7
Weather Forecast
Mostly cloudy today.tonlght and
Saturday. Light showers east of
Cascades and snow flurries at
higher elevations today. Slightly
colder tonight.
CENTRAL OREGON'S DAILY NEWSPAPER
Volume Llll
THE BEND BULLETIN, BEND. DESCHUTES COUNTY, OREGON, FRIDAY, JAN. 5, 1945
NO. 26
mm
BULLETIN
Call Before 7
The Bulletin circulation office re
mains open until 7 o'clock each eve
ning to serve subscribers. Call 56
before 7 p. m. if you fail to receive
your paper.
Japanese Spot U.S. Convoys
On Move Close To Luzon Isle;
Armada Under Fire, Say Nips
One Aircraft Carrier and Two Warships Go
To Bottom, Asserts Tokyo; Invasion Fears
Grip Empire, But Nimitz Remains Silent
. (By United Prow)
Tokyo said today that one or more American convoys and
a big naval task force were sailing through the Philippines
south of Luzon under attack by Japanese planes which al
ready have sunk an aircraft carrier and two battleships or
cruisers. .
The report followed increased Japanese speculation that
an American landing on Luzon was imminent and coincided
with a whirlwind American air offensive that already has
wrecked 60 Japanese ships in three days around the strategic
island.
Pacific fleet headquarters at Pearl Harbor and Gen. Doug
las MacArthur's headquarters at Leyte remained silent on
the Japanese report of new convoys loose in Philippines
War Chest Unit
Allocates Punds
Members of the county war
Ichest committee, meeting last
night at the chamber of commerce
office, heard reports on last fall's
isuecessful fund campaign, eon-
i:wlmvr1 Plirront affaire nt thn Anm.
ittee and made tenlalive plans
or the 1945 drive. H. R. Ed-
ards, drive chairman, presided
nd those present were Ralph H.
flauck of Redmond, and from
Bend Jerome Ward, representing
the CIO, Hugh Cole, representing
the AFL, Elmer Lehnherr, fund
freasurer; Mrs. William Nisk
anen, committee secretary; B. A.
Shellhart, Bend campaign chair
nan, William Nlskanen, county
director of the Oregon war chest
and Robert W. Sawyer, director
at large.
P5llowlnefcetinherr,Su'JreWrt
i ffat the county quota of $16,400
I Wad been remitted to state head-
qttarters the committee authoriz
ed; immediate payment to the
other campaign beneficiaries of
the sums originally budgeted to
them. These included the Red
mond Service men's center, $1,
000, Boy scouts, $4,076.76 and
Camp Fire girls, $1,532.30. In ad
dition $375 was ordered paid on
account of the holiday operation
of the local U. S. O. and $68.72
for chest committee expenses.
, V Activity Enlarged
: f Unexpected enlargement of the
Camp Fire girl activity, the com
niittee was warned, would probab
ly mean need of more funds and
it was voted to consider the ques
tion if a new Camp Fire budget
Was submitted; The same action
as taken with respect to the pos
sible continuance of the USO. It
Was also voted to inquire of the
jj.dvation army what funds it had
uscd in the county in other years
f)r other than the army's child
u'ing activities, provided for in
the regular quota, with the idea
that this need might be cared for
from the chest funds and the
Community saved from any fur
ther solicitation.
Treasurer Lehnherr reported
Tthe return to the committee of $4,
' 465.6 1 assigned in 1943 to the Cen
tral Oregon camp and hospital
committee for day room furnish
:jings at Camp Abbot and unspent
jj because of the closing of the
icamp. With this amount the fund
j balance, after authorized pay
ments, totals $9,307.46.
Chamber Names
1 Officers for '45
Bend chamber of commerce di
rectors holding their annual or
ganization meeting today noon af
a luncheon in the Pine Tavern
named Carl A. Johnson to serve
as president in 1945, succeeding
William Niskanen, head of the
group this past year. W. H. Myers
was elected first vice nresident
and R. W. Brandis second vice
president, with K. E. Sawyer to
continue as treasurer. Robert W.
sawyer was named national coun
cellor.
