nervös fragen Londoner Blätter nach der deutschen „Gegenoffensive.“ Es sei doch etwas seltsam, daß die Deutschen nicht überall sofort versucht hätten, gegen die Angreifer mit großen Kräften vorzugehen. Man war sich klar darüber, daß die kritische Phase kommen würde mit dem Einsatz der deutschen Hauptkräfte. Diese Krise, so heißt es jetzt auf der Gegenseite, drohe mit Sturmschritten zu nahen. Der Masseneinsatz der englisch-amerikanischen Luftstreitkräfte sei hauptsächlich gegen diese Gefahr gerichtet. Auf der anderen Seite wird die wachsende deutsche Luftaktivität zugegeben.

The Pittsburgh Press (June 10, 1944)

Ernie Pyle V Norman

Roving Reporter

By Ernie Pyle

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ernie Pyle arrived on the beachhead with the Allied assault forces. Transmission difficulties have so far prevented his sending any account of his experiences in Normandy. The following, written on the way across the Channel, describes some of the preliminaries to the invasion.

On the Normandy beachhead – (June 6, delayed)
It will be several days before military security permits us to describe in much detail the landings just made in the long-awaited Allied invasion of Europe.

Indeed, it will be some time before we have a really clear picture of what has happened or what is happening at the moment. You must experience the terrible confusion of warfare and frantic, nightmarish thunder and smoke and bedlam of battle to realize this. So, we will take up this short interval by telling you how things led up to the invasion from the correspondents’ viewpoint. This column is being written on a ship in a convoy, crossing the English Channel, so that it will be ready to send back to England by dispatch boat as soon as we hit the beach.

When we secretly left London a few days ago, more than 45 American correspondents were gathered in Britain for this impending moment in history.

But only 28 of those 450 were to take part in what was termed the assault phase. I was one of those 28. Some of the rest will come over later, some will cover other armies, some will never come at all.

We assault correspondents were under military jurisdiction for the past month while waiting. We had complete freedom in London, but occasionally the Army would suddenly order us in batches to take trips around England.

Also, during those last few weeks we were called frequently to mass conferences and we were briefed by several commanding generals. We had completed all our field equipment, got our inoculations up to date, finished our official accrediting to Supreme Allied Headquarters, and even sent off our bedrolls 10 days before the final call (We will rejoin them some time later on this side – we hope).

Of the 28 correspondents in the Assault Group about two-thirds has already seen action in various war theaters. The old-timers sort of gravitated together, people such as Bill Stoneman, Don Whitehead, Jack Thompson, Clark Lee, Tex O’Reilly and myself.

We conjectured on when we would get the final call; conjectured on what assignments we would draw, for only a few of us knew what unit we would go with. And in more pensive moments we also conjectured on our chances of coming through alive.

We felt our chances were not very good. And we were not happy about it. Men like Don Whitehead and Clark Lee, who had been through the mill so long and so boldly, began to get nerves. And frankly I was the worst of the lot, and continued to be.

I began having terrible periods of depression and often would dream hideous dreams about it. All the time fear lay blackly deep upon our consciousness. It bore down on your heart like an all-consuming weight. People would talk to you and you wouldn’t hear what they were saying.

The Army said they would try and give us 24 hours’ notice of departure. Actually, the call came at 9 o’clock one morning and we were ordered to be at a certain place with full field kit at 10:30. Some went away and left hotel rooms still running up bills. Many had dates that night but did not dare to phone and call them off.

As we arrived one by one at the appointed place, we looked both knowingly and sheepishly at each other. The Army continued to tell us that was just another exercise, but we knew inside ourselves that this was it.

Bill Stoneham, who has been wounded once, never shows the slightest concern about these things. Whether he feels any concern or not, I do not know. Bill has a humorous, sardonic manner. While we were waiting for departure into the unknown, he took out a pencil and notebook as though starting to interview me.

Tell me, Mr. Pyle, how does it feel to be an assault correspondent?

Being a man made of few words, I said, “It feels awful.”

When everybody was ready, our luggage went into a truck and we went into jeeps. I can’t tell you where we boarded the ship, of course, but I can say I personally rode two days in a jeep and made the last 30 miles on a 2½-ton truck.

The first night we spent all together at an assembly area in an Army tent camp. There we drew our final battle kit – such things as clothing impregnated against gas attack, a shovel to dig foxholes, seasickness capsules, a carton of cigarettes, a medical kit, rations and one funny little item which I can’t mention but which was good for many purposes, we also drew three blankets just for the night, since our bedrolls had gone on ahead.

The weather was cold and three blankets were not enough. I hardly slept at all. When we awakened early the next morning, Jack Thompson said, “That’s the coldest night I have ever spent.”

Don Whitehead said, “It’s just as miserable as it always was.”

You see, we had all been living comfortably in hotels or apartments for the last few weeks. We had got a little soft, and here we were again starting back to the old horrible life we had known for so long – sleeping on the ground, only cold water, rations, foxholes, and dirt. We were off to war again.

Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Force (June 11, 1944)

Communique No. 11

As the result of an armored thrust, British troops have reached TILLY-SUR-SEULLES. Naval guns yesterday lent effective support to our advance in this sector.

