America at war! (1941–) – Part 3

8842

Wolfert: Yanks’ plea for surrender creates havoc in Nazi line

Men who made it in the dark describe how they connived to escape and give up
By Ira Wolfert, North American Newspaper Alliance

With the U.S. infantry outside Saint-Lô, France – (July 14, delayed)
The story of what happened in the German lines here as the result of what seemed to us an abortive propaganda broadcast was told by three German prisoners who gave themselves up on account of it.

One was a sergeant-major, a professional soldier with 15 years’ experience, whose tank calls for a regimental or at least a battalion command post but who has been serving as a platoon leader in place of second and first lieutenants lost by the Nazis in Russia. Another was a corporal of Carlsbad, a Nazi who was but eight years old when Hitler first came into power, and the third was a private who had also been educated only by Hitler.

The corporal and private were serving together at the time of the broadcast and the sergeant-major was commanding his platoon in another part of the lune. The corporal said his commanding officer, a Prussian about 25-year-old, kept shouting throughout the broadcast that anyone who listens to this broadcast will be shot. At the same time, the adjutant was on a telephone calling for artillery fire against the broadcasting van and loudspeakers.

Nazis fire on own men

As soon as the broadcast ended, eight men made a break for the American lines from foxholes and the commanding officer ordered machine guns to open up on them. The machine guns were fired and the eight men fell flat, whether to protect themselves or because they were killed is not yet known.

During the day, the corporal said the whole company took advantage of the times when their commanding officer was busy elsewhere to talk of the broadcast and of means of surrendering. It was suggested that somebody kill the commanding officer and then the whole outfit would walk over in body. But there was no one with the courage to start that kind of mutiny and, anyway, American fire on the position there was so heavy and fairly constant, that everybody was afraid to get out of his hole during the course of the day.

Men killed in holes

American sharpshooters killed three men in their holes and American mortars wounded three others.

The German corporal told only his buddy of his plans, he said. He was going to wait for darkness and then try to make it to the American lines.

The American broadcast had promised them good treatment if they came over, and they certainly were not getting good treatment from the Americans where they were. His buddy said he wouldn’t take the chance. If their own soldiers didn’t kill them in the darkness, then the Americans would.

Buddy follows along

About 1 o’clock in the morning the corporal lifted himself out of his foxhole and started running. His buddy, seeing him go three or four paces without being struck dead by the omnipotent Hitler, scuttled after him.

The corporal told me:

There was a burst from our machine guns, first once, then twice more, but I kept on running. I broke through a hedge then, and there was a little field ahead with dead animals in it and some dead soldiers. I fell over one but I don’t know whether it was German or American. It was too dark then to tell. There was another hedge and road, and still another hedge, then Americans.

They said, “Hends hop,” to me.

Story confirmed

His buddy confirmed the story in every detail. Every company has its diehard Nazis who can’t hope to live if they lose the war and these men will continue firing their weapons until they are killed.

The platoon leader hadn’t heard the broadcast. He has been busy in a hole with the wounded but he knew his men had had something to think about all day besides their duties, he said.

Finally, at 5 o’clock in the afternoon a friend, a sergeant, whispered to him cautiously about the broadcast. The sergeant-major agreed it might be a good idea to surrender but he did not confide his idea to the platoon. He seems to have been afraid the diehard Nazis in it might kill him, or even that some of the men who were afraid to surrender, would stay where they were and spoil his plans in order to ingratiate themselves with higher officers who would give them jobs in the rear.

The sergeant-major told only the sergeant what he wanted to do. The sergeant told another man he trusted, who told a third and so on down the line.

In all of the 35 men in the platoon, there were only seven who could be trusted. These seven said they would wait for the sergeant-major to make it and if he made it safely, then he should signal them and they would follow.

He made it safely but what happened to the seven others is not known here. If they responded to the signal, then perhaps they were killed doing so.

Shapiro: Strong men after battle weep like little children

Their hands shake, and they have to be aided to walk, but they will get all right
By L. S. B. Shapiro, North American Newspaper Alliance

With the British forces in Normandy, France – (July 26, delayed)
This is an ugly story. It may not make pleasant reading and yet it should be written because it is as much a part of the war as a great battle filled with brave incidents.

Indeed, you cannot know what until you have moved, as I did this morning, to a field clearing station behind out advancing battle line between the Odon and Orne Rivers.

The reception tent was empty when two British soldiers were brought in, bolstered by the arms of two ambulance drivers. They were ragged and all one could see on their mud-stained faces were saucer-like eyes staring straight ahead.

One was a slight man who wore spectacles and had blond hair. The other was a dark, rugged man with a fine head and a great pair of shoulders. They seemed not to be wounded, but somehow their legs weren’t working and they were almost carried to canvas chairs in opposite corners of the tent.

Weep like children

There they wept hysterically, and their choking sibs made them sound curiously like nursery children.

An orderly pulled up a chair beside the blond-haired soldier and talked rapidly into his ear, at the same time stroking his back. His sobbing ceased somewhat and the soldier rubbed his hands feverishly over his face, then turned to look at the orderly.

He opened his mouth, but nothing audible came to his lips. Then he put his face into his cupped hands and wept again.

The orderly lifted the soldier’s head and pushed a cigarette between his lips. But before a match could be applied, the cigarette fell to the ground.

Hands shake

Again, the orderly patted his back, lit the cigarette himself and placed it in the soldier’s mouth. The younger puffed feverishly, and smoke drifted out of his nostrils and made him cough. He mumbled some inaudible words and his hands shook so desperately that the orderly grasped them and held them tightly.

On the other side of the tent, the dark, rugged soldier was being helped to his feet by a doctor. Together they began walking toward the exit, the hefty soldier stumbling along like a baby learning how to walk.

The blond, slight man watched them pass and his eyes followed them across the tent and out into the open, and a flicker of a smile played on his quivering lips as though he were amused by such helplessness on the part of the other soldier.

He seemed normal for a moment, then suddenly the cigarette dropped from his lips and his hands pawed at his cheeks and eyes and he wept hysterically.

The doctor returned to the tent and looked at him.

He whispered to me:

Battle exhaustion. The boy has been under shell and mortar fire for six days in exposed positions. We will put them to sleep for a couple of days and they’ll be all right.

