Y tfri an I it Weather Severe Cold VOL. LIII No. 102 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 1943 PRICE FIVE CENTS --- _._ Russians Launch New Offensive in North Nazi Army Retreats at Demyaiisk Soviet Forces Crush Enemy at Lake Ilmen; 11,000 Killed, Taken By The Associated Press LONDON, March 1-The Russians announced tonight a crushing new winter offense in the ILake Ilmen sec- tor south of Leningrad in which they said the forces of Marshall Semeon Timoshenko had captured Demyansk apd 301 other localities and beaten the Germans into hasty retreat with 11,000 of the enemy killed or cap- tured. The first special Russian Com- munique in more than a week an- nounced that approximately 9001 square miles of the still frozen north- west front had been liberated and that a powerful German defense sys- tem, built up in 17 months of occu- pation, had been rushed. Advance 50 Miles The Russians appeared to have advanced about 50 miles in the drive started eight days ago, moving out of the Valdai Hills to the Flatlands around Lake Ilmen. The communique indicated the offensive had sprung from the shores of frozen lake Seli- gar, about 25 miles southeast of Demyansk. One of the towns cap- tured was Zaluchye, 25 miles west of ,Demyansk. hee Soviet Monitor recorded the Russian communique from the Mos- cow radio. In Valdai Hills Demyansk is in the Valdai hills 48 miles southeast of Staraya Russa. The German 16th army which the Russians said had been put to flight was trapped and loosely encircled in the sector for several months last winter, but they finally broke out from the pocket. Demyansk was the heart of Ger- man "hedgehog" defenses lying be- tween the lakes, and menacing the Leningrad and Moscow railroad con- nections. Hope Is Slightw For 69 Miners BEARCREEK, Mont., March 1-(R) -Hope for 69 miners entombed by an explosion in the Smith Coal Mine Saturday flickered low today as res- cue work, in its third day, proceeded slowly. Relatives of the miners maintained their anxious vigil in silent groups outside. Seven bodies have been re- covered and another seven have been located in the gas-filled labyrinth of tunnels. William Romek, Assistant General Manager of the Montana Coal and Iron Company which owns the prop- erty, said a huge suction fan was placed in operation to draw deadly carbon monoxide from the mine. Ad- ditional rescue crews were preparing to enter the farthest reaches. House Passes 20 Percent HoldQut Tax New Plan Will Take Effect July 1; March, June Payments Remain WASHINGTON, March 1.- ()-A plan to withhold 20 per cent of tax- able income from the pay envelopes of the nation's 31,000,000 wage and salary earners, starting July 1, was ,approved tentatively today by the House Ways and Means Subcommit- tee on pay-as-you-go taxation. This plan would provide for week- ly, semi-monthly or monthly deduc- tions from income which would be accumulated and applied to actua taxes computed at the year end. It would not be an additional tax, but would cover the present taxes on first bracket incomes and also the victory tax. All taxpayers would pay the first two installments of 1942 taxes as usual. These are due March 15 and June 15 this year. The Committee postponed indefi- nitely any action on the issue of can- celling a part or all of a tax year, in- cluding the proposal by Beardsley Ruml, Chairman of the Federal Re- serve Bank of New York, to skip 1942 on the tax calendar. Chairman Cooper (Dem.-Tenn.) announced the withholding decision with a statement as follows: th has been tentatively agreed by the Subcommittee to provide, begin- ning July 1, 1943, a withholding tax of 20 per cent-3 per cent on wages Turn to Page 3, Col. 3 Willow Run Will Not Use Dorms LANSING, March 1.