Directors of the chamber for
the coming year are O. L. Bow
man, Sumner Dietrick, Del Hale,
H. C. Kerron. Frank H. Loeean,
Ralph Adams, R. W. Brandis. Carl
A. Johnson. G. R. Mot v. K. E.
Sawyer and B. A. Stover.
"
CIGARETTES STOLEN
Portland. Ore! Jan. 5 U
ome cantiv burglars who went
the trouble of breaking into a
Portland grocery store evidently
had plenty of motive. In addition!
to loottne the store of S305. they.
Salso rannH 51 nrtnm nf
(cigarettes.
waters, but confirmed that
American carrier .planes blast-
ed Formosa and Okinawa to
the north yesterday for the
second straight day.
Bay Penetrated
A Japanese Imperial Head
quarters communique broadcast
by the Tokyo radio said American
"convoys" penetrated the bay of
ban Jose, southwest Mlndoro is
land, at dawn yesterday.
That afternoon, the communi
que said, an American naval task
force entered the waters west of
Panay, just southwest of Mindoro,
and came under attack by Jap
anese planes which "instantane
ously sank" an aircraft carrier
and two battleships or cruisers.
It marked the first time that
American battleships or aircraft
carriers have been reported in the
inland seas of the Philippines
since the invasion of Leyte last
October. Only cruisers and des
troyers accompanied the troops
which landed near San Jose, Min
doro, last month and on the east
and west coasts of Mindoro this
week. I ,
- ties Across Channel
Mindoro lies across a nine-mile
wide channel from southern Lu
zon.
The Japanese communique said
Japanese planes still were con
tinuing their attacks on American
airfields at San Jose and on Leyte
with at least 17 planes set afire
at San Jose alone from Tuesday
night through Thursday.
Three Japanese planes were
missing from the raids on the
airfields, the communique said,
and three others from raids on
the task force.
A communique from Mac
Arthur's headquarters announced
that 35 Japanese ships had been
sunk or damaged Tuesday and
Wednesday off Luzon, the second
and third days of a concentrated
American air offensive against
the capital island.
Men Leaving Jobs
Warned by Board
Eugene, Ore., Jan. 5 (in Col.
Elmer V.' Wooton, state director
of selective service, has warned
that all Oregon men planning to
change jobs for any reason should
promptly notify their draft boards
if they wish to avoid being im
mediately reclassified.
Col. Wooten made the an-
n.Mmniv-nt .i.liila nrtnfnrrino in
Eugene with selective service of-
ficials yesterday.
Only a few Oregon men-
.
pro 0-
ably about 1500 will be affected,
by new selective service reguia-,
tions, he said. Col. .Wooten also
warned deferred registrants that
all employers will furnish selec
tive service boards with records
of absenteeism and those delinqu
ent in attendance on Job will be
subject to reclassification by local I
boards.
War Correspondents Say Allied Censorship
Provides Americans Very Confused Picture
Paris, Jan. 5 U'i Indignation tested bitterly that British broad
of American war correspondents 'casting corporation broke a se-
at the supreme Allied headquart-
ers press policy boiled over today
iboth at SHAEF and at the front
with charges that SHAEF policy deadline. "speculative" story,
lis giving the American public a Despite publication of the Mont- Despite evidence that the Mont
distorted and confused picture 1 gomery shift by Time magazine, i gomery story had been published
;of the situation. . ! SHAEF correspondents were told , in the United States, SHAEF cen-
The outburst was touched off j today by Brig. Gen. Frank A sors today still refuse to pass the
j by two fresh mixups on news of j Allen, chief of SHAEF public re-1 full United Press story of the
the western front. ilations, that the story could not j command changes which is on
I The first concerned reports of jbe written from SHAEF until an; file with them.
the shift of the American first
land ninth armies to the command ,
of Field Marshal Sir Bernard ,
! Montgomery under 21st army;
group, rather than under Lt. Gen.
