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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (March 21, 1944)
Red A rmies Near Rumania in South and Lwow, Poland in North Hitler Sefs-up Puppet Regime Over Hungary Horthy and Ministers Removed and Sent Germany as Hostages London, March 21 (U.I!) Hun garian sources said today that the Germans, swiftly complet ing the occupation of Hungary, have set up a nazi puppet gov- Xment at ftludapest and re i'ed Regent Adm. Nicholas Horthy, Premier Nicholas Kal lay and Foreign Minister Jenoe de Ghyczy to Germany. (Private advices from the con tinent said today that after Ger man occupation forces had set up a puppet regime in Hungary, gestapo agents and storm troop ers took over Budapest and ar rested more than 600 prominent Hungarians in a city-wide roundup. Armed forces were re ported clashing along the bor der of Hungary and Rumania, where the smouldering hatred of the axis satellites was re kindled by the German occupa tion, against only negligible re sistance.) ' Though the Germans cut all Budapest's communications with the outside world, round about reports reaching London said some 150,000 German troops occupied all strategic pdnts in Hungary in a week end coup designed to forestall a Hungarian peace move and prepare for a last-ditch stand behind the Carpathians against the approaching red army. Fighting Reported Scattered fighting was report ed, but the clandestine radio Atlantic reported that German troops firmly held all important railways, radio stations, tele phone exchanges and govern ment buildings. Hungarian quarters in Stock holm said Franz Basch, Ger man minority leader in Hun gary, formed a pro-nazi gov ernment after former Premier Bela Imredy, leader of the ra dical rejuvenation party, had refused a German request to appoint a cabinet. Cabinet Deported TThe latest official communi cation received at the Hungar ian legation at Stockholm, Hun garian sources in the Swedish capital said, reported that Horthy, Kallay, and Ghyczy had been forced to go to Ger many. Horthy was believed to have been seized while at Adolf Hit ler's headquarters, presumably at Lwow. An exchange tele graph . dispatch from Zurich said a Hungarian diplomat in Berlin informed a colleague that Horthy arrived at the head quarters Saturday with Gen. Helyi Szumbathy, chief of the Hungarian general staff. The two leaders conferred, the dispatch said, with Hitler, German Foreign Minister Joa chim Von Ribbentrop, and Mar shal Wilhelm Keitel, supreme commander of the German arm ed forces, who demanded: 1. General mobilization of the Hungarian army under German supervision. 2. Reorganization of the Hun garian army on the Rumanian pattern with German liaison of ficers with each regiment. 3. Hungarian railway and Ttannhp river traffic be Dlaced under a mixed general staff of Hungarian and German officers. 4. Placing of Hungarian food reserves in a general pool for equal distribution of all food supplies to axis countries. 5. Establishment of censor- shin and Dress control on the German pattern with a ban on printing or broadcasting news originating with non-axis news agencies. Sustained Yield Bill Passes House Washington, March 21 VP) Legislation to authorize govern ment agencies to cooperate with private interests to set up sus tained yield forest units" to per petuate the nation's forests was passed today by the house. The bill (S 250) was returned to the senate for concurrence in clarifying amendments. The measure, introduced by the late Senator McNary (R., Ore.), authorizes the agriculture and interior departments to establish, in cooperation with private owners, sustained yield units under which forest land would be subjected to coordinat ed management as to rate, man ner and time of cutting. (The measure was called up out of order and passed at the request of Rep. Ellsworth (R. Ore.). C apital 56th Year, No. 69 Nazis Fight Way Back to Ruined Cassino Hotel With the Fifth Army at Cas sino, March 21 VP) German troops fought their way back into the wrecked Continental hotel today. Enemy defenses in the southwestern part of Cas sino and in the hills behind stiff ened as Lt.-Gen. Richard Heid rich, commander of t h e first German parachute troop divi sion, tried to make good his boast that he would throw the allies out of Cassino. New Zealanders immediately went back to their old task of trying to knock the Germans out of the Continental. Get Reinforcements German troops apparently moved back into the hotel in the darkness of early morning, and brought in more reinforcements to block the passage through the southwestern corner of the town. The Germans also seemed to be filtering troops from the monastery atop Mt. Cassino down into the hill positions which they were defending so stubbornly;: "Fierce fighting continued for the fifth day for possession of Cassino and vicinity without a decision," a headquarters offi cer said. "Within the ruins of the town the enemy suceeded in bringing up reinforcements Sunday night and mopping up has been slow." Still Holding Out Although two tanks which the Germans had placed in the lob by of the Continental hotel were knocked out and 180 pri soners taken there, the Germans still were holding out in that area. The Germans also clung firm ly to positions on