America at war! (1941–) – Part 4

8355

Allies plot Reich’s defeat by end of next summer

Chiefs of Staff working out details for final blows in east and west

WASHINGTON (UP) – Announcement that the Big Three powers were jointly making detailed plans for the “final phase” of the European war seemed today to mark Germany for the knockout blow before next summer’s end.

The announcement was made in a progress report from the “Black Sea area” where it was disclosed that President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Marshal Joseph V. Stalin are in conference. They have completed the military phases of their own talks. Their chiefs of staff are now working out the details.

Complete agreement

The official announcement of the current Big Three conference said:

There is complete agreement for joint military operations in the final phase of the war against Nazi Germany. The military staffs of the three governments are now engaged in working out jointly the detailed plans.

Observers felt that military leaders would not be formulating “detailed plans” for the “final phase” until they felt confident that this phase would be completed with a relatively short time.

Much significance was seen in the statement that the plans are being formulated “jointly” by the military staffs of the three governments.

Closer collaboration

They believed that such joint planning meant there would be much closer collaboration henceforth between the Eastern and Western Fronts.

Use of the phrase “joint military operations in the final phase of the war” did not necessarily mean that Russian and British or U.S. troops would literally be fighting side by side, these observers believed, but it did show clearly that operations on the two fronts would be made to dovetail.

A timetable for bringing Germany to her knees probably has been or is being drafted.

Charges refuted

Some observers believe that if the Russians succeed in crossing the Oder in force now and drive a flanking movement into the plains north or south of Berlin, the Western Allies will hurl everything they can assemble into a simultaneous assault on the Western Front.

Regarding military cooperation between Russia and the Western Allies, observers here regarded the announcement of joint plans and planning as official refutation of charges that such cooperation has been lacking.

Actually, there has been closer military cooperation all along then has been realized publicly, and there was no truth to reports that American-British military leaders were not informed in advance of the imminence of the current Russian offensive.

8356

Nazis prepare defiant reply

Official denounces Big Three leaders

LONDON, England (UP) – Nazi propagandists were believed preparing a defiant and sarcastic reply to the announcement that the Allied Big Three were plotting Germany’s final defeat and post-war control of the Reich.

German news agencies carried the Allied announcement without comment for foreign consumption, but have not yet relayed it to the German people.

German press chief Dr. Otto Dietrich gave a clue to the probable propaganda line yesterday when – several hours before the Allied announcement – he denounced President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Marshal Stalin as the “greatest war criminals of all time.”

Dr. Dietrich said:

They have made known that they have two aims to pursue. They want to make the German people give themselves up by a maneuver of agitation, and they want to promise eternal peace to a gullible humanity.

They have not succeeded in persuading the German people in past years to capitulate… they will not succeed now, either.

Propaganda drive aimed at Reich

WASHINGTON (UP) – The Big Three conference announcement was a propaganda bomb intended to give unhappy Germans a dreadful shudder.

If their morale was sagging yesterday, it should be drooping today. That is the way the war psychologists estimate the unveiling of the Black Sea area conference.

The Allied leaders broke the precedent of their first meeting by officially announcing this one, and its purpose, while it was still in progress.

Observers believe that a primary purpose in doing this is to exploit the psychological warfare value of the conference to the utmost at this moment while Allied armies are biting deeper into the Reich.

8357

10 Britons killed in plane on way to Big Three meeting

Foreign and war officials among victims – shortage of gas blamed for crash

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8358

Soldier’s penalty changed to ‘life’

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Army major admits stabbing sweetheart

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8359

Editorial: The Big Three – and others

The Big Three communiqué does not tell much. Having failed to keep the secret the whole world knew, they confirm that they are meeting with their military and political advisors in the Black Sea area. Perhaps their joint announcement at the close of the conference will be more enlightening.

The American people, at least, are tired of having to rely on Churchill crumbs in Commons and on Marshal Stalin’s acts to discover Allied policies and American commitments which President Roosevelt fails to report. Resentment against the President’s secrecy is building barriers of suspicion, which will cause needless trouble when the people are called upon to support the settlement.

We believe the President is sincerely trying to represent a basic American policy acceptable to Congress and the public. If so, it is all the more unfortunate that his yen for lone-hand methods and for keeping the people in the dark weakens him in these Black Sea negotiations. For his power is in direct ratio to the weight of enlightened public opinion behind it. Only as that popular will is known to our allies can the President speak with authority. Fortunately, there have been some such public expressions from Congress, from Protestant organizations and the Catholic hierarchy, from the press and other private agencies, despite the President’s lack of cooperation.

From these expressions, it is clear that the American people – regardless of party or creed or national origin – take very seriously the pledges in the Atlantic Charter, the United Nations Declaration and the Hull-Moscow Pact. They are fighting not only for complete military victory, but also for peace terms and post-war conditions under a democratic international organization which can prevent another war. This is more than sentimental concern and humanitarian regard for the rights of small nations. The kick in American opinion today is the practical conviction that a system of big power dictatorship and conflicting spheres of influence means war in the future as in the past.