Omar N. Bradley of 12th army i
group.
The second concerned the re-;
lease of news on the Allied
eounterof fensive. Both SHAEF;
and front correspondents
Negro Accused
Murder Goes fo
"So Long Everybody" Cries Folkf j "as He Walks
Into Gas Chamber With Cheerful Smile, Nod
By Eric W. Allen, Jr.
(United Pr Staff CorreDonrint
Salem, Ore., Jan. 5 (UP) With a cheerful cry of "So long
everybody," Robert E. Lee
negro murderer of the pretty bride of a naval omcer, aiea in
the state lethal gas chamber at 9 :13 a. m. today.
The convicted murderer of Mrs.. Martha Virginia James, of
Norfolk, Va., in the "Lower 13" Pullman car murder, pro
tested his innocence to the last.
Folkes walked quickly and unaided to the gas chamber and
refused a blindfold until seated. He had told reporters .when
maintaining his innocence that the police captain of the Los
Anireles homicide sound had said: "Someone has to pay for
FireDepartment
Officers Named
Line officers tor 1945 for the
Bend fire department were an
nounced today by department
leaders, who at the same time
revealed those who in 1944 won
merit awards and the volunteers
who received cash prizes for ef
ficency. New officers were listed
as follows:
LeRoy Fox, chief; Taylor
Rhoads, first assistant chief; Ivan
Murphy, second assistant chief;
Earl Saye, captain Engine No. 1;
Ray Nedrow, captain Engine No.
2; William Rasmussen, captain
Engine No. 3; Oscar Anderson,
captain of Truck No. 1. Chair of
ficers are Wilbur Kelsay, presi
dent; Lowell McMeen, vice-president
and Vance Barber, secretary
treasurer. Cash prizes, totalling $175, were
wdn by volunteers as follows:
Art Hunter, first, $50 with 116
points; Earl Saye, second, $35, 108
points; Taylor "Rhoads, third, $30,
97 points; Ivan Murphy, fourth,
$25, 81 points; Claud Wanichek,
fifth, $20, 79 points, and Bill Ras
mussen, sixth, $15 with 79 points.
Award Winners- Named
The cash prizes are contributed
each year by The Shevlln-Hixon
Company and Brooks-Scanlori-
Lumber Company-Iner aiid Bend
merchants.
The 15 highest merit award
winners for 1944, including both
volunteer and paid firemen, won
their citations for attendance at
fires, meetings, drills and schools.
In 1944 a total of 121 points were
abtainable. The winners:
LeRoy Fox, 117; Art Hunter,
116; Vance Barber, 112;. Vernon
Carlon, 109; Lowell McMeen, 108;
Earl Saye, 108; Ralph Graham,
105; Orval Johnson, 104; Bob
Cecil, 101; Bill Dickerson, 101;
Wilbur Kelsay, 101; Taylor
Rhoads, 97; Ivan Murphy, 81;
Claude Wanichek, 79, and Bill Ras
mussen, 79.
Hitch Hiker Held
For Investigation
Raymond Serlng, 20, of Praw
fordsviile, Ind., who was arrested
this morning by Police Officer
Chester Nordstrom for attempt
ing to hitch-hike a ride at Green
wood avenue and Eighth street,
today was held for investigation
by the FBI as a possible draft
evader. Sering told officers that
he was enroute "back east" from
Portland.
" Supposed selective service pa
pers in Sering's possession were
not regular, according to mem
bers of the Deschutes county se
lective service board.
'DOZEKS FIGHT FIRES
t I til (llll UtiOtZ 111 lllT lllrtl Kill"
Ton 5 IIP! in nfflflnl nr-nw
commendation disclosed today
how air force engincers. using 30-
ton bulldozers to fight fires,
thwarted Jap attempts to hamper
operations at a B-29 base.