the slopes of Monte Cassino overlooking the town, including the strategic point they regained in a coun terattack Sunday, it was an nounced, and are laying a heavy artillery fire on allied troops from these places. Hemmed in by these and oth er enemy positions in the vicin ity and by the Rapido and Gari rivers, the 5th army forces have little room in which to maneu ver. Only frontal attacks are possible since the German posi tions cannot be outflanked. Fighting Continues Three enemy counterattacks on one ridge on Monte Cassino held by the allies were repulsed and three other points remained in 5th army hands despite Ger man attempts to take them. Desperately needed emergen cy medical and food supplies again were dropped to allied troops clinging to positions half way up Monastery hill. The sup plies were carried by A-38 In vaders that skimmed over the area and dropped 96 parachute bundles successfully. On the beachhead British troops made two successful raids in force on enemy posi tions near the western end of the perimeter, inflicting heavy casualties. Sharp patrol clashes occurred on the 8th army front. Japs Lose Burma Stronghold But Continue Drive in India New Delhi, March 21 VP) Allied troops have captured the im portant communications center of Sumprabum in northeast Burma but a strong Japanese force is continuing its drive toward India from its crossing of tht Chlnd- win river, southeast Asia head quarters announced today. Gurkha and Kachin native troops, operating with the Chinese-American forces under Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell, took Sumprabum and reoccupied Pinsau Ga to the southeast. Sumprabum is in the upper Mali Kha river valley about 70 miles from the border of China's Yunnan province. The Mali Kha river has a nar row valley that twists south to Myitkyina, also the objective of the Chinese-American forces who threw the Japanese out of the Hukawng valley just west, and yesterday announced the capture of Jambu Bum and the northern end of the Mogaung river valley which also de bouches at Myitkyina. The southeastern Asia com mand headquarters communique gave few detaili on the double- Entered u leeond eluft mfttur at Sftlara. otoa 27 More Jap Ships Sunk in Pacific Waters (Br tht Associated Press) The sinking of at least 27 Japanese ships was announced today by allied headquarters 22 of them by submarines as Indications mounted that one of Japan's by-passed fortresses in the Marshall islands was about ready for the final assault. American submarines accounted for 15 ships in Pacific and far east waters, the navy announced, bringing to 642 the number of Japanese vessels sunk, probably sunk or dam aged by undersea craft. Included in the American submarines' toll were two trans ports, two tankers and 11 freighters. Off Dutch Indies Seven ships were sunk and three damaged by submarines off islands in the Dutch East Indies, the British admiralty said. A large river steamer, a smaller vessel of undesignated type and a supply ship were the only victims specified. A five-ship convoy, including two transports and three cor vettes, got within sight of Japan's bomb-battered base at Wewak, New Guinea, before it was obliterated by more than 100 Fifth airforce planes in a furious-four-day battle. In the central Pacific, Adm, Chester W. Nimitz brought in his mighty battleship guns to assist carrier-based planes soft en up Mill Atoll, once one of Japan's strongest bases in the Marshalls. Assault on Mill Continuance of the Mill as sault was indicated by the fact that Nimitz, in announcing the combined battleship-c a r r 1 e r plane attack last Sunday, lifted for the first time in more than a month his policy of not desig nating raid targets in the eastern Marshalls because allied posi tions in the western and cen tral Marshalls have cut the Ja panese communication lines and Tokyo might not know all the details of the eastern Marshalls condition. Pilots returning from the We wak convoy battle estimated about 1,500 Japanese were kill ed or drowned. The convoy ap parently was attempting to sneak into Wewak with rein forcements. Wewak Bombed While planes poured 113 tons of bombs into Wewak's defenses during the ninth consecutive daily attack, destroyers steamed boldly into Wewak's harbor to shell shore installations. Other planes hit Rabaul, New Britain, with 60 tons of fire bombs and raided Ponape, in the eastern Caroline islands, and five targets in the Marsh alls. Tenth Traffic Victim Recorded Portland, March 21 (U.R) Portland recorded its 10th traf fic fatality today with the death last night of Verna Bergoquist, 32, Portland, who was injured fatally when the automobile in which she was riding collided with a truck. pronged Japanese offensive in the upper Chindwin area and the Chin Hills sector, roughly 150 miles southwest, but said that north of Tiddim, on the Chin Hills front, allied forces repulsed two Japanese attempts to advance. The headquarters report also hinted at an important engage ment in the Kabaw valley, just east of the Chin Hills and roughly 100 miles due south of Homalin, in noting that "there has been a tank action in which a number of enemy tanks were knocked out and one was cap tured." Allied commanders, while not discounting the threat of the Japanese movement in force