8843

Quick-thinking saves outpost

Radioman on boat gets word through
By Sgt. Pete Zurlinden, USMC combat correspondent

…

8844

First year of peace will bring back nylons

Scientists promise nine pairs for each woman in America when war ends
By Gertrude Bailey

…

8845

Success story No. (?) –
Rescued from Minors, Herschel Martin puts new life in the Yanks

By Jack Cuddy, United Press staff writer

…

8846

Radio’s best boy actor mourns his success

Nazi brat role isn’t real skippy
By Si Steinhauser

…

Use gas on Japs, editorial urges

…

8847

Völkischer Beobachter (July 19, 1944)

Deutsche Ein-Mann-Torpedos greifen an

Von unserem Marinemitarbeiter Erich Glodschey

Berlin, 18. Juli –
Der Kampf zur See kannte bisher noch nicht den Einzelkämpfer, der, auf sich selbst gestellt, dem Feinde gegenübertritt, wie es im Land- und Luftkrieg häufig der Fall sein kann. Die Besatzung eines Kriegsschiffes kämpft stets in einer festen Gemeinschaft, bei der es auf jeden einzelnen ankommt, ohne daß er aber allein für sich gegen den Feind Vorgehen kann. Nun zeigt die Bewährung der Ein-Mann-Torpedos, daß die Männer der Kriegsmarine den gleichen Geist des Nahkämpfers in sich tragen, der etwa in einem ihrer Kameraden des Heeres verkörpert ist, der aus nächster Nähe einen schweren Feindpanzer erledigt.

Sie hatten sich die Tarnbezeichnung „Neger“ gegeben, die Männer der Ein-Mann-Torpedos, als sie am Kanal auf ihren Einsatz gegen die Invasionsflotte brannten. Wer weit draußen in der Seinebucht die Nachschubflotte der Invasoren mit ihrer sehr starken See- und Luftsicherung gesehen hat, dem drängte sich von selbst die Überlegung auf, was gegen diese englischen und amerikanischen Schiffe noch zusätzlich über die glänzenden Leistungen der Schnellboote, Küstenbatterien, Kampf- und Torpedoflugzeuge hinausgetan werden könnte. Schon hatte der Feind durch Granaten, Torpedos, Minen und Bomben zahlreiche Kriegs- und Handelsschiffe eingebüßt, da erschien im Wehrmachtbericht die lakonische Mitteilung von weiteren erheblichen Erfolgen durch „Kampfmittel der Kriegsmarine.“

In wenigen Tagen wurden 14 Feindschiffe, vom Kreuzer bis zum Transporter und Zerstörer, versenkt und weitere schwer beschädigt. Das waren sie, die „Neger,“ die Männer von den Ein-Mann-Torpedos! Solange der Feind nicht erkennen konnte, worum es sich dabei handelte, mußte über ihrem Tun ein Tarnschleier liegen. Nun kann einiges gesagt werden, was die todesmutigen Taten dieser Männer der Kriegsmarine dem deutschen Volke näher bekannt macht:

Die deutsche Kriegsmarine hat in kurzer Zeit in den Ein-Mann-Torpedos ein Kampfmittel improvisiert, das den besonderen Bedingungen gegen feindliche Landungsflotten angepasst ist, wie sie etwa vor Anzio-Nettuno und in größtem Maßstab vor der Küste der Normandie erschienen sind. Hatten die Zwerg-Unterseeboote unserer japanischen Verbündeten und die erfolgreichen italienischen Sturmkampfmittel Zweimannbedienung, so hat sich hier alles auf einen einzigen Mann konzentriert, der den Torpedo gegen ein feindliches Schiff lenkt. Ein Torpedo ist ein Unterseeboot im Kleinen, aber doch mit einer eigenen Antriebsmaschine, Seiten- und Tiefenruderanlage. Bei den italienischen und englischen Zwei-Mann-Torpedos wurde der „Gefechtskopf“ des Torpedos unter Wasser vom Torpedo gelöst und als Haftladung an dem Rumpf des feindlichen Schiffes befestigt. Mit dem deutschen Ein-Mann-Torpedo sind zusammengekoppelt der Trägertorpedo und der Kampftorpedo.

Im Kopf des Trägertorpedos sitzt ein Mann, der ihn steuert und der durch eine Glaskuppel aus dem Wasser blicken kann. Darunter ist der Gefechtstorpedo angebracht, der im geeigneten Augenblick abgeschossen werden kann. Der Trägertorpedo kann dann den Rückweg suchen, hat aber selbstverständlich mit schärfster Gegenwirkung zu rechnen, wenn der Gegner sich erst einmal von seiner Überraschung erholt hat. Es ist wirklich ein ganzer und restloser Einsatz, der die Männer der Ein-Mann-Torpedos auf sich nehmen. Wer die Taten deutscher Seeleute über und unter Wasser in diesem Krieg kennt, und das ist heute jeder Deutsche, der braucht nicht erst die Feststellung zu hören, daß sieh Freiwillige für die Ein-Mann-Torpedos gemeldet haben, und zwar aus allen Laufbahnen der Kriegsmarine.

Ein Beispiel ist der Schreiberobergefreite Gerhold, der als erster mit einem Ein-Mann-Torpedo einen feindlichen Kreuzer der Aurora-Klasse vernichten konnte. Der Kommandant des feindlichen Kreuzers hätte sich sicher niemals träumen lassen, daß sein 5.270 Tonnen großes und stark bewaffnetes Schiff von einem Gefreiten aus der Verwaltungslaufbahn der deutschen Kriegsmarine versenkt werden könnte. Gerhold mußte sein winziges Fahrzeug durch eine ganze Kette von Zerstörern und Bewachern hindurchführen, bis er an den englischen Kreuzer herankam. Die Beobachter an der Küste jubelten, als dieser Kreuzer, der oft in die Landkämpfe eingegriffen hatte, mit einer riesigen Explosionswolke versank. Zwischen Wasserbomben und Granaten der feindlichen Schiffs- und Flakartillerie fand Gerhold den Rückweg. Mit Freuden vernahm er dabei die Detonationen, die von seinen Kameraden mit anderen Ein-Mann-Torpedo in dem feindlichen Schiffsverband verursacht worden waren.

Heute trägt der Schreiber, der einen Kreuzer versenkte, das Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, das ihm der Führer verliehen hat. Er ist nun Maat geworden. Oberleutnant zur See Krieg ist der zweite Ritterkreuzträger der Ein-Mann-Torpedos. Andere erfolgreiche Nahkämpfer des Seekrieges haben das Deutsche Kreuz in Gold erhalten. Diese hohen Tapferkeitsauszeichnungen heben ihre Leistungen gebührend vor aller Welt hervor. Die größte innere Genugtuung dieser Männer freilich ist es, zu ihrem Teil wesentlich zur Bekämpfung der Invasoren im Westen beigetragen zu haben. Zugleich lieferten sie einen weiteren Beweis, daß die deutsche Seekriegsleitung für den Feind sehr überraschend zu improvisieren weiß, wenn es der Kampf gegen die hochgerüsteten Seemächte England und USA erfordert und wenn sich Möglichkeiten des Erfolges bieten.