Despite bombing and strafing
by enemy planes, the engineers
manned their bulldozers and safely
removed two Superforts which
had been set afire.
jcurity blackout of news of the of-
j fensive, presenting the news 1 1
hours before a previously fixed!
official cronolosy or the German
attack now being prepared, has
been made public.
Previously, when the Montgom-
ery report first appeared in print
in Stockholm newspapers and
i later
i later in various British publics-,
tions, SHAEF correspondents
were told they could not be al-
lowed to speculate on this sub-
pro-iject from SHAEF but that
of 'Lower 13';
His Death
Folkes, 23-year-old convicted
this crime and it's easier to
convict a negro than a white
man."
Just before the doors to the
death chamber closed, Folkes
smiled,' nodded and shook
hands with the chaplain. A
blindfold was put over his
eyes and at 9:07, the gas
struck his face. He gasped, jerked
back and breathed deeply and
heavily for several minutes. He
was pronounced dead six minutes
later.
Sees Mother
He saw his mother for the last
time at 9:45 p. m. yesterday. He
spent most of the night with the
Rev. C. H. Steinmann, pastor of
the Christian and Missionary Al
liance church in Salem.
Less than an .hour before' the
execution, Gov. Earl Snell, who
had been kept awake all night by
"literally hundreds" of telephone
calls pleading for clemency, is
sued this statement:
"I have before me, evidence, in
formation and confessions which
convince me beyond any question
of doubt of the. guilt of Robert
Folkes of the slaying. Further
more, he was tried in circuit court,
the case was appealed to the state
supreme court, and then to the
United States supreme court.
Appeals Made
"Another appeal was made be
fore the state supreme court,
thence to federal district court,
and finally back to the circuit
court In Marlon county.
"In view of all circumstances'
involved, I do not see how I could
possibly interfere.
Russia, Allies
London, Jan. 5 Ui Russia, in
a major policy break with the
other big powers, today recog
nized the Lublin Poles as the pro
visional government of Poland
after Britain had informed the
Kremlin that she would not aban
don the Polish government in
London.
(In Washington, the United
States government reaffirmed its
recognition of the Polish govern
ment in London, and revealed that
Moscow had served notice in ad
vance of its intention to recog
nize the Lublin committee.)
A British foreign office state
ment said Britain and Russia had
consulted on the matter of Polish
recognition, and Britain had re
fused to concur in the Russian
decision.
Swalley People
Receive Water
Water was turned into Swalley
ditch at 8 a. m. today for the
benefit of those wishing to fill
cisterns and other containers of
water for domestic use, W. R
Lawson, superintendent, has an
nounced.
It is planned to leave the water
on for 36 hours or until 8 p. m.
Saturday Lawson said. If freez
ing weather does not necessitate
water shut-off tomorrow night
it will be left on until Sunday, he
added.
respondents in London, farther
from official sources, would be at
J,,' presumably, any SHAEF
j correspondent could have flown
to London and written an accurate
j bHALF correspondents futiley
pointed out to public relations of-
fleers that Uip news blockout pol-
icy followed since the German
counterof fensive was bound Ho
lead to exactly the type of leaks
which have occurred and to con-
fusion In the mind of the Ameri-
lan ijuiiui;.
Front reports said that press re-
cor-'strlctions were as bad there.
Montgomery Hurls 3 Armies
Into Attack Against Qermans
Allied Leaders
Reveal Change
In Command
j Montgomery, Hero of .
African Campaiqn, To
Supervise North Flank
; Paris, Jan. 5 0P Supreme al
lied headquarters announced offi
cially this afternoon that Field
Marshal Sir Bernard Montgom
ery has taken over command of
all allied forces on the northern
side of the German salient, includ
ing the U. S. First and Ninth
armies.