toward Imphal and other com munications bases in India, nevertheless welcomed a deci sive test against Japanese forces in the area. -n . ni Salem, Oregon, Tuesday, March 21, Eisenhower Inspects British "West Point" (IP) General Dwight Eisenhower, supreme allied commander in the European theater (center, front line), inspects a line of tanks during his tour of the British "West Point," Sandhurst military college. He is ac companied by British officers. Crater of Mt. Vesuvius Explodes Burying Villages By Eleanor Packard On the Slopes of Mt. Vesuvius, March 21 (u.R) The volcanic .crater of Mt. Vesuvius exploded with a terrifying roar tonight, blanketing the countryside for 10 miles around under a pall of smoke and burying two mountain villages beneath tons of flow ing lava. At 4:30 p.m. I saw a huge column of flame-specked British Subs Hit 7 Jap Vessels London, March 21 VP) Brit ish submarines operating on far eastern waters have sunk seven Japanese ships and damaged three, the admiralty announc ed today. ", The actions took place off the Nicobar islands, in the Straits of Malacca, off the east coast of Sumatra, and off Sa bang on the northern tip of Sumatra, the communique said. One of the submarines fought a brisk gun action with a large river steamer, scoring more than 20 hits and leaving it in flames and sinking,- the bulletin de clared. A smaller vessel burst into flames after being driven ashore under a hail of gunfire. In the Straits of Malacca, one submarine pursued a small sup ply ship so close to shore that Japanese coastal batteries open ed fire, but caused no damage, the communique said. Russia Rejects Liberty Ships Seattle, March 21 VP) Rus sia, the Post-Intelligencer stated today, has refused to accept de livery of 28 American-made Liberty-type ships "until the United States spends more than $4,000,000 to correct structural weakness." "The 28 freighters, most of them built in west coast ship yards, have been ordered to Vancouver, B.C., where two Canadian yards will undertake to make them acceptable to the Russians," the newspaper de clared. "At a cost ranging from $i00,000 to $200,000 per vessel, addition of a double shell plat ing along the sheer strake, plus an expansion-type of reinforc ing in the interior of the hulls, is now underway in the Burrard drydock and at North Vancou ver ship repairs. "The yards," the Post-Intelli gencer stated, "are acting on orders from Empire Shipping Company, Ltd., a Canadian lend-lease operation." The newspaper said a mari time commission spokesman de clared the strengthening was re quired because the ships were destined for use in cold waters. Florists Join in Delivery Plan Portland, March 21 (U.R) The office of defense transportation announced today that 40 flor ists in the Portland metropoli tan area had agreed to parti cipate in a joint action delivery plan that would save 175,000 automotive miles yearly. They will in most cases use common carrier local delivery service in place of their own de livery vehicles. Journal 1944 smoke whoosh up out of the era- ter and soar 5000 feet into the air, where It billowed out, show ering the mountainside with rocks and ashes. The smoke spread as far north as Naples, 10 miles away, halting all traffic in the streets there, and blanketed the ruins of an cient Pompeii, which was buried in the volcano's greatest erup tion almost 1800 years ago. The unexpected flareup indi cated that the eruption, which began last Friday, was worsen ing, and allied military author! ties announced that more than 14,000 additional men, women and children were being evacu ated hurriedly from the north western slopes. The village of San Sebastian already was buried under the 70-foot wall of lava flowing down the mountain, and the neighboring hamlet of Massa Di Somma was virtually obliter ated. More than 550 rescue work ers, consisting of Anglo-Ameri can soldiers, Royal Air Force American Air Force, military police and carabinieri hastened the evacuation of Corcola town of about 7,000 population at the foot of the northern slope of Vesuvius. Allied military government officials announced that all per sons already have been evacu ated from the villages of San Sebastiano and Mass! Di Som ma. San Sebastiano's popula tion totaled 6,000 and Massa Di Somma's 1,500. The force of the flow showed no signs of slackening, although it was cooling rapidly as it spread over the mountainside, resembling a huge pile of slag spilling out red-hot coals as it advanced. After more than 200 military vehicles, starting work at dark last night in the ruddy glow of the volcano, had completed the evacuation of the two towns in 10 hours, authorities began mov ing the population of the village of Cercola, which is lower down the slope. Emergency food stations and rest points have been established, to take care of the increasing number of refugees. Spring Blizzard Strikes the Rockies Denver, March 21 HP) A spring blizzard struck the Rock ies today with a flurry unequal led this year, tangling wartime transportation and leaving from eight inches to two feet of snow over a wide area. The storm, the second within four days, extended over Colo rado, Wyoming, northern Kan sas and western Nebraska. Winds up to 30 miles an hour piled up drifts which closed roads in central Wyoming and slowed traffic to a crawl in most parts of Colorado. Transcontinental planes were grounded in Denver. Schools were closed in some parts of Colorado. & y v . ive Cents Rocket Coast Again Bombed By Liberators London, March 21 VP) Bri tain-based American Liberators heavily bombarded the Pas-de- lalais "rocket coast" area across the channel today. It was the second heavy attack on that sec tor in three days. ine J-iiberator force, appar ently not large, took advantage of a solid overcast to thwart anti-aircraft opposition that had been heavy last Saturday, and the first bombers back today re ported little ground fire and no nazi fighters. 