8848

Politiker Montgomery

Drahtmeldung unseres Berner Berichterstatters

b—r. Bern, 18. Juli –
Ein in der inneren englischen Politik stark beachtetes Ereignis ist der Eintritt des Generals Montgomery in die Liberale Partei. Dieser für deutsche Begriffe von einem aktiven Offizier unvorstellbare Vorgang ist auch für England ungewöhnlich. Noch ungewöhnlicher wird er durch die Umstände, unter denen er sich vollzogen hat. Montgomery hat diesen Schritt in die Politik noch vor Beginn der Invasion getan und hat über die Bedingungen seines Beitritts zur Liberalen Partei wochenlange Verhandlungen durch verschiedene Mittelsleute führen lassen. Einem derselben wird die Äußerung in den Mund gelegt, Montgomery sei „mindestens fünf Millionen Stimmen wert,“ die die absterbende Liberale Partei freilich gut gebrauchen könnte. So ergibt sich das merkwürdige Schauspiel, daß ein General während der Vorbereitungen für das größte Unternehmen seiner Laufbahn einen politischen Handel mit seinem Kriegsruhm führt, noch ehe dieser Ruhm seine entscheidende Probe bestanden hat. Die Liberale Partei hat die Katze im Sack gekauft, denn die Zugkraft ihres neuen Mitglieds hängt vom Erfolg oder Misserfolg der Kämpfe im Westen ab. Welche Zusicherungen Montgomery im Einzelnen gemacht worden sind, ist noch nicht bekannt geworden.

Die Begleitumstände lassen keinen Zweifel daran, daß Montgomery ernstlich beabsichtigt, nach Beendigung des Krieges eine aktive politische Rolle zu spielen und gewissermaßen mit dem Anspruch auf die Vertretung der Frontsoldaten dem heutigen Premierminister gegenüberzutreten. Dieser hält, wie man weiß, seine politische Laufbahn auch mit Abschluß des Krieges noch keineswegs für beendet, sondern möchte seine Diktatur in der Zeit des Wiederaufbaues fortsetzen. Für ihn, der schon der Gefolgschaft der Konservativen Partei keineswegs sicher ist, wäre es peinlich, wenn der weitaus volkstümliche General, den dieser Krieg in England hervorgebracht hat, als sein politischer Gegner auftreten sollte. Das sind freilich Sorgen für eine ungewisse Zukunft, aber die Beteiligten machen sie sich offenbar.

Montgomery handelt mit seinem Vorstoß einer alten Überlieferung der englischen Politik entgegen. Seit den Tagen der Militärdiktatur Cromwells und des Generals Monk, der die Monarchie wieder einsetzte, besteht geradezu eine Furcht vor dem Eingreifen erfolgreicher Militärs in die Politik. Die politische Laufbahn des Herzogs von Wellington spricht nichts dagegen, denn sie beruhte ebenso sehr auf dem adeligen Herkommen wie auf den militärischen Erfolgen Wellingtons und sie verlief in den Bahnen der Parlamentsherrschaft. Das Hervortreten Montgomerys mit dem unmissverständlichen Appell an seine alten Soldaten dagegen würde einen ausgesprochen demokratischen, wenn nicht fast revolutionären Zug in die englische Politik bringen und daher die alte Oberschicht aufs tiefste beunruhigen. Gerade sie ist ja auch Hauptträger jenes alten Vorurteils, während die breiten Schichten der Arbeiterschaft soziologisch jünger sind als die historischen Erlebnisse mit Cromwell und Monk und daher auch das Vorurteil gegen die Militärs in der Politik nicht oder doch im geringsten Grade teilen.

Die Stellung Montgomerys als eines aktiven Generals mit politischem Ehrgeiz und mit der klaren Absicht, dem ihm übergeordneten Premierminister und Verteidigungsminister nach dem Kriege als politischer Opponent gegenüberzutreten, wird jedenfalls in der nächsten Zukunft recht eigenartig sein. Sie ist vielleicht eines der stärksten Anzeichen für den labilen Zustand Englands und dafür, daß die Verhältnisse diesmal nicht wie nach dem vorigen Krieg einfach in die alte Gleichgewichtslage zurückpendeln können.

Der ‚übermäßig Vorsichtige‘

Lissabon, 18. Juli –
Montgomery beherrscht heute weniger Terrain als am sechsten Tage der Invasion, schreibt Sunday Star am Montag, nachdem Daily News vor einigen Tagen erklärte, die Besetzung Caens habe 30 Tage später stattgefunden, als im Invasionsplan vorgesehen gewesen sei. Ganz allgemein zeigen die nordamerikanischen Militärkritiker und Kriegskorrespondenten deutlich ihre Unzufriedenheit über die Verschiebung einer anglo-amerikanischen Großoffensive. Die Verzögerung wird den britischen Truppen in die Schuhe geschoben, da während der Kämpfe um die Halbinsel Cotentin die englischen Truppen nur Verteidigungsstellen bezogen hätten.

Die nordamerikanischen Kriegskorrespondenten sprechen nunmehr offen von der „übermäßigen Vorsicht Montgomerys, der auch in Tunesien und in Salerno die Ereignisse verzögert habe. „Wenn nunmehr die Offensive nicht bald begonnen werde, so bestehe die Gefahr, daß die anglo-amerikanischen Truppen die Initiative verlören.“

8849

Wer hilft Montgomery?

Enttäuschung über seine Strategie
Von unserem Stockholmer Berichterstatter

ka. Stockholm, 18. Juli –
Der bekannte militärische Mitarbeiter der Daily Mail, Liddell Hart, gibt jetzt ebenfalls dem Missmut und der Enttäuschung der Engländer darüber Ausdruck, daß die Invasion in der Normandie so wenig Erfolg zeitige. Liddell Hart schreibt, daß die vergangene Woche in Frankreich geradezu lächerlich kleine Fortschritte gebracht habe. Die Hoffnungen seien gestiegen, als man von dem Fall Caens gehört habe. Aber die Vorstellungen seien den Tatsachen wieder einmal voraus gewesen. Es sei schnell ruchbar geworden, daß die Engländer Caen gar nicht vollständig erobert hätten und daß die Deutschen sich nur hinter den Ornefluss zurückgezogen hätten, der die Stadt in zwei Teile teilt. Dieser wohlberechnete Rückzug sei. nichts als ein fein berechnetes Ausweichen vor dem furchtbaren Bombardement gewesen. Dadurch hätten die Deutschen ernstere Verluste vermieden, während sie gleichzeitig doch die Kontrolle über den Kanal, die Eisenbahnen und Wege behalten hätten, die Caen seine strategische Bedeutung geben.

Wenn ein Mann wie Liddell Hart in aller Öffentlichkeit, die deutsche Strategie als so erfolgreich hinstellt, so ist dies wohl die bitterste Kritik, die an der englischen Führung geübt werden kann. Solche Worte geben einen Begriff davon, wie enttäuscht und missmutig die Engländer heute sind. Es wimmelt heute förmlich von guten Ratschlägen, wie man es besser machen solle. Einige verlangen energisch größere Kühnheit bei den Operationen, andere wollen auf dem Wege über eine Organisierung innerfranzösischer Widerstandskräfte den Anglo-Amerikanern Hilfe verschaffen, und wieder andere zerbrechen sich den Kopf darüber, ob man nicht nach dem Muster des Dschungelkrieges in Burma in großem Stile Luftlandetruppen einsetzen könne. Auf jeden Fall fühlt sich heute jeder bessere Engländer verpflichtet, Montgomery auf die Beine zu helfen – ein böses Zeugnis für einen General.