The decision was made for "tac
tical, geographical, and supply"
reasons, SHAEF said.
' The remaining American forces
of the 12th army group of Lt. Gen.
Omar N. Bradley, including the
Third American army and U. S.
First army elements on the south
side of the salient remain under
Bradley's command, SHAEF said.
(President Roosevelt said in
Washington that the shift of the
two American armies to Mont
gomery's command did not mean
that Montgomery was to become
deputy commander to Gen.
Dwlght D. Elsenhower.)
' For tactical purposes, the U. S.
1st and 9th armies are now under
Montgomery's control through
21 st army group headquarters,
SHAEF announced.
The official disclosure was
made after bitter protests from
war correspondents who have not
been permitted to report; the com
mand change previously, v ....
The official SHAEF announce
ment said:
"When German penetration
through the Ardennes created two
fronts one substantially facing
south and the other north by In
stant agreement of all concerned
that portion of the front facing
south was placed under command
of Field Marshal Montgomery and
that facing north under command
of Genera Bradley."
Un to Elsenhower
Meanwhile it was learned at the
war department that overall com
mand of the two American armies
was given to Montgomery be
cause sudden military develop
mentsthe German orrcnslvc
cut them off from the group head
quarters of American Gen. Omar
Bradley, their former overall
commander. Whether the shift
will be permanent is entirely up to
Eisenhower, it was said.
Montgomery at the time of the
invasion last June was command
er of all ground forces under
Eisenhower. As the scope or Eu
ropean operations widened, how
ever, and the proportion of Amer
ican troops in action as compared
with British forces increased,
Bradley and Montgomery were
given equal status, with each com
manding an army group.
Later Lt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers
also was raised to similar status
when he was given command of
the Seventh army group In south
ern France.
British newspapers, since the
success of the German offensive,
have speculated on the possibility
that Montgomery might he made
a deputy to Eisenhower and again
be given command of all allied
ground forces in Europe. The
president's comment seemed to
Scotch any such Idea.
Dant and Russell
To Reopen Plant
Redmond. Jan. 5 Planning an
output of 100,000 hoard feet of
lumber dally, Dant & Russell will
resume operations here shortly,
it was announced bv Victor H.
Clark, of Dant & Russell, Ltd.,
of Vancouver, Wash. Operations
had been halted by a fire which
destroyed their planing mill with
a loss of $80,000 last June 6.
Dant & Russell have purchased
the planing mill equipment from
the Paul B. Kelley Lumber com
pany at Prlneville, It was slated.
E. V. Anderson, who for three
years has been shipping clerk
for the Kelley company, will su
perintend the new Redmond
plant.
Logs will be produced from the
Maurice Hitchcock holdings at
Sisters.
MORE NAZIS ( Ant iti:i
Phoenix, Ariz., Jan. 5 'll'' -The
federal bureau of investigation to
day reported the re-capture of
three more of the 25 nazl prison
ers of war who escaped from the
Papago Park internment camp
near here Christmas eve, leaving
only 10 still at large.
Takes Over North Flank. Armies
Field Marshall Sir Bernard Montgomery has taken over command
of all allied forces on the northern side oCthe German salient in
Europe, supreme headquarters announced today.
Churchill In
London After
Trip To Front
London, Jan. 5 mi Prime Min
ister Winston Churchill returned
today from France, where during
a short visit he met Gen. Dwlght
D. Eisenhower and Marshal Sir
Bernard L. Montgomery, lt was
announced officially.
Churchill wus accompanied by
Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke,
chief of the Imperial General
staff. While In France he also
saw Gen. Charles De Gaulle and
the British envoy to Paris, Alfred
Duff Cooper.
Big '3' To Meet,
FDR Announces
Washington, Jan. 5 mi The
big three meeting between presi
dent Roosevelt, Prime Minister
Winston Churchill and Premier
Josef Stalin will be held some
time after Jan. 20, Roosevelt said
today. The time and place, he
added, depend a good deal on
what he called ice conditions.