Further west, U.S. forward troops are everywhere south of the flooded areas in the lower AURE Valley. High ground between ISIGNY and CARENTAN has also been taken by U.S. forces.

In the vicinity of CAEN, the enemy has made no progress against our positions despite continuous and vigorous attacks.

To the northwest of CARENTAN, we have crossed the MERDERET River and, overcoming enemy resistance, have made further progress.

Allied aircraft pounded road and rail targets and airfields yesterday and last night in support of ground forces.

Heavy day bombers attacked airfields and inflicted considerable damage to rolling stock, bridges and armored vehicles. Thirteen enemy aircraft were destroyed. After escorting the bombers, formations of fighters attacked road and rail traffic, destroying an ammunition train. From these operations, 23 fighters are missing.

Medium bombers, sometimes flying at 200 feet in the absence of enemy aircraft opposition, bombed and strafed field guns and armored vehicles. Considerable damage was inflicted in the FALAISE and ST. LÔ area.

Fighter-bombers and fighters attacked railyards at LAVAL and LE MANS at ground level. At AVRANCHES, armored vehicles and a train were targets. In these operations, 15 enemy fighters were destroyed.

Last night, heavy bombers attacked rail centers at ORLÉANS, DREUX, ACHÈRES and VERSAILLES. There was strong opposition and six German aircraft were destroyed. Twenty bombers are missing.

Our night fighters were active, and six German bombers were destroyed, five of them over the battle area.

The Brooklyn Eagle (June 11, 1944)

Allies seat 42-mile Norman beachhead; Cherbourg fall near; big guns hit Caen

Yanks halfway across peninsula, key towns taken
By Edward W. Beattie

map.061144.up
Invasion zone: This is the war arena where the Allies are now battling the Nazis. The “inland Atlantic Wall” of the enemy is indicated on the map (1) stretching from the coast to Paris. On the Cherbourg Peninsula (2), the Allies threaten complete isolation on Cherbourg itself, Meanwhile, reconnaissance planes report the Germans trying to rush supplies and men (3) toward the battle zone.

SHAEF, England (UP) –
Invading Allied armies have linked up a solid 42-mile beachhead belt on the Norman coast and U.S. forces, in a powerful, two-pronged drive through the Cotentin (Cherbourg) Peninsula, today threatened the first-class, modern port of Cherbourg with early capture.

In an all-out effort to break a four-day deadlock around Caen near the east flank of the invasion front, Allied artillery of every caliber and medium bombers and fighter-bombers in overwhelming strength delivered an obliteration bombardment on German positions there Saturday. The air phase of the assault was described as the most concentrated of the war, with the possible exception of the blow that destroyed Cassino.

Latest information at headquarters indicated that good news – very good news – could be expected shortly, but correspondents were not permitted to speculate on its nature.

A U.S. column striking due west across the Cotentin Peninsula was reported to have traversed more than half its 25-mile width and was nearing the highway running up the west side, severance of which would complete Cherbourg’s isolation.

Another column battling due north from positions above Carentan, still German-held, had by the enemy’s own admission, driven the Nazis to the north tip of the peninsula and Radio Berlin said “the battle of Cherbourg has begun.” Stockholm reports said the Yankees were only ten miles from the port.

Allies join forces

Struggling through German-created floodwaters along the coast, the Americans captured Trévières and Isigny to join forces with Anglo-Canadian forces in the Bayeux-Caen sector, where heavy battles were raging last night. Sainte-Croix, seven miles southeast of Bayeux, has also been captured, making a total of 13 towns known to have been liberated by the Allied armies.

Official reports here said the main beachhead was now 30 miles wide, from near Caen to the Isigny area, but front dispatches said the front stretched unbroken for 42 miles from beyond Caen to the edge of Carentan, counting the curving shoreline.

U.S. Rangers and Commandos were reported making hash of German communications in bold thrusts behind the enemy lines and were taking a heavy toll of Nazis in ambushes. At one point, a small group of specialized Allied troops waylaid a large body of enemy troops and, holding their fire until the range was less than 100 yards, let go a volley that killed 250.

Blast installations

The air forces were now operating from at least five landing strips in the beachhead area, assisting Britain-based air and sea armadas in pounding enemy installations and patrolling the cross-Channel supply lanes. Three feeble enemy efforts to attack Channel traffic, two by motor torpedo boats and one by planes, were broken up without damage to Allied convoys, Allied Invasion Communiqué 10, issued Saturday night, revealed.

More than 5,000 prisoners have now been captured, it was announced, and more than 2,000 Allied wounded have been landed at one British port alone.

Allied headquarters reported that the French underground was striking widespread blows at the Germans in areas back of the battle line, some of a “most violent nature.”

The Brazzaville radio in French Africa, heard by NBC, said that a state of siege had been declared in Cherbourg.

Leaders on ground

Gen. Sir B. L. Montgomery, commander of British ground troops, has set up advance headquarters in France, joining the U.S. field commander. Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley, in on-the-spot direction of the battle, it was announced.

