America at war! (1941–) – Part 4

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americavotes1944

Background of news –
The voting age

By F. M. Brewer

Election returns in November will include, for the first time in the history of the United States, a count of ballots cast by 18- to 20-year-old voters. Under a state constitutional amendment adopted in 1943, citizens of Georgia who have passed their 18th birthdays will go to the polls as voters in this year’s national election.

Their addition to the electorate of a solidly Democratic state will not affect the outcome, but their participation in choice of the next President will be of national significance as marking a trend toward enfranchisement of younger men and women.

Eight resolutions for amendment of the Federal Constitution to lower the voting age are pending before the judiciary committees of the House and Senate. These committees have also before them three proposed amendments to abolish the Electoral College and provide for choice of the President by direct vote of the people.

Should any one of these latter proposals become a part of the Constitution, a rapid enfranchisement of 18-year-olds could be expected to follow. Any state which failed to grant the ballot to its younger citizens, after a few other states had acted, would suffer a loss of influence in choice of the country’s Chief Executive.

Teachers favor change

Chief backing for a change in the voting age is found among teachers in public schools. Educational organizations have been urged by the Journal of the National Education Association to give their full support to both state and national action to give the young a voice in choosing government officials and determining public policy.

The argument of educators is that the training high school pupils receive today amply prepares them to vote intelligently, and that a gap of several years between leaving school and exercise of the franchise tends toward a loss of the interest and enthusiasm which they are prepared to bring to the electorate.

Political leaders at present appear reluctant to enfranchise a body of young people who presumably would become independent voters. Groups wielding political power, such as the veteran and labor organizations, have shown no inclination to press the issue.

So far as the veterans are concerned, the younger men now serving in the Armed Forces soon will have reached the normal voting age of 21. Many young people at work today are expected to return to school or college and the remainder would not add significantly to labor’s political power.

Support from three parties

Among individual leaders in public life who have endorsed efforts to reduce the voting age are Frank C. Walker, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and two Democratic state governors – Georgia Governor Ellis G. Arnall, whose support was largely responsible for adoption of the 18-year-old vote in his state, and South Carolina Governor Olin D. Johnston.

Senator Arthur Vandenberg (R-MI) was the first to introduce a resolution in the Senate for a federal constitutional amendment to give the vote to 18-year-olds, and Norman Thomas, Socialist candidate for President, has announced his support.

Mr. Vandenberg said:

If young men are to be drafted at 18 years of age to fight for their government, they ought to be entitled to vote at 18 years of age for the kind of government for which they are best satisfied to fight.

Mr. Thomas said there was certainly no magic in 21 to give wisdom to voters:

I wish we could find magic to give them wisdom at any age, but boys and girls compelled to face war so realistically at 18 should be given a vote.

1333

Dorseys and gambler pal told to post $1,000 bonds

Tooter, wife and friend will plead later to those assault charges

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1334

americavotes1944

In Washington –
Democrats charge MacArthur ‘negligence’ in the Philippines

Replying to ‘Pearl Harbor tactics’ of GOP, foes open up in rebuttal

Washington (UP) –
Congressional Democrats yesterday opened a counteroffensive against repeated Republican charges that the administration is responsible for the Pearl Harbor disaster and that it has been “covering up the true story” of the Dec. 7, 1941, debacle.

In the first full-dress Democratic rebuttal, House Majority Leader John W. McCormack and Reps. George E. Outland (D-CA) and Daniel L. O’Toole (D-NY) denied the GOP charges and accused the Republicans of playing politics in their demands for full facts of Pearl Harbor.

Between speeches, Republican members reiterated their charges and, in turn, accused the Democrats of injecting politics.

Mr. O’Toole told the House that, at the start of the war, Gen. Douglas MacArthur was “guilty of carelessness” in defense of the Philippines, but no charges have been made against him.

‘Lost his air force’

O’Toole asked:

Has anyone told the House that 95 percent of MacArthur’s air force was destroyed in the Philippines despite the fact that Pearl Harbor was attacked first? He, too, was guilty, but no charges have been made against him.