'It was the kind of mission you stand around and dream about," said Lt. Fiord George Pomona, Calif., pilot of "Ford's Folly," who finished his tour of operations. Is 19th Assault This was the 19th assault by U. S. heavy bombers on that mystery region since the day before Christmas. RAF heavy bombers in small force struck the Angouteme ex plosive w&rks in southern France last night in a continuing nocturnal campaign against spe cialized enemy factories, while Mosquito pianes -bombed west ern Germany for the eleventh straight night. German resistance was neg ligible and not a plane was lost. Angouleme is 60 miles northeast of Bordeaux. Bergerac Bombed It was the second blow against an explosive works in three nights. Six-ton "factory bust ers" were dumped on a plant at Bergerac in the same area Sat urday night. Other objectives hit in this specialized campaign have been the Michelin rubber factory a Clermont-Ferrand, bombed March 16, a bearing factory in southern France struck March 10, and a precision instrument plant at Hengclo, 'Holland, hit by Mosquito bombers by day light Saturday. Frankfurt Target American Flying Fortresses and Liberators described by a U. S. strategic air force an nouncement as in "medium siz ed" force, attacked military tar gets in the Frankfurt area of Germany yesterday as the high light of a day that saw between 1,600 and 2,100 allied planes cross the channel. A U. S. communique last night said six AiVierican bomb ers and eight escorting fighters failed to return from the 400 mile round-trip to the German industrial city. Few enemy air craft were encountered, but the fighters brought down four. Silverton Cannery Sale Confirmed Silverton, Ore., March 21 Sale of the Silverton Canning company, including the build ing, to a Salt Lake City con cern, the name not being dis closed here, was officially con firmed today. The manager of the Silverton plant, which is family owned, is Roy Wallin, who is in San Francisco on business this week. None of the deal was handled locally. During the caning season the plant normally employs several hundred people. Finland Affirms Rejection Of Russia's Armistice Terms Stockholm, March 21 HP) today its continued desire for peace with Soviet Russia but de clared firmly that it could not accept the armistice terms dictated by the Kremlin. The declara tion, embodied In a long com munique giving the Finns ver sion of their attempts to get out of the war, all but extinguished hopes of further peace negoti ations between Helsinki and Moscow, for the Russians, the bulletin said, have declined to modify their original terms. The Finnish stand apparently was predicated on the thesis that the Russian terms which involved the withdrawal of Fin nish troops from their present positions as well as internment of all German armed forces now In Finland were not consistent with the demands of national se curity. The communique said the Fin Reds Expand Dniester Crossing Capture Main Bessarabia Road And Smash Rumanian Divisions Germans Retreating Into Rumania As Drive Is Speeded Up All Along Front German Black Sea Convoy Destroyed in Crimean Ports Moscow, March 21 W) The red miles of the Rumanian border after capturing the highway lead ing westward from Sorokl in Bessarabia and smashing two Ru manian divisions hurled into the gap in the nazi defenses, front dispatches said today. (Moscow considers the Prut river the current Rumanian border. The Russians in 1940 took over Bessarabian areas which previ ously had been part of Rumania.) The Russians, who have swarmed across the Dniester river into Bessarabia on a 31-mile front, have been able to bring tanks and heavy artillery across in strength on German pontoons captured in Yampol, Maj. Ogir Agibalov reported in a field dispatch to the army newspaper Red Star. The dispatch added that the Dniester crossings have been ex panded and several more communities captured. Red Star said German planes were attacking the Dniester crossings, but in dicated the nazis had no hope of halting the soviet advance because of the large number of bridges thrown across the stream. Pressing on from Soroki, the Soviets got a good grip on the highway, the dispatch said. At the upper end of the Bes sarabian front, the Russians were reported poised for a new great thrust after the capture of Mogilev-Polodski, major base on the east bank of the Dniester, which fell to the red army Sun day. Far to the north of these op erations, the 1st Ukrainian army under Marshal Gregory Zhukov was only 57 miles from Lwow, in pre-war Poland, and within sight of the city of Brody. It was not clear whether the Russians planned to storm Bro dy or by-pass