Bioff and Browne to leave prison
Good behavior cited by judge
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34 Army Air Force aces have score of 15 or more
Maj. Bong leads list with 40 enemy planes; Cols. Gabreski, Lynch also included
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French cheer Yanks rolling to front
By Walter Cronkite, United Press staff writer
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British correspondent pays Yank fine tribute
He’s half soldier, half civilian but ready at all times to make supreme sacrifice
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Poll: 75% of men, 33% of women are smokers
Black market, hoarding hit
By George Gallup, Director, American Institute of Public Opinion
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Union seeks to close Ward Detroit stores
UAW locals asked to join pickets
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Minimum pay change delayed
Labor hopes for 60- or 65-cent base
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Congress may investigate reason for acute shortage of nurses
By Ruth Finney, Scripps-Howard staff writer
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Joan weeps over girls’ money and morals
Identifies letter about gold-diggers – trial recessed over holiday
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Poor, homeless freight cars!
‘Quick change’ war orders not bungling, Army explains
There’s reason for experiences like those of bomb factory; sounds reasonable too
By Frederick C. Othman, United Press staff writer
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Perkins: Struggle of U.S. labor factions expands with London ‘road show’
By Fred W. Perkins, Pittsburgh Press staff writer
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Background of news –
German offensive: 1944, 1918
By Bertram Benedict
The present German drive into the Allied lines is like the first of the great German drives into the Allied lines in 1918 only that it is being successful. In all other respects, the two drives are dissimilar.
The first German drive in 1918 was the prelude for others which gained much ground. These three German drives in 1918 were the forerunner of a fourth which was stopped dead in its tracks, and which initiated the steady German retreat which ended in surrender less than four months later.
The German drives in 1918 used up German manpower and supplies so heavily that Germany thereafter was heavily overmatched. In the present great battle, U.S. Army commentators are finding a silver lining in its heavy drain on German military resources.
The present German drive is a counteroffensive, coming after months of Allied advances and German retreats. The first German drive in 1918 came at the beginning of spring after a winter of relative inaction.
The present German drive is against the American lines in Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. In 1918, the first of the great German drives was against the British lines in northern France, about 150 miles west of the present struggle. In fact, the present battle line is nearer Berlin than was the battle line at the Armistice in November 1918.
Many divisions elsewhere
Germany has managed to launch the present counterattack after being weakened by losses in Normandy, in Italy, on the Eastern Front and in the Balkans. And she has launched it while keeping many divisions in the East, in Italy, in the Balkans.
In March 1918, on the other hand, Germany was much stronger than in the previous year. Russia had signed a peace, and the German divisions on the Russian front had been transferred to the West. Italy had been badly defeated at Caporetto in the preceding fall, and German troops had been withdrawn from the Italian front, to which the English and French had had to send forces to bolster the sagging Italian line. And in March 1918, Austria-Hungary was still in the war on Germany’s side, handling the military situation in the Balkans.
In March 1918, then, Germany had a slight numerical superiority on the Western Front, which she concentrated into a great superiority at the point of attack. There were then only about 300,000 American troops in France, only about 100,000 in the battle line (on a quiet sector). But they were coming across the Atlantic fast, and Germany had to move rapidly.
That 1918 offensive
The attack came on March 21 on a 60-mile front between Saint-Quentin and Arras. The exact location seems to have caught Allied Intelligence by surprise. The Germans were aided by thick fog; the attack was preceded by a heavy bombardment and by the use of gas.
After the first 24 hours, the Germans were from eight to 12 miles into what had been the British lines. In three days, they covered about 20 miles; in a week about 30.
But by March 28, French reinforcements had arrived, and the attack was being checked in spots; by April 4, 15 days after the drive had been launched, it was stopped everywhere after reaching a maximum penetration of 38 miles. The rail center of Amiens remained in British hands.
During part of the battle, the connection between the British and French lines was broken, but the Germans were unable to hold the gap. The German advance guard outran its supplies, and the German soldiers became weary.