8850

Die Schlappe der Aggressoren vor Höhe 112

Berlin, 18. Juli –
In der Normandie wurde am Montag in den gleichen Abschnitten wie am Vortage mit wachsender Erbitterung weitergekämpft.

Im Raum südwestlich Caen hatten unsere Truppen mehrere starke Gegenangriffe geführt und dabei den vorübergehend in die Trümmer der Ortschaft Noyers eingedrungenen Feind wieder zurückgeworfen. Nur auf dem Bahnhof vermochten sich die Briten noch einige Stunden zu halten, bis sie auch hier im Nahkampf zurückgetrieben wurden. Auch an den anderen Abschnitten kämpften sich unsere Panzergrenadiere vor. In Vendes vernichteten sie vorgeprellte feindliche Kräfte, und östlich Bougy zwangen sie den Gegner zu Boden. Damit waren dem Gegner seine am Sonntag mit hohen Verlusten erkauften geringfügigen Vorteile am Westrand seines Frontvorsprungs am Odonbach wieder entrissen.

In der Nacht zum Montag und den ganzen Tag über wiederholten die Briten ihre Angriffe nach Westen und Südwesten. Aber auch unsere Truppen setzten ihre Gegenstöße von Süden her fort. Sie warfen den Feind aus Esquay hinaus und vertieften nordwestlich davon wieder das Niemandsland an der seit Tagen heißumkämpften Höhe 112. Hierbei wurde erst in vollem Umfang die Schwere der Schlappe erkannt, die der Gegner in der vorausgegangenen Nacht erlitt, als er hier im reflektierten Licht der von zahlreichen Scheinwerfern angestrahlten tiefhängenden Wolken mit Flammenwerfern, Panzern und Infanterie vergeblich angriff. Der Nordhang der Höhe war mit zerschossenen Panzern und Hunderten von Gefallenen bedeckt, die von dem mörderischen Abwehrfeuer erfaßt worden waren. Auf Grund ihrer schweren Verluste setzten die Briten an dieser Stelle ihren Angriff nicht fort. Sie versuchten stattdessen, etwas weiter westlich aus den Wäldern am Odon, zwischen Gavrus und Bougy, nach Süden vorzudringen. Schweres Artilleriefeuer und Panzer unterstützten den Vorstoß. Aber auch dieser Anlauf kam rasch zum Erliegen. Den weiteren Angriffen des Gegners zwischen Bougy und Vendes blieb ebenfalls der Erfolg versagt.

Im Süden der Cotentin-Halbinsel setzten die Nordamerikaner nach Zuführung frischer Kräfte ihre Angriffe ebenfalls an den gleichen Stellen wie am Vortage fort. Die Hauptstöße waren von Osten, Nordosten und Norden gegen Saint-Lô angesetzt, in deren Verlauf sich der Feind der Stadt etwas weiter näherte. Der Gewinn dieses schmalen Geländestreifens kostete die Nordamerikaner jedoch erhebliche Verluste. Am Dörfchen Martinville mußten sie nicht weniger als fünfzehnmal angreifen. Aber dennoch konnten sie die Hügel hart westlich des Ortes nicht mehr überschreiten. Im Abschnitt zwischen Vire und Taute drückte der Feind mit starken Kräften bei Pont-Hébert und südwestlich Les Camps de Losque gegen die Straße Saint-Lô–Perriers. Energische eigene Gegenangriffe sind hier im Gange.

8851

Japans Heldenkampf auf Saipan –
‚Bis zum letzten Augenblick‘

Abschließende Erklärung des Kaiserlichen Hauptquartiers

…

8852

Die Befreier Europas…

die.befreier.europas.dnb
…von der Illusion, es mit einem anständigen Gegner zu tun zu haben (Zeichnung: Mjölnir)

8853

Innsbrucker Nachrichten (July 19, 1944)

Große Abwehrschlacht zwischen Galizien und Peipussee

Feindlicher Großangriff östlich der Orne zum Stehen gebracht – Absetzbewegungen in Italien – 89 Terrorflugzeuge abgeschossen

map.071944.dnb

dnb. Aus dem Führerhauptquartier, 19. Juli –
Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt:

In der Normandie trat der Feind nach mehrstündigem Trommelfeuer und heftigen Luftangriffen nun auch östlich der Orne zum Großangriff an. Erst nach schwersten Kämpfen und unter hohen Verlusten konnte der Gegner in unsere Stellungen eindringen, wo er nach Abschuß von vierzig Panzern durch unsere Gegenangriffe zum Stehen gebracht wurde. Südwestlich Caen scheiterten alle feindlichen Angriffe. Auch im Raum Saint-Lô wurde gestern erbittert gekämpft. Nachdem während des Tages alle Angriffe gegen Saint-Lô abgewiesen waren, drang der Feind in den Abendstunden mit Panzern in die Stadt ein, wo sich heftige Straßenkämpfe entwickelten.

In Luftkämpfen verlor der Feind 22 Flugzeuge, zwei weitere wurden am Boden zerstört.

Bei einem Säuberungsunternehmen im französischen Raum wurden 70 Terroristen im Kampf niedergemacht.

Schweres Feuer der „V1“ liegt weiterhin auf London und seinen Außenbezirken.

In Italien setzte der Feind seinen Großangriff von der Küste des Ligurischen Meeres bis in den Raum von Arezzo sowie im adriatischen Küstenabschnitt fort. Während er südlich und südöstlich Livorno abgewiesen wurde, setzten sich unsere Truppen östlich davon kämpfend auf das Nordufer des Arno ab. Im Raum beiderseits Poggibonsi blieben stärkere Angriffe des Gegners ebenso erfolglos wie westlich Arezzo.

Südwestlich Ancona griff der Feind auf schmaler Front mit starken Panzerkräften an und erzielte unter hohen blutigen Verlusten einen tieferen Einbruch. Die schweren Kämpfe, in deren Verlauf 18 feindliche Panzer abgeschossen wurden, nahmen in den Abendstunden noch an Heftigkeit zu. Der völlig zerstörte Hafen von Ancona wurde daraufhin aufgegeben und die Front hinter den Eseno-Abschnitt dicht nördlich Ancona zurückgenommen.

Im Osten dauert die große Abwehrschlacht auf der gesamten Front zwischen Galizien und dem Peipussee an.

Im Südabschnitt steigerte sich die Wucht der feindlichen Angriffe besonders östlich des oberen Bug. Hier toben schwere Kämpfe mit dem in Richtung auf Lemberg angreifenden Feind. Seit dem 14. Juli wurden in diesem Abschnitt 431 sowjetische Panzer vernichtet.