The invasion forces made “satisfactory progress” on all sectors during the day, Allied headquarters announced Saturday night. For the first time, the Germans were trying to use their “last ditch” weapon – the U-boat – but so far Allied air and sea patrols had kept the underseas raiders from interfering with cross-Channel traffic.

Earlier reports said that Canadian troops, throwing back counterattacks by the three German tank divisions, had three-fourths encircled Caen, while a Canadian spearhead to the west drove far inland from Bayeux against diminishing resistance.

Drive on stronghold

At Carentan, near the base of the Cherbourg cape, where the Germans still held a pivot in the coastal communications system, U.S. troops were attacking relentlessly eastward from Isigny and south from Sainte-Mère-Église.

Battling north from Sainte-Mère-Église, another U.S. column was driving on the enemy stronghold of Valognes, 11 miles southeast of Cherbourg, against fierce resistance from the German 109th Infantry Division. Correspondents reported that the Americans were “dangerously close” to Cherbourg itself.

Radio Paris said that the beachhead on the peninsula was bounded on the northeast by Quinéville, eight miles above Sainte-Mère-Église, and on the north by Émondeville, four miles north of Sainte-Mère-Église. A paratrooper division and four infantry divisions are making a concerted drive northward for Cherbourg, German-controlled broadcast said.

Control road network

The capture of Trévières, nine miles west of Bayeux, late Saturday gave the Americans control of a high road network over the coastal inundations which the Germans had effected by means of sluice gates. The flooding was substantially relieved by the capture of a number of the gates, which were closed to divert the tides.

The Germans flooded some of the coastal flats to a depth of seven feet above Carentan and the control gates in that sector must be captured before the Americans can complete their bridgehead chain, even after Carentan falls.

Bloody armored battles continued for the fourth day in the Caen area where the Germans were fighting to retain the eastern flank of the bridgehead against a breakthrough toward Rouen and Paris, itself only 117 miles beyond Allied spearheads.

Caen bypassed

Front reports, revealing that Allied armored units had bypassed Caen and approached the city from the south said that a slight withdrawal had been made in that sector under the trip-hammer German counterblows. Canadian troops were assailing Caen from the west and British airborne and regular units were maintaining intense pressure from just north of it.

Two of the three German armored divisions in the Caen sector were identified as the 21st Panzer Division and the 12th SS Panzer Division, a crack combat unit developed from the Elite Guard.

The improved weather enabled every type of Allied combat weapon to be brought into full play. For the first time since the desperate days of 1940, the Allies were using air bases on French soil, with U.S. C-47 transports steadily bringing out wounded and U.S. Spitfire fighters operating from at least two airfields on the beachhead.

Glider trains on job

Most units are up to their full strength in medium and heavy artillery, thanks to the herculean accomplishments of the aerial and sea supply system. Glider trains were making regular flights to areas not serviced by landing strips.

Paratroops, who have performed one of the most brilliant roles in the entire operations, have escaped with far less casualties than expected, front reports said. One unit of 400 U.S. airborne troops, isolated four hours, fought its way to the main Allied line and in the process captured double their number of German paratroopers, who had dropped almost on top of them shortly after the initial landing. The enemy paratroopers included SS troops and units of the 1st Parachute Division, which had fought at Cassino.

Nazis’ positions perilous

Executing a brilliant master invasion plan, the Allies had now put the enemy in a position where almost any move involved great strategic danger. They had so consolidated their positions on an extended portion of the French coast that Field Marshal von Rundstedt could hardly hope to erase them without committing large forces of his strategic reserves. That would invite other powerful Allied landings at any place along the coast from the North Cape to Spain where the Allied command might choose to strike.

Henry Gorrell of the United Press reported in a front dispatch that German placards had been seized ordering the garrison troops in Normandy to “delay the Americans as much as possible and stand fast to the last man” – an indication that they could expect no reinforcements.

Gen. Montgomery, commander of British invasion forces, sent congratulations to the famed British 50th Northumbrian Division, veteran desert fighting force, which has “gained all its objectives” so far in the invasion. The Northumbrians are in action around Caen.


Navy’s invasion secrets disclosed; ‘Fly straight up’ plane one of them

Washington (UP) – (June 9)
The Navy tonight permitted brief mention of a whole batch of secret or improved weapons, some of which are being tested now on the European invasion front.

These weapons – with many others which may not even be hinted at – were unveiled for newsmen in a recent tour of naval establishments authorized by Secretary of Navy Forrestal.

The reporters inspected:

  • A new twin-engine fighter plane of unprecedented firepower which climbs practically straight up.

  • The Navy version of the jet propulsion plane.

  • Improved rockets and rocket guns.

  • Battleships with 100 times the firepower of battleships built three years ago, and a new 27,000-ton battlecruiser which will be the first vessel of its kind in the U.S. Fleet.

  • Aircraft carriers from whose decks twin-engined medium bombers will be able to take off. And much else.

Record raids blast Germans in Caen region

7,000 sorties batter massed troops; 1,000 heavies hit airfields

SHAEF, England (UP) –
The greatest air support ever concentrated in a single area, barring perhaps only Cassino, was thrown yesterday against the embattled Caen region by Allied medium and fighter bombers in an attempt to seal off the vast German effort to reinforce its divisions there.