He said:

Seven weeks before election, the Republicans become suddenly interested in the defense of RAdm. Husband E. Kimmel And Maj. Gen. Walter C. Short [Navy and Army commanders in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked].

Is it because Short is listed as a Republican in Who’s Who?

‘A political speech!’

He put full blame on Kimmel and Short for not taking “proper precautions” when they knew war with Japan was imminent, and he charged Republicans with using innuendo for political gain.

Rep. Earl Michener (R-MI) replied that Mr. O’Toole’s talk was “a political speech if one ever was made” and said Congress has been requesting the facts about Pearl Harbor since the attack.

Mr. Outland touched off the debate by challenging Republicans to prove their charges that Australia furnished advance warning to the United States that the Jap fleet was steaming toward Pearl Harbor. He quoted Australian Prime Minister John Curtin that reports of such a warning were “pure invention.”

‘Withholding full story’

Then, Rep. Harold Knutson (R-MN) renewed charges that the administration is withholding the full story of Pearl Harbir, saying that “when the facts are known the blame will not be on Tokyo, it will be in Washington.”

Mr. McCormack replied that charges the administration is covering up the story of Pearl Harbor is “entirely without foundation and made out of whole cloth.”

Ohio firms charged

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americavotes1944

Stokes: Farmers

By Thomas L. Stokes

Valentine, Nebraska –
We were sitting in front of the hotel on Main Street, our chairs on the sidewalk against the big front window, and I was learning from the farmer who sat at my side how it is with the farmers out this way.

They don’t seem to like what’s going on in Washington, judging by the man who was talking.

An auto with big loudspeaker horns blossoming out in every direction passed slowly by, and the voice rang all up and down the street, saying there were only 90 grandstand seats and seven boxes left for the rodeo in the afternoon which Governor Thomas E. Dewey was to attend. Tickets were available at the courthouse, the voice said. It was then 11:00 a.m.

Autos rolled down the street, bringing visitors from miles around. Some were crowded with big families, the kids sticking out at the edges. This was the big day. They all wanted to see the Republican presidential candidate, who do a day and a half, after a brief appearance here the day before, had been virtually in hiding at the ranch of former Governor Sam McKelvie, 20 miles away. Governor Dewey’s picture beamed all along Main Street, and his name was on banners which fluttered overhead.

Nobody very hilarious

Little knots of men stood along the street – stolid Sioux Indians with wrinkled, leathery faces, ranchers, brown and squint-eyed with the sun, farmers in overalls, cowboys, and just plain hands. Nobody was very hilarious. These people are not just that way, there was an occasional drunk, waddling and grinning.

My friend had come from his quarter-section farm, 150 miles to the southeast. He was a wiry fellow, slight of build. He wore a big hat. His tanned face was unwrinkled and did not look as if it had seen 50 years, but that was his age.

“If Roosevelt’s reelected, I’ll sell out my farm.”

A blunt statement thrown into the conversation. What would be do then?

Oh, I don’t know. I’m not worrying much. I beat around for years, working with rodeos, working on ranches and farms. I never had any trouble getting a job. I might go down to old Mexico. I’ve been down there before.

What’s the trouble?

He repeated the story you hear so often. Too many regulations from Washington. He’s a cattle feeder, said he feeds about a thousand or 1,500 head a year. The cost of corn is too high, the ceiling price too low for feeders. He lost $450 this year on hiss cattle. He raises hay and soybeans. The prices have been good for them.

They don’t like ‘this rationing’

He said dolefully:

But they won’t let them go up anymore.

Folks down our way don’t like all this rationing. They could give us our gasoline and sugar. They could have just told us what we could have, without all this rationing business. We wouldn’t have hoarded. There was a ration official down our way who was just as mean as he could be, wouldn’t let anybody have anything. His house caught fire one day, and the fireman found all kinds of things hoarded away in his attic.

He was particularly irate about high wages in war plants.

And they aren’t saving a thing. Living high, buying liquor, getting drunk, it’s bad for our young folks.