Yielding only slightly In his
reticence about plans for the big
three parly, the president told his
news conference, when asked if a
date had been set, that the answer
was yes and no.
It will be after Jan. 20, he said,
and made his cypllc remark about
ice conditions.
Roosevelt indicated, moreover,
that the secrecy which surround
ed the historic Casablanca and
Tehran meetings of the United
Nations' leaders would prevail at
the forthcoming conference.
New Trial Asked
In Chaplin Case
Hollywood, Jan. 5 IIi Bushy
browed Joseph E. Scott today
asked superior court to sot the
earliest possible dale for retrial
of Joan Berry's suit seeking to I
have Charlie Chaplin named the
father of her 15-month-old daugh
ter, Carol Ann.
In his request for a retrial,
Scott Miss Barry's attorney
noted only that the first trial
Jury had been discharged yester
day after a hopeless deadlock.
Chaplin s attorney, Charles E.
Pat" Milllkian, has five court
days to answer the motion. Both
parties will make their next ap
pearance on Jan. 11, before the
presiding Judge, to have the date
set for a new trial.
New Car Stickers
Ordered in Place
Salem, Ore., Jan. 5 tin The
new 1945 yellow windshield Stick
er, validating the l!lll license
plates, must be carried on ail au
tomobiles In Oregon from now
on to avoid legal penalty. Secre -
tary of State Robert S. Farrell,
Jr., said today.
New licenses have been manda
tory since Jan. 1, and Farrell
urges all operators who have not
obtained stickers yet to do so at
once.
Approximately 244.000 Oregon
motor vehicle licenses have been
Issued for 1945.
Baker Is Scene
Of Gun Battle
Baker, Ore., Jan. 5 (ID Two
17-year-old federal prisoners who
escaped from the Gem county jail
at Emmctt, Ida., Wednesday night
were captured here last night af
ter a running gun bpttle with Ore
gon state pnlloeSj(t, C.E. Chm
bers said today - - " I
One of the prisoners Clarence
W. Harlan was wounded in the
melee and Is reported in a serious
condition in a Baker hospital. The
other escaped prisoner is Timothy
Berkley, who suffered minor inju
ries when their stolen car was
wrecked after Harlan, the driver
was shot and wounded by Cham
bers.
The chase took place through
downtown Baker and had the pe
destrians and theater-goers liter
ally ducking bullets.
Chambers said he and State Pa
trolman Leo Suydan spotted, on
the outskirts of Baker, a car re
ported stolen at Huntington, Ore.,
and began to give chase.
Harlun Hit
Chambers said Harlan drove the
car through Baker at more than
70 miles ah hour with the police
car In hot pursuit. Harlan was hit
by Chambers' returning fire and
a bullet blew out a rear tire of the
stolen vehicle, causing it to "plow
into a parked car," Chambers
said.
In the stolen car, Chambers and
Snydan found a loaded .32 calibre
pistol and the .32-20 calibre pistol
stolen from the overpowered jail
er at Emmet t.
FDR to Broadcast
Part of Message
Washington, Jan. 5 Ul'i Presi
dent Roosevelt will summarize
his annual message to congress
in a Saturday night broadcast
over all major networks from 7
to 7:30 p.m.. (PWT).
Roosevelt told his news confer
ence that he was preparing a mes
saire of about 8,000 words to be
delivered to congress tomorrow
afternoon. The broadcast version
will be less than half that long.
German Tank Army Strikes
In Try fo Relieve Budapest
Moscow, Jan. 5 (II'i-Oulnum- Elements of six nazi tank divis
bered Russian troops today 1 ions and manv infantrv divisions
fought off a powerful German
tank army striking down from
the Danube npainst their sieee
lines around Budapest, where tens
of thousands of nazis were being
cut to pieces In the bloodiest
street battle of the war.