The greater part of about 7,000 sorties flown by Allied bombers and fighters in support of invasion troops in 24 hours ended at midnight was directed against Nazi troop and tank concentrations on the city’s outskirts and on reinforcement columns moving along five main and one auxiliary roads, south and east of Caen.

Allied air forces were moving up for a fight to a finish. It was announced that Americans, British and Canadians were operating at least five emergency landing strips in the beach area. They were being used to refuel patrol fighters and for evacuation of wounded.

While medium and fighter bombers and strafing fighters concentrated on the Caen region, 1,000 U.S. heavy bombers and fighters “backed the attack” of invasion armies with blows against Nazi airdromes.

Simultaneously, bomb-carrying Lightnings of the Italy-based U.S. 15th Air Force attacked Luftwaffe fuel resources in Romania, hammering the “only remaining” oil refinery in the Ploești area, Rome announcements said.

Some 750 Italy-based U.S. heavy bombers also attacked oil installations, railyards and an airdrome near Venice and at Trieste and Bologna, in northern Italy, including one of the largest oil refineries available to the Nazis outside of Romania.

Taking up the air offensive in support of Allied troops after RAF heavy bombers overnight lashed four of the forwardmost Luftwaffe airdromes behind the German lines, up to 500 Flying Fortresses and Liberators swept over airdromes in Normandy and Brittany, including one at Vannes, on the north coast of the Bay of Biscay.

Escorted by some 500 Mustang, Lightning and Thunderbolt fighters which also engaged in supporting sweeps, the big. four-engined U.S. 8th Air Force bombers also answered a call from ground troops and blasted gun positions and defended areas near the north coast of France.

The “North Coast” was not identified, but it was announced the heavy bombers hit gun positions through clouds. Clearer weather was encountered over some inland targets and the airfield at Vannes, believed to be one base from which twin-engined Ju 88s and other coastal raiders launch attacks Allied shipping, was among targets hit visually.

Returning heavy bomber crews reported that “weather was the chief enemy over Normandy.” There were heavy clouds at high altitude. Temperatures were as low as 36 degrees below zero. Escorting fighters gave the bombers such perfect protection that one formation of Me 109s was unable to approach the bomber formations.

1,000 sorties made

The slightly improved weather over the continent also permitted medium and fighter bombers to return to battle after a day’s enforced lull.

In 16 hours from midnight to midafternoon, the Allied air forces had flown 4,000 sorties and dumped 5,000 tons of bombs on troop concentrations, tank columns, communication centers, and airfields.

U.S. 9th Air Force Marauders and Havocs in strength closely supported ground troops in Normandy with attacks on many enemy targets. Their objectives included railyards, track, highways, heavy gun positions and troops, spread out from one to 15 miles behind the fighting lines.

Thunderbolt and Mustang fighter bombers of the U.S. 8th Air Force also attacked German mobile reserves by bombing and strafing from low-level in front of Allied positions. Returning to their bases, they reported little combat with the Luftwaffe. One Mustang group shot down two enemy planes.

While only about 50 German fighters were reported in the battle area, the heaviest weight of Allied attacks was put directly against Nazi troops and supplies moving into the embattled Caen area.

Dozens of enemy road convoys were attacked south and east of the town. One RAF Mustang force destroyed at least 50 vehicles near Fontaine, 12 miles south of Caen, while the U.S. 9th Air Force destroyed many others. Eighth Air Force fighters attacked at least 102 other vehicles.

Block reinforcement

Defying storms during the night, the RAF’s Halifax and Lancaster four-engined bombers attacked Luftwaffe airdromes at Flers, Rennes, Laval and Le Mans to block a reported Luftwaffe attempt to reinforce its assault zone air force, and the rail center of Étampes, 35 miles southwest of Paris, where three important north-south and east-west lines join.

At the same time, Mosquitos of the Bomber Command swept over Berlin to destroy any false confidence Berliners might have had that Allied airpower was tied down by invasion operations. In a concentrated three-minute attack at 1:30 a.m. CET, the speedy Mosquitos hurled more than 30 two-ton bombs on the capital.

It was the first bombing of Berlin since May 27.

Pound communications

RAF light bombers during the night also pounded enemy communications in rear of the battle zone, while night fighters and intruder aircraft shot down four enemy planes which attempted to strike back in some force against the beachheads.

Coastal aircraft throughout the night and day cooperated with naval surface forces in a vigorous offensive against U-boats which Saturday’s noon communiqué said were threatening to attack Allied lines of communications to the assault area.

Enemy suffers ‘catastrophe’ north of Rome

5th Army sweeps into Tuscania; foe seen facing destruction
By Reynolds Packard

De Gaulle fears Eisenhower’s political plan

Military government not acceptable to French leader

London, England (UP) – (June 10)
Gen. Charles de Gaulle told the French Independent News Agency in London that Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s proclamations regarding a temporary French government in liberated areas were “obviously not acceptable for us.”

Commenting on the fact that there was no agreement between the French government and the Allied governments concerning the cooperation of French administration with Allied armies in liberated metropolitan France, de Gaulle said:

Gen. Eisenhower’s proclamations of June 6 and yesterday seem to foreshadow a sort of taking over of power in France by the Allied military command. This situation obviously is not acceptable for us and it could provoke in France itself incidents which it seems to us must be avoided.