Westlich Kowel traten die Sowjets erneut zum Angriff an. Auch hier sind heftige Kämpfe im Gange. Auf dem Westufer des Njemen zerschlugen unsere Truppen im Raum von Grodno und Olita übergesetzte feindliche Kräfte. Nordwestlich Wilna wurden alle feindlichen Angriffe abgewiesen.

Im Seengebiet südlich der Düna hielten unsere Truppen den fortgesetzt angreifenden Bolschewisten unerschüttert stand.

Nördlich der Düna bis zum Peipussee wurden Angriffe stärkerer sowjetischer Kräfte unter Abschuß zahlreicher feindlicher Panzer zerschlagen. Nur in einigen Einbruchstellen dauern die Kämpfe noch an.

Schlachtfliegerverbände vernichteten wiederum eine Anzahl sowjetischer Panzer, Geschütze sowie Hunderte von Fahrzeugen. In Luftkämpfen und durch Flakartillerie wurden 57 feindliche Flugzeuge zum Absturz gebracht.

Ein starker nordamerikanischer Bomberverband griff im Ostseeraum an. Besonders in Kiel entstanden Schäden in Wohnvierteln und Personenverluste. Ein weiterer Bomberverband griff Orte in Süddeutschland an.

In der Nacht fanden schwächere Angriffe gegen den Raum von Köln, gegen das Ruhrgebiet und auf Berlin statt.

Bei allen diesen Angriffen wurden in Luftkämpfen und durch Flakartillerie der Luftwaffe 89 feindliche Flugzeuge, darunter 69 viermotorige Bomber, abgeschossen.

Die IV. Sturmgruppe des Jagdgeschwaders 3 unter Hauptmann Moritz brachte allein 49 viermotorige Bomber zum Absturz.

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Die Explosionskatastrophe in Kalifornien

650 Tote und 1.000 Verletzte

Genf, 19. Juli –
Laut AP wurden bei der Explosion in Port Chicago (Kalifornien) bei der zwei Munitionsschiffe in die Lust flogen, mindestens 650 Personen, in der Hauptsache Negersoldaten, getötet. Die Zahl der Verletzten wird aus 1.000 geschätzt. Die Explosion wird als eine der verheerendsten in der amerikanischen Geschichte bezeichnet. Gebäude in einer Entfernung von eineinhalb Kilometer wurden dem Erdboden gleichgemacht.

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Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Force (July 19, 1944)

Communiqué No. 87

Fierce fighting is going on in FAUBOURG-DE-VAUCELLES and in the plain south and east of CAEN. Enemy armored formations have been thrown in in an attempt to block the breach made in the German positions in this area.

In the JUVIGNY area, south of TILLY, our troops have advanced about half a mile and the enemy is fighting desperately to retain his hold on NOYERS.

SAINT-LÔ was finally cleared of the enemy during yesterday evening.

The road from SAINT-LÔ to PÉRIERS has been cut between the TAUTE and VIRE Rivers south of the village of AMIGNY, which is in our hands.

Allied aircraft, in great strength, continued their support of our ground forces throughout yesterday afternoon.

Bridges across the rivers SEINE and EURE and railway lines in the ROUEN area were attacked during the afternoon by medium and light bombers. Fighters and fighter-bombers, in great force, attacked enemy batteries mortar positions, strongpoints and troop concentrations near the battle zone. Farther afield they struck at communications, airfields, supply dumps and transport from AMIENS in northeastern FRANCE to the west coast of the COTENTIN PENINSULA.

During the day, first reports show 15 enemy aircraft were shot down and a number destroyed on the ground. Twenty-four of our aircraft are missing.

In the evening the railyards at VAIRES, on the eastern outskirts of PARIS, were successfully attacked by escorted heavy bombers. Two bombers are missing.

During the night, heavy bombers, 29 of which are missing, attacked the railway junction at REVIGNY, about 100 miles due east of PARIS, and AULNOYE, about 20 miles west of the FRANCO-BELGIAN frontier. Preliminary reports indicated that both attacks were well concentrated.

Two enemy aircraft were destroyed over the battle area and one by our intruders over Germany during the night.

Early Tuesday morning, light coastal forces fought three brief gun actions close to the enemy coast between CAP GRIS-NEZ and the mouth of the river AUTHIE. The enemy received considerable punishment. Two of his craft were last seen on fire.

Communiqué No. 88

Fierce armored and infantry fighting continued this morning in the area south and east of CAEN.

FAUBOURG-DE-VAUCELLES is now entirely in our hands, and the enemy has been cleared from the villages of LOUVIGNY on the west bank and FLEURY on the east bank of the river ORNE.

The breach in the enemy defenses has been widened and Allied troops have occupied the villages of TOUFFRÉVILLE, DÉMOUVILLE and GIBERVILLE. Pockets of enemy resistance which had been bypassed have been eliminated. Progress continues in spite of stubborn enemy opposition.

Throughout yesterday and today, Allied warships and landing craft have been engaging enemy batteries on the eastern flank in support of the Army. Allied aircraft based in NORMANDY maintained their patrols and close support of our troops this morning.

One thousand two hundred and fifty prisoners were taken yesterday in the CAEN area, and the total taken since the beginning of the campaign is now over 60,000.

Allied troops have made local advances in the HOTTOT area and north of REMILLY-SUR-LOZON.

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U.S. Navy Department (July 19, 1944)

Communiqué No. 531

Pacific and Far East.
U.S. submarines have reported the sinking of fourteen vessels including two combatant ships as a result of operations against the enemy in these waters as follows:

  • 1 destroyer
  • 2 small cargo vessels
  • 8 medium cargo vessels
  • 1 medium naval auxiliary
  • 1 small cargo transport
  • 1 escort vessel

These actions have not been announced in any previous Navy Department communiqué.

CINCPAC Press Release No. 479

For Immediate Release
July 19, 1944

More than 320 tons of bombs were dropped on Guam Island by carrier aircraft of the fast carrier task force on July 17 (West Longitude Date). Pillboxes, gun emplacements, and other defense installations were knocked out. More than 650 sorties were flown over the target area. On the same day our battleships, cruisers, and destroyers laid down an intense barrage against defensive positions on the island.

On July 18, bombardment of Guam by surface ships continued, and carrier aircraft dropped 148 tons of bombs on anti-aircraft guns, searchlights, supply areas, and defense works. Several enemy positions were strafed.

Rota Island was attacked with rocket fire and bombing from carrier aircraft on July 17. Nearly 80 tons of bombs were dropped, resulting in large fires among buildings and fuel storage facilities. Aerial reconnaissance in­dicates that Rota Town is virtually destroyed. In this operation, we lost one scout bomber.

Army, Navy, and Marine aircraft continued neutralization raids against enemy positions in the Marshall and Caroline Islands on July 17.