Going all-out in their attempt
to rescue the trapped Budapest
garrison, the Germans hurled
wave upon wave of armor and in
fantry against the Soviet defenses
some 30 miles northwest of the!
' eanllal In their
first big counter-
offensive In the eastern front In
more than a year.
Trie German onslaught, after
gaining as much as six miles
dong the south bank of the Pan-
uho Tuesday and Wednesday
broke against stubborn Russian
resistance yesterday and field dls-
patches said the Nazis had been
I halted all along the attack front.
Americans Hit
At Nazi Front
In Bitter Cold
Front Dispatches Say t
U. S. Fighters Facing
Very Tough Opposition
Paris, Jan. 5 IIP) Marshal Sir .
Bernard L. Montgomery sent
three allied armies today into an
attack on the north side of the
nazi Ardennes salient, pushing
forward in an armored drive that
gained more than a mile at some
points despite bitter cold and pow
erful German resistance by crack
divisions.
Front dispatches said the Amer
icans were having "tough going
but said they were Inching for
ward under point-blank German
artillery fire which inflicted "se
vere" tank losses.
From the south, Lt.Gen. George
S. Patton's Third army fended off
17 successive nazi tank assaults
on their Bastogne springboard
and maintained northward pres
sure which now has compressed
tne waist oi tne Aruennes salient
to a minimum of less than 12
miles. .
Going Is Tough
But SHEAF and front reports
emphasized that lt was hard.
tougn lighting witn gams being
measured in yards for the most
part, rather than miles.
The weather was too overcast
to allow the allied tactical air
force to hurl its full weight into
battle but the Eighth' air force
sent 1,000 Flying Fortresses and
Liberators with" 500-' tecortjngtvi'
fighters into another smash at
communications points and junc
tions behind Field Marshal Karl
von Rundstedt's salient.
At the extreme southern end of
the front the American Seventh .
army still was falling back under
continued German pressure. First
news of this U. S. retreat was
given in a United Press front dis
patch Wednesday.
Patch in Action
The latest reports said that Lt.
Gen. Alexander Patch's troops
were lighting hard In the Bitche
area where the Germans attacked
Lemberg to the west and Baren
thai on the east. Nazi forces Infil
trated to Wingen, three miles
south of Reipertsweler, and
threatened the main Saargue-mlnes-Hagenau
highway and rail
road. The push threatened the com
munications line of American
troops still In the Wissembourg
gap corridor.
Announcement that Montgom
ery had assumed command of the
American First and Ninth armies
and all allied forces on the north
shoulder of the Ardennes bulge
was made officially today. Lt.
Gen. Omar N. Bradley retained
command of the forces on the
south of the corridor, Including
Patton's' Third army and First
army elements left on the south
side of the bulge.
Ilmlge's Men Advance
British forces cooperating with
Lt. Gen. Courtney Hodge's First
army pushed ahead more than a
mile to a point tnree miles soutn
of Hotten toward the western end
of the corridor. First army forces
In the center of the attack area
pushed to a point about 1.000
vards north oi Liernoux. tnree
and a half miles east of Malem-
pre,
Caught in a gigantic nutcracker
(Continued on Page d)
snearheaded the assault and both
sides were reported pouring rein
forcements into the battle today.
Thousands of Germans were
killed in the fighting at an undis
closed point southeast of Kom
arno yesterday and Soviet ground
and air forces destroyed almost
1000 nazl tanks.
In adltlon, the communloue
said, 1.162 enemy troops were
captured in that area.
Inside Budapest, meanwhile.
Red armv forces carried into the
11th straight riav their battle of
annihilation npainst the survivors
nf some 80.000 axis troops origin-
allv left In the city,
The cornered Germans and
Hungarians were putting up
ferocious fight on both banks of
the Danube In the apparent hone
that the relief column to the
northwest would break through
and lift the siege.