- ()- The State Defense Council today accepted the report of Raymond M. Foley, State Housing Administrator, that emergency housing programs in the Willow Run Bomber Plant area had progressed sufficiently to eliminate the necessity of converting the Mich- igan State Normal College at Ypsi- lanti into a war workers' dormitory. Admitting there was a likelihood that large numbers of women work- ers might have to be housed in the area, Foley declared unwise crowding of them would merely drive workers away and cause new employment problems. Therefore, he said, the college could not accommodate more' than 2,000 women. "To borrow the school for the duration of the war," Foley said, "is not as simple as it sounds. With the staff broken up and the buildings re- modeled to some extent, the college not only would be badly handicapped, but it probably would be wrecked for years to come. I think we should hold that plan as the last resort." Dr. John A. Hannah, President of Michigan State College and a mem- ber of the council, asserted, "The Ypsilanti school is one of the finest and oldest teacher training institu- tions in the nation. To close it would be to cripple it for years." Allied Bombers Blast Sub Base At St. Nazaire Raid Is Continuation Of Greatest Aerial Offensive of War By LEWIS HOPKINS Associated Press Correspondent LONDON, March 1.-British and Canadian bombers dumped more than 1,000 tons of explosives last night on the German submarine base at St. Nazaire sustaining through the LONDON, March 2, Tuesday- (A)- Carrying on the terrifying dawn-to-dawn air attacks against the Axis, British bombers last night raided Berlin for the 58th time and started fires in the Reich capital, the Berlin radio an- nounced early today. Berlin said that a "large num- ber" of the raiding planes were shot down, and this was interpre- ted in unofficial quarters here as an admission that a heavy blow was struck There had been no official con- firmation of the raid early today. fourth day and night the greatest aerial offensive the world has ever known. The Thunderbolt fleet spread great destruction in the French port in a half hour of concentrated attack which swamped the Nazi defenses. Five bombers were lost, including two Canadian. A good indication that the tireless RAF was returning to the attack tonight was seen when the Berlin, Paris, Calais and Danish Kalandborg radios all went off the air between 8:52 p.m. and 9:18 p.m. Be fore the stations went silent, the announcers broadcast repeated warnings for lis- teners to take particular care to in- sure tight blackouts. Bombing To Soften Axis While the past 96 hours of virtual around-the-clock bombardment was all part of a broad picture of soften- ing the Axis for the promised inva- sion of Europe, the best indications were that the aerial storm still had some time to blow before the way was blazed for troop landings. There was no doubt, however, that the Allied air teams were drubbing Europe more fearfully than the Ger- mans were ever able to punish Eng- land. The RAF dropped more bombs during February than in any previous month of the war, Prime Minister Churchill disclosed tonight in a con- gratulatory message to Air Marshal Sir Arthur Harris. The Detroit Orchestra sched- uled to appear today on the Chor- al Union Concert series will not be heard. Giomar Novaes will be presented instead at 8:30 p.m. Fri- day in Hill Auditorium. The ninth series ticket is to be used for this concert. Regained by Russians in Two Months [ RUSSIA Lodoqa 00 ;LENINGRAD ~ISTTUT mils ESNIA I ' Volod 1 Novo od SRig Staraya LATVIA Russa Kahlini LITHUANIA e Rzhev - ---,- Vyazm « Smolensk *Tula Min~sk T Bryanske POLAND Ore Kwwurs oronezh' Lwow r « Kiev* KharkovR Kramatorsk..e« Da opero eperovs ROSTOV p ,: ~Odessa .et Slsk* - RUMANIA . . oobe R easoo Novrss s ako BULGARIA Black Se Nalchk cFn Shaded areas of map indicate approximate extent of territory re- taken by Soviet armies during January and February, 1943. Germans claimed they had recaptured Kranatorsk in the Donets basin, but Russian communiques failed to substantiate the claim though speaking of heavy German counterattacks in the area. Broken and solid lines symbolize battlefronts atbeginning and end of the two-month period, though at no time were they a continuous line. Japs En Route, League Council To New Guinea'I Will Change Large Convoy Sailing To War Basis Under Weather Cover1 Michigan coed leaders yesterday ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN approved measures transforming the AUSTRALIA, March 2, (Tuesday)- League Council to a wartime basis ( P)-One of the largest Japanese and renaming it Women's War Coun- convoys yet sighted in the north- cil eastern sector of the southwest Pa- Petitionng for 12 of the positions cific area was reported by the Allied on the War Council will begin today High Command today to be heading and continue through Saturday, in the direction of New Guinea. March 6. Interviewing will be held Fourteen Japanese