‚England nichts – den Sowjets alles‘
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Schweizer Bundesrat ist befremdet
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Führer HQ (March 8, 1945)
Kommuniqué des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht
In der mittleren Slowakei stehen Grenadiere und Jäger seit zehn Tagen in erbitterten Wald- und Gebirgskämpfen gegen den von Süden und Osten auf das Grantal bei Altsohl angreifenden Feind. In verlustreichen Gefechten beiderseits Schemnitz erzielten die Sowjets geringe Bodengewinne.
Beiderseits Lauban haben Truppen des Heeres, der Waffen-SS und Volkssturmeinheiten, hervorragend durch die Luftwaffe unterstützt, starke Teile der sowjetischen 3. Garde-Panzerarmee verlustreich geschlagen. Die Stadt ist befreit. 162 feindliche Panzer, 159 Geschütze, 74 Granatwerfer und 106 Kraftfahrzeuge wurden vernichtet oder erbeutet.
Bei Küstrin zerschlugen unsere Truppen auch gestern zahlreiche von Schlachtfliegern und starker Artillerie unterstützte Angriffe der Bolschewisten.
Im Brennpunkt der Abwehrschlacht um Pommern wurden die Durchbruchsangriffe starker sowjetischer Kräfte auf Stettin innerhalb unseres Sperrgürtels zwischen Greifenhagen und Gollnow aufgefangen. Südlich Cammin und vor Kolberg stehen eigene Kampfgruppen in erfolgreicher Abwehr gegenüber starkem Feind. Marineeinheiten vernichteten hier, größtenteils mit Nahkampfwaffen, in zwei Tagen 40 Sowjetpanzer.
In Westpreußen wurden die mit Schwerpunkt auf Stolp und beiderseits Preußisch-Stargard vorgedrungenen starken bolschewistischen Panzerverbände nach erbitterten Kämpfen in einer Sehnenstellung aufgefangen.
Die Besatzung der Festung Graudenz unter ihrem Kommandanten Generalmajor Fricke ist nach fast dreiwöchiger Sperrung des wichtigen Weichselüberganges in heldenhaftem Kampf dem übermächtigen feindlichen Ansturm erlegen.
Im Kampfraum von Ostpreußen wurden westlich Zinten zusammenhanglose Vorstöße der Sowjets abgewehrt.
Die Abwehrschlacht in Kurland blieb auf den Raum östlich Frauenburg beschränkt, wo unsere kampferprobten Truppen auch gestern den mit verstärkten Kräften und hohem Materialaufwand erstrebten Durchbruch des Feindes vereitelten.
Am Niederrhein hielten unsere Truppen den Brückenkopf Wesel gegen erneute feindliche Angriffe, warfen vorübergehend vorgedrungenen Gegner unter schweren Verlusten für ihn zurück und vernichteten zahlreiche Panzer.
Im Abschnitt Düsseldorf–Köln wurde unsere Front in schweren Kämpfen auf das Ostufer des Rheins zurückgedrückt. Auf dem Westufer wird noch in den Trümmern von Köln gekämpft. Gegen den Brückenkopf Bonn führt der Feind heftige Angriffe.
An der Ahr entwickelten sich lebhafte Gefechte mit feindlichen Panzerkräften, deren Spitzen bis Remagen vorstießen. Auch durch die Eifel konnten amerikanische Panzerspitzen in das Rhein-Mosel-Dreieck Vordringen. Durch unsere Angriffe gegen seine tiefen Flanken erlitt der Feind schwere Verluste.
An der unteren Kyll örtlich angreifender Gegner blieb in unserem Hauptkampffeld liegen. Am Osburger Hochwald südlich Trier scheiterten die Versuche der Amerikaner, eine durch unsere Truppen abgeschnittene Kampfgruppe zu entsetzen. In den Unteren Vogesen brachen zahlreiche feindliche Vorstöße in unserem Feuer zusammen.
Die Kampfpause in Mittelitalien dauert an. Aufklärungsvorstöße der Amerikaner in den Bergen östlich Montese blieben ohne Erfolg.
Bei Angriffen nordamerikanischer Terrorbomber auf westdeutsches Reichsgebiet wurden Wohnviertel mehrerer Städte zum Teil schwer getroffen. Die Briten führten in der vergangenen Nacht einen Terrorangriff gegen Dessau und warfen Bomben auf weitere Städte in West-, Nordwest- und Mitteldeutschland. Besonders in Groß-Hamburg und Leipzig entstanden Schäden. Luftverteidigungskräfte brachten 59 anglo-amerikanische Flugzeuge, fast ausschließlich viermotorige Bomber, zum Absturz.
Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Force (March 8, 1945)
FROM
(A) SHAEF MAIN
ORIGINATOR
PRD, Communique Section
DATE-TIME OF ORIGIN
081100A March
TO FOR ACTION
(1) AGWAR
(2) NAVY DEPARTMENT
TO (W) FOR INFORMATION (INFO)
(3) TAC HQ 12 ARMY GP
(4) MAIN 12 ARMY GP
(5) AIR STAFF
(6) ANCXF
(7) EXFOR MAIN
(8) EXFOR REAR
(9) DEFENSOR, OTTAWA
(10) CANADIAN C/S, OTTAWA
(11) WAR OFFICE
(12) ADMIRALTY
(13) AIR MINISTRY
(14) UNITED KINGDOM BASE
(15) SACSEA
(16) CMHQ (Pass to RCAF & RCN)
(17) COM ZONE
(18) SHAEF REAR
(19) SHAEF MAIN
(20) PRO, ROME
(21) HQ SIXTH ARMY GP
(REF NO.)
NONE
(CLASSIFICATION)
IN THE CLEAR
Communiqué No. 334
UNCLASSIFIED: Allied forces are still meeting fierce resistance in the approaches to Xanten. We have advanced to the outskirts of Veen where heavy fighting continues. Bönninghardt has been occupied and farther east our units are fighting in Ossenberg. The west bank of the Rhine River has now been cleared between Rheinberg and Orsoy.
Enemy troop concentrations west of Wesel, and barges in the Rheinberg area were attacked by fighter-bombers.
South of Düsseldorf we have captured Zons.
In Cologne, our units continued to mop up sporadic resistance in the southeast section of the city.
South of Cologne we cleared Rondorf, Immendorf, Meschenich and Fischenich, and reached Brühl.
Northwest of Bonn, we have reached Brenig, and have captured Bornheim and Botzdorf.
Southeast of Euskirchen we occupied Rheinbach, Schweinheim and Kirchheim and are fighting in the Flamersheim Forest.
East of Schleiden we occupied Kall, Keldenich and Sötenich.
East of Prüm, we have captured Bolsdorf, Dohm, Gerolstein and Pelm, and our armor pushing more than 11 miles northeast of Pelm has captured Hinterweiler, Dreis and Boxberg.
Another armored unit has reached the Rhine in the area north of Koblenz after overrunning a number of towns including Üdersdorf, Schönbach and Monreal. Infantry units are mopping up behind the armored thrust.
Southeast of Bitburg we have captured Binsfeld and Herforst.
Northeast of Trier we have cleared quint, Ehrang and Mertesdorf.
In our Saar bridgehead we repulsed five counterattacks.
We met continued stubborn resistance in the Forbach area. The sector farther west and along the Rhine was quiet.
Allied forces in the west captured 6,467 prisoners 6 March.
A railroad viaduct near Bielefeld, marshalling yards at Bielefeld, Soest, Siegen, and Giessen, the Castrop-Rauxel benzol plant, the Harpen refinery and two other benzol plants in the Dortmund area were attacked by escorted heavy bombers in great strength.
Rail lines and traffic north of the Ruhr were attacked by fighter-bombers.
Four enemy aircraft were shot down. One of our heavy bombers and two fighters are missing.
Last night, heavy bombers were over Germany in very great strength with Dessau and oil refineries at Harburg, near Hamburg, and Heide in Schleswig-Holstein, as the main objectives. Targets in Berlin were bombed by light bombers.
COORDINATED WITH: G-2, G-3 to C/S
THIS MESSAGE MAY BE SENT IN CLEAR BY ANY MEANS
/s/
Precedence
“OP” - AGWAR
“P” - Others
ORIGINATING DIVISION
PRD, Communique Section
NAME AND RANK TYPED. TEL. NO.
D. R. JORDAN, Lt Col FA4655
AUTHENTICATING SIGNATURE
/s/
U.S. Navy Department (March 8, 1945)
CINCPOA Communiqué No. 292
Attacking resolutely in the face of heavy resistance the Marines on Iwo Island made small advances in all sectors of the lines on March 8 (East Longitude Date). Defending every prepared position desperately, the enemy used light and heavy machine guns and intense small arms fire to slow the movement of our forces. Operating over extremely difficult terrain our tanks knocked out a number of enemy pillboxes. The attack was supported by carrier aircraft and the guns of surface units of the fleet.
Carrier aircraft made rocket and strafing attacks on the naval base and airfield at Chichi Jima in the Bonins on March 8.
Seventh Army Air Force Liberators operating under the Strategic Air Force, Pacific Ocean Areas, bombed Chichi Jima and Haha Jima on March 7.
On the same date, Corsairs and Hellcats of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing bombed targets in the Palaus setting buildings afire.
Navy search Privateers of Fleet Air Wing Two bombed and strafed installations on Wake Island on March 7.
CINCPAC Press Release No. 740
For Immediate Release
March 8, 1945
VADM Smith assumes command of Pacific Fleet Service Force
VADM William Ward Smith, USN, has assumed command of the Service Force, United States Pacific Fleet, relieving VADM William L. Calhoun, USN, who saw this auxiliary fleet grow ten-fold in the little more than four years he commanded it.
VADM Smith, recently promoted from the rank of Rear Admiral, was Director of Naval Transportation Service in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations prior to assuming his new command.
This is his second Pacific assignment in this war. He was Chief of Staff to ADM Husband E. Kimmel, USN, until shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. He was then promoted to Rear Admiral and placed in command of a cruiser task group that participated in the battles of Coral Sea and Midway. For his outstanding service in these engagements, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.