Next to military unity, which the communiqué says has been achieved, the biggest issue at the Black Sea session is Allied political unity versus separate settlements – imposed by Marshal Stalin or Mr. Churchill, or both, without consent of the United States, France and the others. The test of this meeting is whether or not it speeds a representative conference with the other Allies, which the Big Three have prevented so far. When de Gaulle says France will be bound by no agreement to which it is not a party, he is speaking for every ally.

“Joint plans for the occupation and control of Germany, the political and economic problems of liberated Europe and proposals for the earliest possible establishment of a permanent international organization to maintain peace” are what the Big Three are discussing, according to the official communiqué. But there is not one word indicating that the Big three recognize that they alone should not and cannot really settle anything. Only a majority of the Allies, backed by a majority public opinion, can do that. Even then, the post-war forces of disorder and chaos will strain the strongest peace settlement.

8360

Editorial: After three years–

Consider, for at least a moment, the story of Frank Hewlett, United Press war correspondent in the Philippines, and Mrs. Hewlett.

On New Year’s Eve, less than a month after Pearl Harbor, Frank Hewlett, the UP man in Manila, having suddenly found himself in the midst of a war, followed the dictates of duty and separated himself from his wife to “cover” Gen. MacArthur’s withdrawal to Bataan Peninsula.

Mrs. Hewlett, at her own insistence, remained in Manila, where her services as a nurse were in demand.

Came the dreary weeks of inevitable defeat on Bataan, followed quickly by the siege of Corregidor and, for Mr. Hewlett, escape from the Philippines to cover the war elsewhere.

For three years Mr. Hewlett has been covering the war in the Pacific. He has seen it from its most disastrous days to the new days of triumph. And throughout, he was unaware of Mrs. Hewlett’s fate.

Except for the fact that he is one of the best of the war correspondents, Mr. Hewlett’s story is only another item in the whole grim episode which began with the surprise Jap attack on Manila and now has been brought to a climax by Gen. MacArthur’s return.

But to us at home, it surely can serve as convincing example of the sacrifice and day-by-day torture to which so many thousands of our citizens – those in the Philippines and those with relatives and friends in the Philippines – have been subjected. It is an inspiring story of courage and patience against insuperable odds. Let’s treasure it as such.

8361

Editorial: Scouts are resourceful

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8362

Edson: Transportation troubles to get worse this year

By Peter Edson

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8363

Ferguson: Conceited men

By Mrs. Walter Ferguson

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8364

Background of news –
Manila, 1898 and 1945

By Bertram Benedict

As Manila falls into American possession, thoughts inevitably go back to the day in the war with Spain when the American flag flew over the city.

In each case, the Philippine capital lay open to capture because of a naval victory several months before – in 1945, the Battle of Leyte Gulf; in 1898, the Battle of Manila Bay. In each case the city was only lightly defended. But there the similarity ends. In fact, reading today of the capture of Manila in the Spanish-American War makes it seem 470 rather than 47 years ago.

At the outbreak of war in 1898, the U.S. Navy was divided into two parts, an Atlantic squadron and a smaller Pacific squadron under Cdre. Dewey. Dewey’s fleet wouldn’t be considered much of a fleet today. None of his six ships was over 6,000 tons, two were under 3,000, one was unprotected by armor. There were also a revenue cutter and two supply ships.

The commander of the Spanish fleet in the Pacific, Adm. Montojo, also had six ships, none over 3,500 tons, five under 1,500. There were a so-called battleship, two protected cruisers, two gunboats and something with a wooden hull which had to be towed because its machinery wouldn’t work. Several other Spanish warships at Manila were unfit for action because they were undergoing repairs.

Harbor entered May 1

The Spanish fleet sailed for Subic Bay to find out if this were a stronger position; not liking the setup there, Montojo took his force back to Manila. Dewey’s intelligence facilities were little better; he had to send several of his ships to Subic to find out if the Spaniards were still there, before making for Manila.

The American fleet entered Manila Harbor early in the morning of May 1. The shore batteries did not open fire until most of the fleet had slipped by. The Americans waited for the dawn, then opened fire on the Spanish ships at a range of about two and one-half miles, The American fleet sailed back and forth opposite the Spanish ships, and the Spanish gunners weren’t able to score any hits of consequence.

This was the pre-smokeless era, and after several hours the Americans had to stop firing for the smoke to lift so that they could see how much damage they had inflicted. When the smoke cleared, it was seen that the Spanish fleet had been badly damaged; another hour of firing finished it off completely.