He had a stern morale strain, characteristic of lots of folks in the farm country.

How bad off was he really? Not so bad when he let out the facts, gradually. He bought his farm in 1931. It had a $7,500 mortgage on it. He borrowed some from a neighbor. Later he got a loan from the Federal Land Bank. That’s nearly all paid off now.

I had a big year two years ago. I could pay off the rest now easy, but they told me it’s better to have a mortgage on if I want to sell.

He was very bitter about President Roosevelt.

“We’ve got to get rid of one-man government,” he said.

He added, as I got up to go:

And I wish if you see Dewey, you’d tell him not to let Hoover or Willkie make any speeches in this campaign. Hoover’s bad stuff among our folks. Willkie could have been elected two days after he was nominated – but he talked too much.

And that’s how it is with the folks out this way.

1336

Maj. de Seversky: Air victory

By Maj. Alexander P. de Seversky

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1337

Gracie Allen Reporting

By Gracie Allen

Hollywood, California – (Sept. 13)
I knew there was a housing shortage in this country, but I didn’t realize it was so desperate. Here Mr. and Mrs. Winston Churchill come over to visit the Roosevelts and they have to go clear to Canada to find a room!

I understand the Canadian Prime Minister loaned them an old stone house over 200 years old. I can’t imagine keeping a house for 200 years – unless maybe there are still payments due on it. Well, perhaps they have an FHA in Canada, too.

Incidentally, lots of people wonder just how much Mr. Churchill spends on cigars. He is supposed to smoke as many as 15 a day.

Well, my husband, George, smokes cigars too, so using the price of George’s cigars as a basis, I figured it out. You can stop worrying, folks, Mr. Churchill can afford 25 cents a day!

1338

Big tobacco crop unlikely to ease cigarette famine

Increased demands, lack of manpower and materials blamed for shortage
By Charles T. Lucey, Scripps-Howard staff writer

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What post-war prosperity?
Farm income cut predicted in booklet given veterans

By Daniel M. Kidney, Scripps-Howard staff writer

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1339

Personality wins –
O’Neill choice of fans among flag chasers

By Jack Cuddy, United Press staff writer

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1340

B drivers are first in line for gas relief

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1341

Television is still ‘four-motored gadget’

Network leader reveals status
By Si Steinhauser

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Program to curb cartels proposed

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1342

Bethlehem signs ship contracts

Navy orders extend into 1947

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Ford cuts output of superchargers

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1343

U.S. State Department (September 14, 1944)

Roosevelt-Churchill meeting, 5:30 p.m.

Present
United States United Kingdom
President Roosevelt Prime Minister Churchill
Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau Lord Cherwell
Foreign Secretary Eden
Sir Alexander Cadogan

The following diary entry relating to this meeting is reprinted from Eden:

Alec [Cadogan] turned up and we went round together to see Winston. He was with FDR and [Mr. Henry] Morgenthau [United States Secretary of the Treasury] and Prof. [Lord Cherwell, Paymaster-General] in conference about Lend Lease. They seemed glad of interruption and we talked of many things, Russians, Poles, Dumbarton Oaks, etc. until time to dress for dinner.

White, who was not present at the meeting, recorded in an undated memorandum that Morgenthau had mentioned to him on September 15, 1944, “the following bits of conversation which had taken place at a brief meeting with the President” on the afternoon of September 14:

In the afternoon the President delayed initialing the memorandum on the creation of the lend-lease committee which had been drafted by Cherwell, Weeks and White by interrupting with stories. Churchill was nervous and eager to have the memorandum initialed and finally he burst out: “What do you want me to do? Get on my hind legs and beg like Fala?”