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The Pittsburgh Press (July 19, 1944)

LIVORNO FALLS TO 5TH ARMY
Yanks, Poles crumple ends of line in Italy

Allies take Ancona, east coast port
By Reynolds Packard, United Press staff writer

map.italy.071944.up
New victory in Italy was achieved by U.S. forces in the capture of Livorno (1), west coast anchor of the Nazi line. U.S. troops drove toward Pisa. In central Italy, the British crossed the Arno River and captured Montevarchi (2), while on the east coast, Polish troops captured Ancona (3), Adriatic anchor of the German defenses.

Rome, Italy –
U.S. troops captured the great Tyrrhenian port of Livorno today, crumbling the western anchor of the German defenses across Italy in the biggest Allied victory of the Italian campaign since the fall of Rome.

Livorno fell to the U.S. units of Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark’s 5th Army soon after Allied headquarters announced that Polish forces had captured Ancona, the Adriatic anchor of the Nazi defense line.

The twin victories at either end of the Italian line unhinged the hard-pressed German defenses and cleared the way for a frontal onslaught against the Gothic Line, before which the Nazis were struggling to make their first stand after a precipitate flight from Rome.

Port wrecked

Virtually all the port facilities of Livorno, pre-war city of 200,000, had been destroyed by the Germans to prevent their use by the Allies as a gateway of supplies and reinforcements.

The city’s many big bridges, the only contact with the mainland, were also wrecked by the Nazis in an extreme application of the scorched earth policy.

Livorno fell to U.S. forces who had swung around it in a wide flanking maneuver and closed in from the east while other units were smashing through the formidable German fortifications guarding its southern approaches.

Push on Pisa

Front dispatches said the Germans were fighting a rearguard action near Livorno as a U.S. spearhead probed up the Arno Valley toward Pisa.

Although pushed out of Livorno, the Germans took up positions on high round north of the city and sent a continuous barrage on Livorno’s 60 docks. Even as the shells exploded, however, U.S. engineers were rebuilding the city’s battered harbor facilities which are expected, to prove of enormous value to the Allies as a supply center.

Take 2,500 prisoners

During the drive over the Cecina River, Allied troops captured approximately 2,500 prisoners, and inflicted thousands of casualties on the Germans. Since May 11, the 5th Army has taken 30,000 prisoners.

Ancona fell yesterday afternoon to Polish units of the 8th Army as the culmination of their 75-mile advance in the last few weeks. The Germans had concentrated two divisions to defend the anchor base which has a peacetime population of 95,000. The Poles badly mauled the divisions and took more than 2,000 prisoners.

The whole eastern wing of the German defenses crumpled. Other elements of the 8th Army took Offagna, eight miles southwest of Ancona, after a tough fight lasting several days.

Cross upper arms

In central Italy, British troops of the 8th Army crossed the upper Arno on a front of six miles, and to the west captured Montevarchi, 15 miles from Arezzo.

High ground just east of Città di Castello, 18 miles northwest of Gubbio in the Tiber Valley, fell to the 8th Army. Other forces established themselves upon Hill 974, four miles due east of Arezzo.

On the lower Arno below Pisa, the American drive to the river at captured Pontedera placed the Americans astride the Pisa–Florence road and split the German forces south of the Arno.

Jap-Americans gain

The Americans were consolidating the southern bank of the Arno around Pontedera, 6½ miles north of Livorno and about two miles southeast of Monte Pisano, a hill mass which dominates the western valley of the Arno as well as Livorno and Pisa.

To the east, the doughboys, including troops of Japanese descent, rushed two miles past Le Sorgenti, five miles from Livorno. The 5th Army also took Badalucco, 10 miles east of Livorno. Still farther east, Allied forces advanced up to two miles despite devastating mortar and machine-gun fire and “tremendous” artillery barrage, as well as some of the thickest minefields encountered in Italy.

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Allied tanks punch inland

Great armored battle rages; British repulse Nazi counterattack
By Virgil Pinkley, United Press staff writer

map.071944.up
Showdown tank battle for the roads to Paris raged today as British forces smashed forward below Caen and the Yanks pushed the Germans back along the western sector of the front. U.S. forces (1) after taking Saint-Lô pushed across the Saint-Lô–Périers highway. Nazi withdrawals from Saint-Lô and Lessay were believed imminent. The British forces (2) made their greatest gain southeast of Caen where they cut the highway to Caumont. They also advanced across the Orne south of Caen.

SHAEF, London, England –
Hundreds of British and German tanks were slugging it out today on the flatlands southeast of Caen in perhaps the greatest armored battle of the war as the Allies punched deeper inland along the road to Paris after withstanding the first great Nazi counterattack.

British and Canadian armor poured southward through the breakthrough corridor below Caen, pumping new strength into Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery’s all-out push which smashed the German ring around the Normandy beachhead.

Marshal Erwin Rommel threw all the tanks he could into a “very fierce” counterattack on Gen. Montgomery’s advancing forces late yesterday. The British and Canadians met it head-on and knocked out a large amount of the German armor.

Nazis lose equipment

Gen. Montgomery announced that large quantities of German equipment were being destroyed in the showdown battle of Normandy, indicating that he was well satisfied with the results of the first major German counterattack.

Supreme Headquarters still withheld information concerning the exact extent of the British 2nd Army progress, since the high command believed its publication now would be of assistance to the enemy.

West of Caen, the British expanded their positions around Noyers, which was still not firmly in Allied hands.

Mop-up in Saint-Lô

On the American front, the Saint-Lô area was being mopped-up despite heavy German artillery and mortar fire from heights south of the captured city. Early today, the Americans pushing down into the Viere River bend northwest of Saint-Lô reached the right bank of the river.

Northwest of Saint-Lô, the Americans captured several villages and destroyed 16 German tanks in beating off strong counterattacks. Most of the land in the Vire bend is now in U.S. hands. Front dispatches reported signs the Nazis were beginning to withdraw from Périers to the west. There were no late reports from Lessay, western anchor of the Nazis, but its fall was expected soon.

There was every sign that the biggest armored battle of Western Europe was raging past the 24-hour as Montgomery and Rommel matched wits and tanks on the Caen plains beyond which stretched a trunk highway a little more than 100 miles to Paris.

Attack in three phases

Headquarters revealed that the Caen breakthrough was executed in three phases. One British column attacked southward from a point northeast of Caen, hugging close to the east bank of the Orne and fighting through Colombelles down into Faubourg-de-Vaucelles, the Caen suburb across the river.

While the action secured the west flank, another force attacked at the southeast corner of the bridgehead east of the Orne, covering the east flank.

Then massed armor flooded through the center crashing through the German positions knocked groggy by the most concentrated aerial bombardment of all time.

The main central column ran into German resistance “every yard of the way, but scored very satisfactory advances,” a headquarters spokesman reported.

Encirclement threatened

Some German troops were still resisting in Vaucelles. Those immediately to the south faced the threat of encirclement if the Allied armor swinging around the suburb from the east should link up with that west of the Orne around Maltot.