De Gaulle also said that the issue in France of “so-called French currency without any agreement and without any guarantee from French authority can only lead to serious complications.”

The French leader said:

At the moment when battle is being joined on the soil of France, the French government is eager in the common interest to see the end to such confusion and infringement.

France brings into the great battle for the liberation of the world all the internal and external forces at her disposal… but it is obviously in full sovereignty that she intends to wage war today and tomorrow make peace.

Grapevine reports Boyington is alive, hidden by natives

Stringer: Hitler’s West Wall mass of wreckage

By William J. Stringer

With U.S. forces in Normandy, France (UP) – (June 8, delayed)
Hitler’s supposedly invincible West Wall tonight is a sad spectacle of broken guns and pillboxes and ripped “secret defenses” along the beachfront of at least 15 miles.

When I toured mile after mile of beaches this afternoon, I saw scores of twisted masses of steel which were once powerful German guns and miles of blackened rubble which were flamethrowers and artillery blockhouses. I saw thousands of torn pieces of iron which had been secret underwater obstacles.

Hitler’s West Wall is truly a mass of wreckage. No cyclone could have done as thorough a job as Allied naval guns, artillery and demolitions.


Army and Navy will draw from common pool

French patriots near Swiss frontier reported in revolt

Grenoble said to be under siege

London, England (UP) – (June 10)
Multiple indications of an insurrection by Frenchmen outside the tiny Allied beachhead of liberated France were highlighted tonight by reliable reports of full-scale revolt of the local population of two French Departments near the Swiss frontier.

According to advices reaching Free French circles here, much of the population of the Departments of Ain and Saône-et-Loire joined “French Fighting Forces of the Interior” – new name for fighting French patriots – to openly oppose the Germans. Fighting was reported in the towns of Bourg and Mâcon.

Another report reaching London said that the French town of Bellegarde, 18 miles from Geneva, had been cut off by patriots after heavy fighting with the Germans.

Grenoble surrounded

The newspaper La Suisse reported that other French patriots surrounded Grenoble, in southern France, and placed it under siege, but there is no confirmation of this action.

Still other reports of open fighting north of Ain and Saône-et-Loire Departments, in the Vosges Forest, where patriots contacted a German unit of 2,000 men and took 300 prisoners, were received by Free French circles.

Among smaller-scale actions reported was that of a guerrilla attack against a German detachment in Brittany where 20 Germans were killed and war materiel was captured.

Free French London headquarters tonight reported destruction of 50 railway engines in the Saône-et-Loire Department, which contains the Le Creusot Armament Works, and such extensive damage to transformers in the region of Lunéville that factories there will be forced to operate on one-third of their usual electrical power for two months.

Refugees returning

These reports coincided with Berne dispatches indicating that many Frenchmen who sought refuge in Swiss territory had returned to Maquis – the French “bushwhackers” of Upper Savoy Province – and that the original sabotage army had been increased “manifold” because Allied landings encouraged previously timid civilians to join clandestine work called for by Gen. Eisenhower to impede the Germans.

A German report repeated that the Allies are parachuting pigeons to the French so that they can send back valuable information, and a Madrid news dispatch to London said that the Germans are offering a 2,000-franc reward for each Allied pigeon captured.

Transocean reported that 25,000 British Union Jack flags have been discovered in Paris.

Vichy radio said all militiamen in the region had been called to active duty. Radio Paris announced drastic suppression of telegraphic communication in a large region of France, the Germans announced that Frenchmen violating stringent emergency decrees would be shot on the spot and the Laval Cabinet dissolved the French Youth Organization to enroll members in the German Labor Corps.

Finnish leaders denounced as pro-German

Allied warships rout Japs without a shot

Brooklynite swims 200 yards to land under German fire

A Brooklynite’s grim story of swimming 200 yards to the invasion coast of France in the first wave, under constant heavy fire, was related yesterday in a rebroadcast interview conducted by NBC’s George Hicks in London.

Frances James Agusta, gunner’s mate on a small landing craft, described “heavy casualties” as the personnel in the boat swam to shore with “many being hit while in the water.” Most of the fire was from artillery pieces, he said, with the rest being machine-gun fire.

Agusta declared:

The wounded do not cry or moan. They sit there and try to hold what part of them is wounded. The rest of the landing force continue on the job and leave the casualties for the medical corpsmen.

Asked what the major landing problems were, he stressed minefields which had not been cleared and the heavy tides. His grueling experiences found him in the water three hours.

Agusta concluded:

I’m a little tired, have swallowed some oil and was a bit scared. Otherwise, I’m all right.

americavotes1944

North Carolina Governor decries revolt in South

Governor J. Melville Broughton of North Carolina, whose delegation to the Democratic National Convention is instructed to vote for his nomination for Vice President, told a press conference yesterday that, regardless of “upsurges” occurring in the Southern states, the solid South would stand behind the President for a fourth term and that he would be reelected on the war and peace issue.

He also voiced the judgment that issues which have arisen would be “reconciled” at the national convention without being permitted to reach a point where a split might ensue.