1344

Roosevelt-Mackenzie King conversation, early evening

Present
United States Canada
President Roosevelt Prime Minister Mackenzie King

From notes of the conversation by Mackenzie King:

I told him [Roosevelt] something of the meeting we had had this afternoon and that Churchill would be speaking to him about our desire to have our Chiefs of Staff confer with his Chiefs of Staff. He said: By all means. We were allies. That would be expected. I then said to him that as he knew we were prepared to participate in the war in the Pacific against Japan but that we felt it must be in the Northern or Central regions. The President said he thought we should have a token representation but indicated that nothing might be needed for some time. He spoke of some extremely Northern region and indicated that toward the end, the Japanese might have to be driven out of the northern end of China. There was a hint that our men might be useful there. The President said I think Canada should have a token force to march into Berlin. I said I thought they would appreciate that and that it would be expected; that part of our army would be associated with the American and British armies. It was in this connection that the President referred to token forces in the other connection. The President made some reference to Russia and I asked him direct what part Russia would likely play. He repeated to me what had been said the other night and added that he could only say that Stalin had given that word himself.

1345

Tripartite dinner meeting, 8:00 p.m.

Present
United States United Kingdom Canada
President Roosevelt Prime Minister Churchill Prime Minister Mackenzie King
Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau Foreign Secretary Eden
Lord Cherwell
Mr. Law
Sir Alexander Cadogan

The only information found on the discussion at this dinner meeting is that contained in an undated memorandum by White (who was not present) recording what Morgenthau had told him on September 15, 1944, about “bits of conversation” which had taken place on September 14. At least part of the material in the following three paragraphs of this memorandum relates to the Roosevelt-Churchill dinner on September 14, but since Leahy is not known to have been present, part of it may also relate to other conversations or meetings.

Churchill and Eden were afraid that Russia would go into Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Greece and never get out so the British are planning to land troops in Greece. Secretary Morgenthau had commented: “You have got a million troops in the Middle East.” And Eden said: “Oh, no, we have got only a couple of brigades there.”

Admiral Leahy reported to the President that they couldn’t move American troops across the part of the English troops in Germany and the President replied, “Nonsense. It could be done.”

England and Canada were eager to get into the war with Japan. The President said to the Secretary that he knew now why the British wanted to join in the war in the Pacific. All they want is Singapore back.

1346

Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State

Twenty-Second Day, Thursday, September 14, 1944
Restricted

Conversations With Sir Alexander Cadogan
Cadogan called me right after midnight to say that while the Prime Minister had given him twenty-four hours of grace yesterday, in view of Eden’s arrival he now felt obligated to go to Quebec immediately and assumed that under the circumstances Mr. Hull could now have no objections. I told him that I felt that any decision he made now should be entirely his own. He said he did not think it would interfere too much with the Conversations inasmuch as little could probably be done in the next day or so in any event pending an evaluation by our respective Governments on the informal compromise formula on voting.

Cadogan called me again at 10 o’clock in the morning saying he had just received a further telegram asking him to go there, and he was planning to leave later in the morning by special plane and that he would return tomorrow. …

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conversation With Mr. Hull
I called Mr. Hull early in the morning and told him of Cadogan’s midnight call about going to Quebec. Mr. Hull again said that he thought it was a mistake for Cadogan to go and for that conference to get into political matters but that he agreed that we would not make a further point of the matter.

… [Mr. Hull] said he had not heard from the President about going to Quebec and did not feel in any event that he should go. This comment was made after I had reminded him of the President’s promise to send for him or someone else in the Department if the conference went into political matters.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conversation With Harry Hopkins
Harry Hopkins called me just before 11:00 in the morning and I reported to him the recent development, particularly on the voting question. I also told him that Cadogan was going to Quebec this morning and that Eden was arriving there late this afternoon. I told him about our proposed press statement.

He then told me it was expected that the Quebec conference would break up Monday [Friday?] night and that probably the Prime Minister and the President would go to Hyde Park Sunday night and that if Eden went probably Hull would be invited up. He told me he was not going to Quebec but would go to Hyde Park. …

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1347 
Lot 60–D 224, Box 59: Stettinius Diary

Extracts from the Personal Diary of the Under Secretary of State

Twenty-second Day, Thursday, September 14, 1944

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conversation with Gromyko
At 10:20 I called Gromyko to tell him Sir Alexander had been ordered to Quebec to spend the evening there and that he hoped to be back tomorrow. I suggested that as a consequence we call off the 10:30 Joint Steering Committee meeting unless he had something he particularly wanted to bring up. I suggested that we not meet again until Cadogan returned unless he wanted to talk to me privately.