He later was assigned to a task force command and his ships were the first naval unit to bombard Kiska Island in the Aleutians August 7, 1942.
While VADM Smith was Director of Naval Transportation Service, the number of merchant-type vessels commissioned by and allocated to the Navy increased from 150 to 500.
The Pittsburgh Press (March 8, 1945)
Yanks across Rhine
First Army seizes bridgehead, drives into heart of Reich
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Marines nearing north tip of Iwo
Strong Jap defenses still to be overcome
GUAM (UP) – The 3rd Marine Division drove to the northern edge of the central plateau of Iwo Island and plunged down toward the northern beaches, only a few hundred yards away, in savage fighting today.
A breakthrough to the coast would split the last few thousand Japs holding out in pillboxes and gun emplacements studding the north and northeast coasts.
But those last few hundred yards were as the crow flies. It was considerably farther over the rocky ground, laced with steep crevasses and bristling with defenses.
Gain along coasts
The 4th and 5th Marine Divisions, fighting north along the east and west coasts, also hammered out new gains in what had literally become a battle to the death with the remnants of the enemy garrison.
Maj. Gen. Harry Schmidt, commander of the Marine invasion corps, said the campaign had been “even tougher than we figured, and we figured it tough from the very start.” He described the island as the most heavily-defended spot in the history of warfare and said the remaining Japs would have to be “crowded out of their holes and killed one by one.”
Drive 500 yards
The veteran 3rd Division at the center of the line reached the northern rim of the 300-foot central plateau after an advance of some 500 yards in hand-to-hand combat yesterday.
The 5th Division, on the west flank, also advanced up to 500 yards, but the 4th Division was able to push ahead only 100 to 200 yards on the east flank against bitter enemy resistance.
Carrier planes continued their daily attacks on Chichi and Haha in the Bonin Islands, just north of Iwo. A Navy Liberator bombed and strafed two enemy cargo ships north of the Bonins.
Hit by Jap shell burst –
Hero of Guadalcanal killed in first wave of Iwo attack
Sgt. Basilone held Medal of Honor
By Lisle Shoemaker, United Press staff writer
Sgt. John F. Basilone
WITH THE 5TH MARINE DIVISION, Iwo Jima (Feb. 21, delayed) – Marine Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone, who won the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism on Guadalcanal, was killed early on the first day of the assault on Iwo.
Sgt. Basilone, a handsome, dark-haired boy from Raritan, New Jersey, was in one of the early D-Day waves which swarmed ashore on this bloody, volcanic fortress island. He was, then, one of the handful of living holders of the Congressional Medal.
Sgt. Basilone led his machine-gun platoon to Iwo’s deadly beach. He was directing the platoon’s progress inland when a Jap artillery burst killed him instantly. He had been leading his men toward a spot where they could set up their guns. His last words before the shell burst were, “All right, you guys, let’s go on in there and set up these guns for firing.”
Modest, almost shy
Except under the stress of combat, Sgt. Basilone was quiet, modest, almost shy. He was extremely embarrassed whenever anyone asked him about his Medal of Honor.
Everybody who knew him said he was a tremendous asset to the newly-formed 5th Marine Division. This division, as such, went into action for the first time here. Among its personnel, however, were many veterans of other Pacific island campaigns.
Sgt. Basilone, 28, was the son of an Italian-born father. He won the Medal of Honor for action with the 1st Marine Division in the Lunga area of Guadalcanal on October 24-25, 1942.
Kills 38 Japs
The Japs made a savage and determined assault on the Marines’ defensive positions. With all but two of his men out of action firing a machine-gun and a pistol, Sgt. Basilone piled up 38 Jap bodies in front of his emplacement. He was credited with a major part in the near annihilation of an enemy regiment.
With his ammunition critically low, Sgt. Basilone fought his way through enemy lines to get and bring back bullets for his gunners.
Sgt. Basilone was born in Buffalo, New York. He served in the Army before joining the Marines. At the time of his death, he had been in the Armed Forces about eight years. In July 1944, he was married to Sgt. Lena Riggi of Oakland, California, a member of the Marine Women’s Reserve.
He was the first enlisted Marine to win the nation’s highest award for valor.
Patton swims cold river to inspire Yank crossing
Thousands of troops follow general, fight ‘like madmen’ over stream in Germany
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U.S. losses rise 10,600 to 823,632
WASHINGTON (UP) – U.S. combat casualties announced here reached 823,632 today, an increase of 10,600 over a week ago.
The total included 732,922 Army casualties through February 28, as announced by Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, and 90,710 Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard casualties, as announced by the Navy.
The figures:
| Army | Navy | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Killed | 142,285 | 34,513 | 176,798 |
| Wounded | 438,734 | 41,209 | 479,943 |
| Missing | 91,237 | 10,671 | 101,908 |
| Prisoners | 60,666 | 4,317 | 64,983 |
| TOTALS | 732,922 | 90,710 | 823,632 |
Secretary Stimson said more than half of the Army wounded, 221,155, have returned to duty.
Yanks clearing Batangas area below Manila
17 Jap ships blasted in Far East raids
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First B-29 raid on Wake reported
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