Answering a question whether he believed President Roosevelt would run, he said:

I believe that he will be a candidate and will be reelected, notwithstanding various upsurges and the feeling of resentment which is directed against encroachment upon matters which the South feels should be treated purely at the state level.

I think the decisive issue to be the conduct of the war and the conduct of the peace after the war and that all other issues will be obscured in the minds of the people. I say this although I have heard some people say this with a great deal of reluctance and purely as a realistic appraisal.

Governor Broughton held a press conference at the Hotel Pennsylvania before meeting Governor John W. Bicker of Ohio, an active candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, in a radio discussion of national issues last night.

Asked about the so-called political “revolt” in some of the Southern states, Governor Broughton said he was “not competent to comment on what’s behind it.” He said that from information reaching him it had originated from resentment toward what was considered “interference with state prerogatives.”

“They don’t charge it to the President, but to some parts of the administration’s program,” he said.

His state has no poll tax

His own state has not had a poll tax for many years, but, at the same time, would not, the Governor said, attempt to tell another what stand it should take on the question. He said he did not consider the poll tax issue as one to be handled in the party’s platform. Later, he said, in answering questions, he did not believe the CIO Political Action Committee would insist upon an anti-poll tax plank in the Democratic platform to the point where a clash over the issue might jeopardize the President’s chances of reelection. He admitted the South’s fight for restoration of the two-thirds rule at the convention was “a right strong movement.”

He said:

I don’t know how far it will get, although I doubt this question alone would be sufficient to cause a split.

The Governor said in his judgment the border states of Kentucky, West Virginia and Oklahoma will go Democratic and he also suggested Ohio was more likely to be carried by President Roosevelt than for Kentucky to go Republican.

Governor Broughton, declaring North Carolina has enjoyed a huge industrial boom, said that, in his opinion, all the states were in an excellent financial condition to meet post-war problems “without looking to the federal government.”

Beattie: Showdown battle in France may knock Nazis out of war

Reporter reviews the invasion
By Edward W. Beattie

EDITOR’S NOTE: Edward W. Beattie, in charge of the United Press staff at Allied Supreme Headquarters and a veteran military reporter, has filed the following “balance sheet” on the first five days of fighting in the invasion. He obtained his information from land, sea and air officers who are in close touch with the situation at SHAEF.

London, England (UP) – (June 10)
The Allies are working under a specific plan in their invasion of the Norman coast and that plan has two limits – maximum success and minimum success.

In five days of fighting, they have neither achieved maximum success nor have the Germans been able to confine them to the minimum requirements of the time table. In other words, there have been both triumphs unci disappointments.

Surprise achieved

Military observers here believe that, as of tonight, the following are the outstanding accomplished and potential developments of the battle of Normandy:

  • The Allies achieved a measure of tactical surprise, threw the Germans off balance temporarily on Tuesday morning and secured beachheads before a strong counterattack could be started.

  • The Germans are attempting desperately to cling to their stronghold of Caen and to protect the big port of Cherbourg through which the Allies could funnel reinforcements and heavy equipment.

  • The enemy now has ten divisions deployed tor frontline action with few more held in close reserve.

  • The showdown battle is still to come. When it comes, in the opinion of some military experts, the Allies may be able, by winning decisively, to knock Germany out of the war before any Allied soldier sets foot on the soil of the Reich.

Disappointment to Nazis

It’s safe to say that the five days have been a big disappointment to the German High Command, which counted on the beach defenses to cut the invading force to shreds or – at the very worst – upon quick, heavy counterattacks to obliterate it on chosen battlegrounds behind the beaches.

The Germans failed at both stages and with Allied sea and airpower behind it, the invading army should be able to hold what it has won.

That much I am permitted to tell you after soliciting the assistance of the most authentic sources of information on the progress of the Normandy campaign at Gen. Eisenhower’s headquarters.

The tactics of Marshal Erwin Rommel show that he thinks our initial effort threatens: his dispositions indicate he believes that we threaten firstly the port of Cherbourg, secondly Rouen, on the road to Paris.

Allies prove power

We have already proved our ability to crack the outer defense line. We’re now in process of proving that our forces have the ability to hold their gains in the face of heavy counterattacks. Our advance has been made despite the handicap of bad weather, which delayed supporting operations by sea and in the air. With clearing weather, our advantages in these respects should begin to bear weight.

This will help when we meet the counterattack of Rommel’s ten identified divisions along the road to Paris, probably within the next week.

Rommel and his supreme commander, Marshal von Rundstedt, will be afraid to commit themselves too heavily to this battle because they do not know yet where, when and at what strength the Allies plan other assaults on the continent.

Decisive battle forecast

The final showdown will probably come when both sides are fully deployed – and this deployment will not come until the grand strategy worked by the Allied Combined Chief of Staffs has been unfolded. The initiative is now ours.

When Rundstedt is forced to throw in his strategic reserve, the Allies will have their chance to win the showdown battle. This certainly will be before the end of summer, probably in late July. By that time, the Red Army should be hitting Fortress Europe from the east with the greatest concentration of fighting men ever thrown into action.