I then told Gromyko that I had talked to Hull relative to the informal formula which had been developed late yesterday and that while Mr. Hull was not in a position to give it final approval that it looked good to him and that he thought it had in it the basis of agreement. I explained to Gromyko that we could not approve it in any final way until we had discussed it with the President. I then said that as our curbstone opinion of it was favorable, I wondered if he would not think it appropriate to sound out his own Government on it tentatively. I also told him that Cadogan could not yet speak but probably would be able to on his return, after talking to Eden in Quebec. During the conversation we decided it would be well for the Formulation Group to continue working on the other points which had not been couched in final language. I then told him that I would have to say something to the press this morning and that I was thinking something along the line that we are making good progress but that it would take a few more days to complete the talks. Gromyko promised that he would consult his Government on the possible compromise.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conversation with Mr. Hull
I called Mr. Hull early in the morning and told him of Cadogan’s midnight call about going to Quebec. Mr. Hull again said that he thought it was a mistake for Cadogan to go and for that conference to get into political matters but that he agreed that we would not make a further point of the matter.

I then inquired what he thought of the informal formula which had been worked out late yesterday and which Mr. Dunn had taken to him last night. He thought off hand that it looked good but said that he would have to consider it from the complete setting before he could give final judgment and also talk to the President on it. He said he had not heard from the President about going to Quebec and did not feel in any event that he should go. This comment was made after I had reminded him of the President’s promise to send for him or someone else in the Department if the conference went into political matters.

I asked the Secretary’s advice as to whether we should immediately inform the President of the voting development and the compromise which we had been studying informally. He thought we should do so and I arranged promptly to send such a wire to the President in Quebec.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conversation with Harry Hopkins
Harry Hopkins called me just before 11:00 in the morning and I reported to him the recent development, particularly on the voting question. I also told him that Cadogan was going to Quebec this morning and that Eden was arriving there late this afternoon. I told him about our proposed press statement.

He then told me it was expected that the Quebec conference would break up Monday night and that probably the Prime Minister and the President would go to Hyde Park Sunday night and that if Eden went probably Hull would be invited up. He told me he was not going to Quebec but would go to Hyde Park. He thought Churchill had gotten a little stiff about Cadogan and that his visit and also Eden’s did not have too much significance in view of the quick termination of the meeting. He thought our idea of sending a wire to bring the President up to date was excellent.

Then, to my amazement, Hopkins told me that an answer had been received at the White House from Stalin before the President had left for Quebec. He was not familiar with what it contained but promised to get it for me but he did say that the President thought it said “No” with a loud bang but that he personally had not had the same impression.

Later Hopkins called me back to say that he could not find the Stalin wire in the map room and that it had been taken to Quebec. He said he had sent a message up there to get it and would let us have it as soon as he had an answer. We received the message later in the afternoon.

Conversation with Mr. Hull
Later in the morning I called Mr. Hull to tell him I had heard that the Quebec conference would be over on Friday and that the two top men would probably go to Hyde Park alone for several days and that possibly Eden and he would be invited there. I told him Hopkins was going to Hyde Park. I also informed him that Cadogan was definitely leaving on the 11:30 plane and that we were going to put out a press release stating that we were getting along well, that our papers are being reviewed by our Governments, that Cadogan was being called to Quebec on other matters and that it would, therefore, take us a few more days to finish up.

I then told the Secretary how upset I was to discover that a reply from Stalin on the voting procedure had been received by the White House several days ago and that we had never been told about it. The Secretary said he was used to this type of thing and I replied that I guessed I was young and inexperienced. I explained that we did not yet know whether the reply referred to the Secretary’s talk with Gromyko or to the wire which the President had sent to Stalin.