Aware of the danger, the Nazis hurled strong counterattacks against the Maltot area late yesterday, but suffered “very heavy” casualties with a minimum of results.

Front dispatches said British spearheads drove “several miles” beyond Caen in a major breakthrough during the first few hours of the offensive yesterday, were already across a highway running to Vimont, seven miles southeast of Caen, and had captured a number of villages and hamlets.

Nice gain, Monty says

Receiving newsmen at British Army headquarters in France, Gen. Montgomery declined to reveal the extent of the advance, but said:

We have a nice little area on the other side of the Orne River with Caen as the center… We had a very good day yesterday – an excellent day. We gained tactical surprise. The present situation down there is that we have a strong force south, southeast and east of Caen.

“Many casualties” were inflicted on the enemy on the south and east banks of the Orne, but British and Canadian casualties were “almost negligible” and losses of equipment very light, Gen. Montgomery said.

He estimated German casualties since D-Day, June 6, at 156,000 men – 16,000 killed, 80,000 wounded and 60,000 prisoners. He Germans were losing vehicles at the rate of 50 a day, he said.

Yanks cut highway

On the American half of the Normandy front, Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley’s 1st Army cut the Saint-Lô–Périers highway, breaking the back of the enemy line in this sector.

Henry T. Gorrell, United Press writer with the Americans, said the Germans had made a withdrawal of one to two miles along a wide front stretching from Saint-Lô beyond Périers.

Weather reports from Normandy told of heavy clouds today which reduced air support for the Allied offensives.

Ronald Clark, United Press writer at the British front, estimated that U.S. and British planes had dropped a record 14,000 tons of blockbusters, smaller explosives and anti-personnel bombs on German strongpoints and other targets around Caen during daylight yesterday.

More than 2,200 bombers dropped over half the total tonnage in three hours – 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. – yesterday, pulverizing enemy strongpoints in a 75-mile-square area on a semi-circle around Caen in preparation for the tank and infantry breakthrough.

Artillery, warships aid

Hundreds of ground guns laid down a barrage reminiscent of that which cracked the German line at El Alamein in Egypt in October 1942, while the British monitor HMS Roberts and cruisers HMS Mauritius and HMS Enterprise joined in the bombardment with broadsides from the Orne estuary.

While the Germans were still paralyzed from the hall of steel and explosives, British and Canadian tanks and infantry went “over the top.”

The British apparently made their greatest advances east and southeast of Caen. East of the Caen–Vimont road, Mr. Clark reported from the front. British infantry quickly mopped up villages through which armored spearheads had already driven.

First resistance light

The first British tanks across the Orne below Caen also met only light resistance, he said, but Gen. Eisenhower’s communiqué said there was “fierce fighting” in Faubourg-de-Vaucelles today.

The railway station at Vaucelles was revealed to be in British hands.

Rommel was understood to have brought to bear a majority of the nine to 13 divisions totaling up to 150,000 men around Caen against the British gap. Many of the divisions were SS suicide units. Elite grenadiers or crack panzer outfits which fought in Russia, North Africa, Sicily or Italy, which accounts for the fierce resistance reported in latest advices.

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His pledge fulfilled –
McGlincy: Major who fell in battle first Yank to enter Saint-Lô

An ambulance carries body of hero at head of column occupying town
By James McGlincy, United Press staff writer

Saint-Lô, France – (July 18, delayed)
The body of a U.S. Army major, who had said he would be the first man into Saint-Lô, rode in an ambulance at the head of the first troops entering the town tonight.

The officer, whose name will be revered as one of the most gallant officers of the Army as long as his division lives, was killed by shellfire yesterday.

When word came this morning that the Germans were withdrawing, the alert was given to a special volunteer to attack the town. At the head of the battalion moving in for the last phases of the attack rolled the ambulance carrying the body of the major.

On D-Day, the major had stormed onto the beachhead ahead of his troops and had single-handedly wiped out a machine-gun nest. Behind him now were some of the same men who followed him then, volunteers for what they knew would be a hot job.

Hitchhiking into the town with the task force, I saw evidence of what a bloody battle this has been. Bloodstained equipment lay along the roadside. Jeeps with wounded Americans and Germans came steadily from Saint-Lô.

In the final battering ram tactics of the Americans, spearheaded by tanks and tank destroyers, Saint-Lô was left a shambles of broken buildings. In some sections, there wasn’t a decent building left.

A scene beyond imagination –
McMillan: Bombs ‘shake the world’ to break Nazis at Caen

Volcanic spouts of flame, giant funnels of smoke rise in wake of huge raids
By Richard D. McMillan, United Press staff writer

An observation post near Caen, France – (July 18, delayed)
The whole world seemed to shake. Volcanic spouts of evil-looking yellow flame spit from the ground. Gigantic funnels of smoke swirled into the sky.

It was a scene of unholy terror that spread over Caen in the wake of the greatest aerial assault in history. No man, even in the wildest flights of imagination, could envisage that scene.

More than 2,000 bombers had rent the earth in an attack which brought 8,000 tons of high explosives showering down on German troops just south of Caen.

It was like one mighty fist sweeping from the sky that cleaved a flaming path for British troops in the breakthrough at Caen.

The assault left a huge smoke pall 50 miles wide, 20 miles deep and five miles high whirling slowly in the pink dawn around the battlefront.

This display of airpower – the greatest obliteration feat ever undertaken – must have been a terrifying onslaught for the Germans in their trenches. And it should have been convincing proof that a continuation of the war could bring only death.

British bombers opened the attack as a yellow sun began climbing through rose-colored clouds. The first bombers were divided in two forces – 450 Lancasters taking the steel factory southeast of Caen, another 450 Lancasters and Halifaxes picking a string of villages.

They dropped 2,000 tons of bombs on each target, where the Germans’ big guns had prevented the British troops from reaching open country. But that was only the first stage. The next part came after the volcanic mass of smoke and dust was allowed to drift eastward.

Then Marauders swept over to rekindle the smoldering debris. The smoke by now was soaring into the air, spreading in an ever-growing pall. It had a deathly sickening smell.

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Another Cassino?
Nazis in monastery hold 232 civilians

By Robert Vermillion, United Press staff writer

…

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conv.dem.top.banner

Wednesday, July 19
Convention called to order at 11:30 a.m. (CWT) by Robert E. Hannegan, DNC Chairman
Invocation by the Right Rev. John Zelezinski of Chicago
National anthem by Nona Vann of the Chicago Civic Opera Company
Call for convention, read by DNC secretary Mrs. Dorothy Vredenburgh of Alabama
Welcoming speeches by Chicago Mayor Edward J. Kelly and Senator Lucas (D-IL)
Presentation of distinguished visitors
Remarks by Edwin J. Pauley, director of the convention
Appointment of committees on credentials, permanent organization, rules and order of business, on resolutions and platform
Recess until 8:15 p.m.
Sessions resume at 8:15 p.m., with the call to order by Chairman Hannegan
Invocation by the Rev. Harrison R. Anderson of Chicago
Patriotic song by Phil Regan
Address by DNC Chairman Hannegan
Address by DNC Assistant Chairman Mrs. Charles W. Tillett of North Carolina
Keynote address by Oklahoma Governor Robert S. Kerr

Byrnes out, Truman okayed by Roosevelt

President sends word to convention leaders
By Lyle C. Wilson, United Press staff writer

Chicago, Illinois –
President Franklin D. Roosevelt evidently believes renomination of Vice President Henry A. Wallace is impossible and has sent word to the Democratic National Convention that he would be happy to run with 60-year-old Senator Harry S. Truman (D-MO), head of the Senate’s munitions investigating committee.