The opinion of many observers here that a clear-cut victory on some French battlefield would end the war against Germany before the Rhine had been crossed depends on many factors, such as the progress of the Russians, progress of the drive up Italy, the growing power of air attack and the political state of Hitler’s satellite coalition.

Munro: Shorty’s ‘Honey’ tank invades Kraut camp

By Ross Munro

With the Canadians in France (UP) – (June 9, delayed)
They had practically written off the “Honey” tank, with its crew, when “Shorty” drove it back into camp.

Only one gun was working, there were bullet holes through some of the lighter armor and the turret and the hull had been scorched with grenade and shell blasts.

But trooper J. C. “Shorty” Mackensie of Rouyn-Noranda, Québec, the driver, climbed from the bow turret with his face smoked as black as a minstrel’s, and told me this story of a wild night foray into German lines on the perimeter of the beachhead.

Roar through main street

He said:

We are way out in front, with our Shermans, making reconnaissance. We come to a town, so we button down our turrets and belt right through the main street wide open, with Jerries bouncing grenades off us.

This sturdy little former miner said that with him in the tank were trooper Harry “Happy” Webb of Welland, Ontario; trooper Wilfred “Bing” Miller of Walkerton, Ontario, and a sergeant who doesn’t want to be named but who fought in tanks in Italy for three months and knows his way around.

Shorty continued:

An 88 opens up on us, so I zigzag our Honey around through a field. The fourth shot is so close it rocks us and the fifth nearly gets us. But we breeze off and whoop down a road.

And there we are, breezing right along, see, when we run right into a Jerry camp. There is a barrier over the road, so I swing Honey around and beat it back, with Jerries leaping out of bushes and ditches to heave grenades at us.

Nazis beaten off

They smack us with machine guns and swarm all around us a couple of times. We beat them off with our guns, but these slowly go out of action and it isn’t very long out of action and it isn’t very long before we have only a revolver and one machine gun left. It looks pretty bad.

Mackenzie said that just about then, it got dark:

So we get outta that tight spot and go off into the fields, flat out, until I guess we’re about half a mile or so from the Jerry camp. Then we decide to bed down alongside the tank for the night – a fellow’s got to sleep sometime.

A German patrol found them a short time later, the trooper related, and the sergeant challenged the Jerries.

He explained:

But there weren’t no answer. We didn’t shoot and they didn’t either. The Jerry patrol commander just stands there with his men behind him and looks, then went away. We thought we were going to get it for sure then, but, instead, we get some sleep.

When it gets light, we come back to our outfit, and were our guys surprised to see us show up! That sure was a night.


Gorrell: Grenades smoke out Nazi nest and paratrooper lets ‘em have it

By Henry T. Gorrell

With U.S. airborne troops, somewhere in France (UP) – (June 10)
They shot one of my mates in the leg. I smoked them out of their nest with grenades and let them have it one by one with phosphorus bombs. The speaker was Pvt. Charles E. McGary of Paducah, Kentucky. He had just exchanged his drenched clothing for a German jacket and a French farmer’s pants.

James H. Talley of Texarkana, Texas, said:

I was deep in the swamp and saw a German sniper sloshing down the road shooting. I bumped him off and then three more came up looking for me with rifles. Then one was hit by shrapnel – the other two plunged into the water and came toward me crying “Kamarad!”

For two hours, the little group of paratroops had been fighting through a backcountry swamp dotted with enemy gun positions. They were equipped with nothing heavier than rifles. Their own naval shrapnel as well as German machine-gun bullets buzzed all around. First, they had stormed an 88mm gun post and annihilated its crew. Then they took on one machine gun next after another, systematically cleaning them out with grenades and knives.

Now wet and muddy, they were resting under some apple trees, cleaning their pistols, bayonets and clothes. They were telling me all about it.

Pvt. Arthur Boyung of Milwaukee said:

In some cases, the Germans were so scared they wouldn’t come out even though they could see we were going to blow them up. We didn’t have time to argue, so the Germans went up with their own guns.

Donald McFarland of Alameda, California, told me he and three other paratroopers rushed one machine-gun nest and killed five Germans without receiving a scratch.

Then, Pvt. Francis M. Jirinee of Springfield, Ohio, held out a German canteen:

I took a sip. It wasn’t water; it was the most powerful applejack I have ever tasted.

“There’s plenty more in that barn back there,” Jirinee said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. He mentioned something about some bodies being there, too.

The little group had started the day as members of several different units. Coming together under the avalanche of shells and shrapnel in the swamp, they had decided to stick it out as buddies the rest of the way.

Editorial: Our operations in France reflect wise leadership

It is not immodest or chauvinistic to say that the part Americans played in the landing on Normandy’s coast reflected the greatness of the nation and the vision, the wisdom and courage of its leadership. That memorable incident cannot be detached from the history of the past and considered as an event of a day. It was the culmination of a great deal of labor, mixed with purpose and vision, of conferences and plans, of determination and of a sustaining faith in the ultimate triumph of a cause and an ideal.

If a number of things had not happened and policies had not been initiated years ago, before Pearl Harbor but while war loomed as a certainty in the eyes of all but those who would not see, Allied troops would not now be on the soil of France and victory and peace would be more distant prospects.