Meeting with Mr. Hull
I called on Mr. Hull at 3:30 to tell him about the contents of the message from Stalin, which was on the “X” matter and which was discouraging. It said that while they were not going to press it further at Dumbarton Oaks, they are going to bring it up later, perhaps at the general conference. Mr. Hull was discouraged over the reply and said that if it were brought up at the general conference a showdown would have to take place at that time. He agreed completely with my thought that no matter what happened on the voting issue we would have to produce some memorandum of agreement in these Conversations, perhaps leaving certain open items for consideration at the United Nations conference. We agreed that if the Soviets continued to be sticky about questions such as the “X” matter that it was going to be difficult to work things out.

The Secretary agreed with my plan of recessing tomorrow and Saturday and thought, if possible, that it would be good for me to get away to the country for a day or two.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

General
Today was the low point of the Conversations. It looks as if an impasse has been reached and we cannot tell whether we will be able to work out of it to a successful conclusion or whether the conference will blow up. I am much encouraged by remarks made by old hands at international negotiations, such as Joe Grew and Ed Wilson, who said there never has been a conference which did not look as if it had completely broken down at one stage or another.

1348

Log of the President’s Visit to Canada

Thursday, September 14

The President’s personal flag was hoisted at the Citadel this morning. It had been intended to hoist his flag when that of the Governor-General was hauled down yesterday morning following his departure from Quebec but it was found that we had no President’s flag on hand and that one would have to send up from Washington.

The President attended two separate conferences this forenoon. The first one, at 11:00 a.m., was with Prime Minister Churchill and Mr. Richard Law, the British Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs. The second, at 11:30 a.m., was with the Prime Minister, Secretary Morgenthau and Mr. H. D. White, an Assistant [to the] Secretary of the Treasury.

The President lunched at the Citadel at 1:00 p.m. with the Prime Minister, Mrs. Roosevelt, Mrs. Churchill, Secretary Morgenthau, Mr. White, Mr. Law and Commander Thompson.

During the afternoon Mrs. Roosevelt and Mrs. Churchill visited the Canadian Women’s Army Corps barracks at Quebec.

The Right Honorable Sir Anthony Eden, British Minister for Foreign Affairs, arrived in Quebec from London this afternoon. The Honorable Sir Alexander Cadogan, British Permanent Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs and British Representative at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference, arrived in Quebec from Washington this afternoon. Both Mr. Eden and Mr. [Sir Alexander] Cadogan came for conference discussions.

The President, Mrs. Roosevelt, Miss Tully, Mrs. Brady and Miss Thompson had tea in his quarters at 4:45 p.m. Mrs. Roosevelt and Miss Thompson left Quebec, by train, for Hyde Park after the tea.

At 5:30 p.m., the President met with Prime Minister Churchill, Secretary Morgenthau and Lord Cherwell for discussions.

Dinner at the Citadel was at 8:00 p.m., with the President, Prime Minister Churchill, Secretary Morgenthau, Mr. Law, Lord Cherwell, Mr. Eden, and Mr. Cadogan attending. After dinner a motion picture, Hail the Conquering Hero, was shown at the Citadel for the party.

The President retired immediately after the movies.

1349

Völkischer Beobachter (September 15, 1944)

Was bedingungslose Kapitulation bedeutet

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1350

In Wettlauf mit der Zeit –
Auch sechs Armeen schaffen es nicht

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Im Vorfeld der Westverteidigung

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1351

Führer HQ (September 15, 1944)

Kommuniqué des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht

Am Albert- und Maas-Schelde-Kanal wurden feindliche Brückenköpfe» durch erfolgreiche Gegenangriffe unserer Truppen weiter eingeengt. Zwischen Maastricht und Aachen setzten die Nordamerikaner ihren von’ starken Panzerkräften unterstützten Großangriff fort; Maastricht ging verloren. Südlich und südöstlich Aachen gelangen dem Gegner Einbrüche in Vorfeldstellungen der Westbefestigungen. Die schweren Kämpfe, bei denen am gestrigen Tage 40 feindliche Panzer abgeschossen wurden, dauern mit unverminderter Heftigkeit an. Auch im Raum von Nancy und vor der Burgundischen Pforte wird weiterhin erbittert gekämpft.