it in their advance on Lwow. Surging on Lwow Soviet forces were reported surging on toward Lwow, big German rail hub in old Poland, in a continuation of a push which yesterday swept up Korsov, 56 miles to the northeast, and 49 other villages. A soviet communique an nounced that 115 localities, in cluding Vinnitsa, nazi Ukraine stronghold 60 miles northeast of Mogilev-Podolski, were seized yesterday along a 500-mile front from old Poland to the Black sea. Mogilev-Podolski, major base on the east bank of the Dniester, fell to the Russians Sunday, it was also announced. The Balkan cauldron contin ued to boil with repercussions of the Russian smash into old Rumania as the Hungarians were reported resisting German fore es engaged in taking over their homeland in an effort to halt the red army's onrush. Rumanians Defeated In the Novo-Ukrainka sector, north of Odessa, the Russians overwhelmed two Rumanian trench lines and quoted prison ers as saying the Germans had shot at least 170 Rumanians for failing to hold. More than 34 localities were taken south of Novo-Ukrainka in the drive which is pushing the Germans back on Odessa, the Russians said. The communique said 11 Ger man ships, Including a transport, were sunk by Russian airmen in Crimean ports, indicating that the nazis perhaps were trying to evacuate the pear-shaped pen insula which has been walled off by the Russians for months. Only a small number of Ger mans escaped from Vinnitsa, which was taken after one sov iet unit, in a surprise thrust across the Bug river, entered the town from the south, out witting the nazis who expected the main blow from the north the bulletin declared. Huge stores of war material were cap tured. The Finnish government affirmed nish government regretted that the Russians had not given Fin land "an opportunity to express her own viewpoint before ac cepting the terms." "Although Finland's govern ment still aspires seriously for reestabllshmcnt of peaceful re lations, it, however, cannot ac cept in advance these terms. which deeply affect the exist ence of the whole nation with out even getting any safe assur ance of the Interpretation and meaning of the conditions," the bulletin said. The Finnish press expressed divergent views as to whether the government's stand left room for hope of peace. army had driven to within 50 - Nazis to Seize Balkan States Washington, March 21 (IP) Diplomatic officials here pre dicted today that full Germany military occupation of the Bal kans will end independent civil government in Rumania, Bul garia and Hungary. Along with this will go the long cherished allied hopes that one or more of the satellite states would make peace before nazi divisions overran them. This prediction, made as Ger man occupation troops marched into Hungary amid reports that similar fate awaits Rumania and Bulgaria, was based on the causes which led to Hitler's new militarist expansion in south eastern Europe. Two causes were advanced. One is the steady Russian army drive into Rumania which con fronts the German high com mand with a military crisis in that part of the Russian battle front. The other is Hitler's fear that at the crucial moment of the campaign for the Balkans, now beginning, one or more o! his strategic neighbors would surrender to the allies. The spread of Gorman mili tary control in the Balkans was not entirely unexpected here. Reports that it was under way occasioned little surprise al though some disappointment was evident. Rumania and Bulgaria at var ious times in recent months have put forth informal and unoffi cial peace feelers. These gave rise to the belief here and in London that those countries would desert Germany as soon as they had any hope of avoid ing the fate of Italy In becom ing an active war theater. Snell Replies To FDR's Query Oregon s election laws pro vide "more complete election opportunity" than the federal soldiers vote bill, Gov. Earl Snell declared today in reply to President Roosevelt's query as to the acceptability of the federal ballot in this state. "The attorney general and election officials arc still study ing the provisions (of the fed eral act) looking to coordina tion with the Oregon laws any features which would expedite soldier balloting in this state," Snell said. The governor indicated that he would have a "yes" or "no" answer to the president's in quiry as soon as this study is completed. "Under Oregon laws all servicemen and women from this slate will be permitted op portunity of casting complete ballots," the governor pointed out, adding that "it is under stood however, that airmail service will be provided in de livery and collection of over seas ballots. "Oregon's legislature and election officials have already taken necessary steps to insure soldier voting but you may be assured, Mr. President, that should subsequent develop ments indicate the necessity for further action. Oregon will pro ceed forthwith." Nazis to Occupy Rumania Ankara, March 21 (UP) For mal German occupation of Ru mania was believed imminent today after reports reached in formed Ankara quarters that five nazi divisions one infan try and four armored had crossed Hungary and moved into Rumania. The Weather Occasional llaht rains tonight and Wednesday warmer. Max. 54, mln. 30. Rain, trace. River, .8. i