Waited three months

Manila then lay open to capture, but Dewey had no troops to occupy the city; he therefore waited patiently in the harbor for infantry to come. It was three months before the troops sent out from San Francisco reached a total of 15,000. They landed unopposed. In the meantime, Aguinaldo, leader of the Filipino native force, had surrounded and besieged Manila with about 14,000 men.

Finally, on August 7, Dewey and Gen. Merritt sent a joint note to the Spanish commander at Manila. ordering him to surrender. He had some 13,000 men but no real facilities for resistance; he asked and was refused time to consult Madrid: on August 13, the Americans advanced, managing to keep the Filipino army out of it; the Spaniards fired only a few shots as token resistance, and then surrendered the city.

On the day before, a truce to all hostilities had been signed, but word had not reached the Philippines, so that Manila, like New Orleans in 1815, was an American victory won after the war was over.

8365

Stokes: Strange business

By Thomas L. Stokes

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8366

Othman: Day is saved

By Frederick C. Othman

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8367

Love: Important

By Gilbert Love

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8368

U.S. credit agencies accused of ‘loan shark’ tactics

By Daniel M. Kidney, Scripps-Howard staff writer

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8369

Gracie Allen Reporting

By Gracie Allen

I’ve always thought that the California Chamber of Commerce did a pretty good job of attracting travelers, but apparently our local boys can’t hold a candle to those Berlin ballyhooers.

Why, every single newspaper I pick up has a story datelined Stockholm, or Madrid, or Lisbon which starts like this: “Travelers arriving from Berlin report that – etc., etc.” Honestly, that is the most visited city I have ever seen.

You just watch your newspaper – you’ll see story after story credited to “travelers arriving from Berlin.” Now honestly, if they can attract tourists to that bombed, battered, overcrowded spot, then Californians should hang their heads.

But, as usual, those Germans have done too thorough a job. They’ve gone and made their capital so attractive that about eight million Russians have decided to move in for the season.

8370

Monahan: Opulent tune film opens at the Harris

Tonight and Every Night stars Hayworth, Bowman and J. Blair
By Kaspar Monahan

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8371

Work-or-else bill demanded ‘now’ by Krug

Chief of WPB cites dangers of delay

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Kaiser plans to buy, merge 2 steel mills

Independent western industry proposed

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8372

Skein stretched to 25 wins –
Unbeaten Army team whips Panther floormen, 71-51

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8373

Nothing softer than being radio standby

Job means pay without work
By Si Steinhauser

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8374

U.S. State Department (February 8, 1945)

Log of the Trip

Thursday, February 8, 1945

1200: The President conferred with Mr. Hopkins, Mr. Harriman, Justice Byrnes, and Mr. Bohlen. The conference was held in the President’s study.

The British and American Combined Chiefs of Staff met in the grand ballroom at Livadia. Neither the President nor the Prime Minister attended this meeting.

1330: The President and Mrs. Boettiger had lunch in his study from a tray.

1500: The President signed an Executive Order authorizing the Secretary of War to take over and operate the plants and facilities of the Detroit Edison Company of Detroit, Michigan.

1545: Marshal Stalin, Mr. Molotov, Mr. Harriman, Mr. Bohlen and Mr. Pavlov conferred with the President in the President’s study.

1615: The Fifth Formal Meeting of the Crimea Conference was convened in the grand ballroom of Livadia. Present were:

For the U.S. For Great Britain For the USSR
The President. The Prime Minister. Marshal Stalin.
Mr. Stettinius. Mr. Eden. Mr. Molotov.
Admiral Leahy. Mr. Cadogan. Mr. Vyshinski.
Mr. Hopkins. Mr. Clark Kerr. Mr. Maisky.
Justice Byrnes. Mr. Jebb. Mr. Gousev.
Mr. Harriman. Mr. Bridges. Mr. Gromyko.
Mr. Matthews. Mr. Wilson. Mr. Pavlov.
Mr. Bohlen. Mr. Dixon.
Mr. Hiss. Major Birse.

The meeting adjourned at 1940.

2030: The President and certain members of his party left Livadia by motor for Koreiz Villa to dine as guests of Marshal Stalin. The complete guest list was:
Marshal Stalin. The President. The Prime Minister.
Mr. Molotov. Mr. Stettinius. Mr. Eden.
Mr. Vyshinski. Admiral Leahy. Field Marshal Brooke.
Mr. Beria. Justice Byrnes. Air Marshal Portal.
Admiral Kuznetsov. Mr. Harriman. Admiral Cunningham.
General Antonov. Mr. Flynn. Mr. Cadogan.
Air Marshal Khudyakov. Mrs. Boettiger. Field Marshal Alexander.
Mr. Gousev. Miss Harriman. Mr. Clark Kerr.
Mr. Gromyko. Mr. Bohlen. General Ismay.
Mr. Maisky. Mrs. Oliver.
Mr. Pavlov. Major Birse.