Von den befestigten Häfen und Stützpunkten an der Kanal- und Atlantikküste werden auch gestern schwere, aber erfolgreiche Abwehrkämpfe gemeldet. Vor dem brennenden Brest, vor Boulogne und am Kap Gris Nez erlitten die Angreifer besonders hohe Verluste.

Seit mehreren Tagen liegen die Hafenstädte an der englischen Südostküste im schweren Feuer deutscher Fernkampfbatterien.

Sicherungsfahrzeuge eines deutschen Geleits versenkten nördlich der westfriesischen Insel Texel ein britisches Schnellboot.

In Italien setzte der Gegner im Adria-Abschnitt seine Versuche fort, unsere Stellungen am Apennin noch vor Eintritt der Schlechtwetterperiode zu durchbrechen. Unter rücksichtslosem Einsatz von starken Infanterie- und Panzerkräften rannte er bis in die späten Abendstunden gegen unsere Abwehrfront an. Im Verlauf der harten Kämpfe konnte der Gegner bis auf einen Einbruch bei Coriano nur geringen Geländegewinn erzielen. Auch nördlich Florenz scheiterten alle von starker Artillerie unterstützten Angriffe, örtliche Einbrüche wurden in sofortigem Gegenstoß bereinigt.

Im südlichen Siebenbürgen und im Nordteil des Szekler Zipfels wurden zahlreiche sowjetische Angriffe zerschlagen.

Bei Sanok und Krosno scheiterten erneute Anstrengungen der Bolschewisten, unsere Front zu durchbrechen. Eine Einbruchslücke wurde im Gegenangriff geschlossen.

An der Weichsel nördlich Sandomierz beseitigten Grenadiere und Pioniere, unterstützt von Heeressturmartillerie und Werfern, in mehrtägigen harten Angriffskämpfen einen feindlichen Brückenkopf und vernichteten die Masse von zwei verstärkten sowjetischen Schützendivisionen. Zahlreiche Gefangene wurden eingebracht und 161 Geschütze sowie zahlreiche sonstige Waffen erbeutet.

Im Kampfraum von Warschau ging Praga nach harten Häuserkämpfen verloren. Nordöstlich der Stadt wurden heftige feindliche Angriffe abgewiesen. Nordwestlich Lomscha setzten sich unsere Truppen nach schweren Kämpfen auf das Nordufer des Narew ab.

Im Nordabschnitt der Ostfront traten die Bolschewisten mit über 40 Schützendivisionen und zahlreichen Panzer- und Schlachtfliegerverbänden auf breiter Front zum erwarteten Großangriff an. Trotz des überlegenen feindlichen Einsatzes an Menschen und Material vereitelten unsere Truppen in harten Kämpfen, von der Luftwaffe hervorragend unterstützt, alle Durchbruchsversuche der Sowjets. Einbrüche wurden in sofortigen Gegenangriffen aufgefangen und abgeriegelt.

Deutsche Kampf- und Schlachtfliegerkräfte bekämpften bei Tag und Nacht mit gutem Erfolg sowjetische Marschkolonnen und Verkehrsziele an der Ostfront. Sie zerstörten vor allem im Kampfgebiet der. Karpaten und bei Modohn zahlreiche Panzer und Geschütze und über 100 motorisierte Fahrzeuge des Feindes. In heftigen Luftkämpfen und durch Flakartillerie der Luftwaffe wurden am gestrigen Tag 99 sowjetische Flugzeuge abgeschossen.

An der Kandalakschafront wehrten unsere Nachtruppen auch gestern wieder mehrere sowjetische Angriffe ab.

Bei dem Einsatz mit Kampfmitteln der Kriegsmarine hat sich der Leutnant der Marineverwaltung Vetter als Führer einer Sprengbootgruppe besonders ausgezeichnet.