This word broke the deadlock into which the convention was rapidly heading as it met today for its first session with Mr. Wallace present to fight for his political life after a hurry-up journey from Washington.

It looked like Mr. Truman on the first ballot now, perhaps Thursday night, with Mr. Wallace as runner-up.

Byrnes forced out

Mr. Roosevelt’s okay of Mr. Truman reached this convention after the President had forced War Mobilization Director James F. Byrnes of South Carolina, out of the contest. The President’s willingness to take Mr. Truman was revealed by National Committee Chairman Robert E. Hannegan, who told the United Press:

It is not correct that Mr. Roosevelt has set up a second and third choice [after Mr. Wallace]. But the President has indicated that he would be happy to run with Senator Truman, and that he thinks Senator Truman would strengthen the ticket.

That statement came about 20 minutes after Mr. Wallace had left the train at an outlying station, announcing he would go direct to the Stadium where the convention was in session. Instead, he went to his headquarters in the Sherman Hotel. He is chairman of the Iowa delegation but had not intended to come here until the conservative opposition to his renomination became so bitter his managers decided his only chance would be to make a personal appearance.

To give seconding speech

Mr. Wallace will deliver a seconding speech tomorrow afternoon for Mr. Roosevelt, who will be renominated for a fourth term, in time to address the delegates by radio in the evening. The second speech will give Mr. Wallace his last chance to persuade the delegates to renominate him for the $15,000-a-year Vice Presidency.

Mr. Byrnes was forced out under fire from the left – the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the fears of big industrial state leaders that Negroes would bolt the New Deal-Democratic coalition if he were on the ticket.

Sparks were flying in the last-minute vice-presidential deals. This was the second time that Mr. Byrnes reached for the Vice Presidency and pulled back in deference to the President’s wishes.

Hannegan shenanigans?

There was a faint but audible murmur of suspicion that Mr. Hannegan, a Missourian himself, did some masterminding in the development of Mr. Roosevelt’s acceptance of Senator Truman. The Missouri Senator was one of the men who helped boost the party chairman from the obscurity of local politics to the big top.

Senator Claude Pepper (D-FL) a mighty New Dealer in his own right with vice-presidential ambitions if Mr. Wallace should be cast aside, more than murmured his unhappiness and doubts. He said:

The effort to displace Mr. Wallace and to refuse to recognize the strength of the solid bloc of votes that are behind him and are loyal to him opens up in a very definite way the question as to whether this is to be an open and unbossed convention or not.

When we see the curious sight of party leaders whose official position presumes to make them impartial and objective lending themselves and the power of their official positions in the work of distributing stories that the President has repudiated his letter of endorsement to Mr. Wallace and now has laid the finger on another man, I begin personally to feel that it is time the entire situation be brought out into the sunlight. I propose to make a fight that it be done.

Mr. Pepper’s statement did not mention Mr. Hannegan and his fellow Missourian, Senator Truman, but there was no mistaking whom it meant.

Mayor Edward J. Kelly of Chicago, the Illinois Democratic leader, was also reportedly pondering the circumstances of the President’s nod to Senator Truman and to be attempting urgently to establish telephone contact with Mr. Roosevelt.

Booms go boom!

Vice-presidential booms wilted like starched collars of delegates in the stadium as word of Mr. Hannegan’s statement regarding Senator Truman spread among them. There were a score of hopefuls last night. There were few today and even Mr. Wallace must have been shaken from the optimism which has marked his managers and persuaded some of them to make a lot of even money bets from $10 to $100 on their man against the field.

Mr. Byrnes’ withdrawal was in the form of a letter to Senator Burnet R. Maybank (D-SC) and was made public by the National Committee.

Hopkins case reported

As convention events developed, it became known that Mr. Byrnes had been in contact with Mr. Roosevelt since the former arrived in Chicago last weekend. It is assumed that the withdrawal order was issued then.

There were also reports here that Harry L. Hopkins, presumably acting for the President, had telephoned Mr. Truman that he would be a satisfactory vice-presidential nominee if Mr. Wallace cannot make the grade.

The convention took Mr. Wallace sullenly and under compulsion four years ago and conservatives are determined to get their revenge this time.

Mr. Byrnes’ withdrawal under fire from the New Deal left will aggravate the anger of conservative Democrats who view Mr. Wallace as a “Johnny-come-lately” member of the party, at best, and as the personification of the left-wing elements of the New Deal-Democratic coalition which they would disassociate from organization control.

Wallace has 325 votes

The Vice President apparently can count on 325 first ballot votes for renomination. He hopes to parlay them and Mr. Roosevelt’s personal endorsement into a nomination majority of 589.

Mr. Truman came to the Senate as a protégé of Boss Tom Pendergast of Missouri, whose power was blasted in a trial which sent him to the Federal Penitentiary. But Mr. Truman has made a name for himself on his own as chairman of the Senate committee which investigates munitions production and contracts.

Sidney Hillman (CIO political spokesman), former Democratic National Chairman Edward J. Flynn of New York, and Mayor Frank Hague (New Jersey Democratic boss) were reliably reported to have blasted Mr. Byrnes’ candidacy. Mr. Hillman denied he had vetoed Mr. Byrnes and agreed to accept Mr. Truman. But he is here to deal and speak for the powerful labor forces comprising the left wing of the New Deal-Democratic coalition.

Fear Negro vote

Negroes are not speaking for themselves. But some of Mr. Byrnes’ supporters said Mr. Glynn’s refusal to agree to Mr. Byrnes was attributed to fear that New York State Negroes would desert the Democratic ticket if he were nominated for Vice President. The shadow of Negro balance-of-power strength in nearly a dozen major states has been a threat to Mr. Byrnes from the inception of his informal candidacy.

Today’s convention business is strictly routine. Chairman Robert E. Hannegan of the Democratic National Committee calls the meeting to order and there will be the usual prayers, patriotic songs, welcoming speeches and routine announcements at the opening session. At 8:15 p.m. CWT, the delegates gather again to hear a couple of brief warmup talks preliminary to the keynote address by Oklahoma Governor Robert S. Kerr. Mr. Roosevelt is to be renominated tomorrow.

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