The time of decision is brought closer simply because the obstructive tactics of isolationists were not permitted to prevail and the nation began to prepare for a challenge which from the beginning was inevitable.

Even before Pearl Harbor, the United States, through the operation of Lend-Lease, was sustaining hard-pressed potential allies. The exchange of destroyers for Atlantic bases was an aid to Britain in desperate hours when the U-boat was rampant. The building up of the Army and Navy and the adoption of Selective Service, a politically unpopular move under the existing circumstances, have been factors in placing in the field a great army of millions, perfectly trained and equipped, and capable of holding its own and even mastering the armies of the world’s most traditionally militaristic nation.

The task of placing an army of hundreds of thousands of men on the Normandy shore and supporting it with 4,000 ships and some 11,000 planes, while at the same time carrying on a war in the Pacific and a campaign in Italy, really began nearly five years ago, when German panzer divisions crashed over the frontier of Poland and it became apparent that marauders were again on the loose.

In the face of bitter opposition from some of the less realistic elements of Congress and from other quarters, the preparation went forward, while America-Firsters, political demagogues and some sincere but deluded lovers of peace raised their voices in angry protest. Finally, of course, the tragedy of Pearl Harbor revealed strikingly the justification for every move that had been made. And then, in the course of a short time, a navy that lay at the bottom of Pearl Harbor was dominating the North and South Pacific and making the Atlantic as safe for transports as a ferry trip across the Hudson, and a great army was being whipped into shape and industry was accomplishing miracles of production.

Now, deep in crisis, it is possible to report that everything is proceeding according to plan, a plan vaguely conceived some years ago when Hitler loomed large on the horizon and it became clear that democracy would have to fight in order to survive, a plan refined and perfected in Washington and Casablanca, Québec and Tehran, a plan into whose formulation and fulfilment many elements of greatness have entered.

americavotes1944

Lindley: Campaign in France scanned for effect on home politics

By Ernest Lindley

The Republicans have been relieved of one worry which had begun to plague at least a few of them: that the invasion had been timed to coincide with their national convention. The suggestion that this might occur originated some time ago, probably with a joking newspaper correspondent. But as time passed, and the invasion did not begin, some of the politicians began to take it seriously – even to the point of discussing what to do in such a predicament.

Now an effort is being made to read political significance into the fact that it may be six weeks before the success of the battle now begun can be accurately appraised. This would be just before the Democratic National Convention, whereas when the Republicans meet the issue between the Allied armies and the German forces in France probably will not have been decided.

That forecast may be correct, on both counts, although, since the enemy has something to say about the matter, the best-informed and most expert “insiders” can do no more than conjecture as to whether the main crisis will come in four weeks or 60 days or later. The inference is being drawn, however, that Mr. Roosevelt contrived the timing of the invasion so that the Republicans would have to meet amid uncertainty while he could have the advantage oi knowing whether the invasion was an assured success before deciding on his own course.

Some of this talk may be inspired by the hope that if all has gone well on the Western Front by mid-July, and the defeat of Germany seems likely to come before election, Mr. Roosevelt will decline renomination. In the opinion of many political observers, the surrender of Germany before Election Day would diminish Mr. Roosevelt’s chances of reelection. If that were so, and if Mr. Roosevelt were really eager for another term, and if he were that kind of man, one would assume that he would have seen that the invasion was delayed until there would be no opportunity of compelling the surrender of Germany before mid-November.

It may seem incredible that any sane person could think that the President would juggle war plans to suit partisan or personal political purposes. But it was charged in 1940 that he was overemphasizing the danger to this country in order to get himself reelected. It was charged then and since that he was contriving to get us into the war in order to fasten a permanent “dictatorship” on the country. And it is quite clearly the intention of certain elements in the extreme opposition to resume this line of attack during the campaign of 1944. Indeed, they have already done so. Compared to these charges, the adjustment of an invasion date would be only a misdemeanor.

Some who make these charges and insinuations do not believe them themselves. They simply regard some of their constituents as gullible. Others simply are gauging the President by their own political standards – although some of them, if they had the responsibility, might make these weighty decisions quite as conscientiously as he does. Their affliction may be that the only responsibility they feel, the only task to which they have been rededicated by the great campaign of liberation, is the winning of the 1944 election, no matter by what means.

Mr. Roosevelt would have preferred, I think, that the national nominating conventions be deferred until September. But the Republicans insisted on having theirs at the usual time, and the Democrats decided not to delay beyond July. Obviously, all of these months right up to the election, and probably for some time thereafter, will be months crowded with momentous events. Mr. Roosevelt has a great role to play in these. These events, and his role in them as the responsible head of the nation, will be the principal part of his campaign, assuming that he accepts renomination.

It would be surprising if certain spectacular occurrences did not coincide with political rallies, speeches, or tours, planned by the Republicans or, for that matter, by sundry Democratic candidates, including Mr. Roosevelt. All campaigns are fought at many levels, ranging from the noblest words of the leading candidates to the skullduggery of ward-heelers. In this, the various levels are likely to be especially noticeable. And the outcome may depend on whether the voters are taking their politics as usual or whether the greatest enterprise of our time – winning the war and organizing the peace – does make a difference.