ships were from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, sighted off Talasea, New Britain, March 7, through Friday, March 12, heading toward New Guinea under and, during the same hours the fol- cover of an advancing weather front, I lowing week from Tuesday, March 14, cove ohf an vancinw eatr fron through Friday, March 19. said the noon communique from. Among the positions for which co- General MacArthur's headquarters. eds may petition are the presidency The Allied Air Force is preparing to of the Council, the head of Judiciary attack the convoy as soon as the Council, secretary, who will also head weather permits. the blood bank, and treasurer, who The convoy reportedly consists of will act as head of charity drives and warships and cargo vessels, protected the Bomber Scholarship. by some fighter planes. It was first Women may also petition for the sighted Monday afternoon near Ubili, position of social chairman whose New Britain, moving west. A few duties will include planning enter- hours later it was sighted off the tainment for soldiers stationed on Willaumez Peninsula and is now be campus. Other posts that will be lieved to be somewhere west of New open are merit committee chairman, Britain. heads of orientation, surgical dress- The appearance of the convoy is ings, and the canteen corps. in line with Monday's communique Three remaining jobs include head warning of the concentration of ma- of child ,ar andnuhli service. tu- Reservists To Get Induction Notices March 1 o2 Order of Calling Induction Centers, Numbers Per Day Not Yet Announced- Complete Details Expected Tomorrow By LEON GORDENKER Members of the Army Enlisted Reserve Corps, unassigned, who are not in deferred categories will be given notice of induction on March 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20, the Sixth Service Command told The Daily yesterday. Whether the men will be called alphabetically, by age groups or time of enlistment was not made known, but The Daily was promised complete de- tails for tomorrow's paper by Captain Bennett, the officer in charge of the ERC. Among the details to be announced are the number of men to be called each day and the induction centers to which they will be ordered to report. Notification will be sent to college addresses. Presumably, furloughs giving time for students to visit their homes will be _grAe .A Nazis Make Small ain. In Tunisia Sixth German Assault Costs Heavily; Allies Probe Axis in Southeast By WES GALLAGHER Associated Press Correspondent ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN NORTH AFRICA, March 1.-Beaten back in five local attacks in northern Tunisia, the Germans were disclosed today to have made a three-mile gain in a sixth assault at the cost of heavy casualties. This thrust was toward Beja and had carried to three miles beyond the town of Sidi Nsir, which itself is 18 miles northeast of Beja and 40 miles west of Tunis. To the south, in Central Tunisia, Allied forces continued their advance beyond recaptured Kasserine Pass and toward the enemy position of Sbeita and were meeting no opposi- tion in their pursuit of the retreating forces of Marshal Rommel. In southeastern Tunisia, patrols of the British Eighth Army were prob- ing the Axis line. The fighting in the North-which had not seriously threatened the Al- lied positions-opened three days ago. Repulsed five times, Col. Gen. Jurgen Von Arnim threw in a con-' centrated tank and infantry assault in the Beja sector to score his local gains. He suffered heavy losses, Al- Turn to Page 3, Col. 2 be granted. Air Corps Reservists, called last week, were given five to ten day furloughs before induction. Approximately 700 University men are enlisted in the Reserve, but the number in non-deferable categories has not been determined. Previous announcements from the Sixth Serv- ice Command said that the calling of the ERC had been delayed, but this latest announcement is the definite determination of call dates. These are the deferred categories: 1. Medical students and pre-med- ical students. 2. Dental and pre-dental students. 3. Sophomore, junior and senior engineering students. 4. Sophomores, juniors and seniors in chemistry, physics, psychology and meteorology. Deferments from active duty will terminate- shortly after the end of the current semester when the Army Specialized Training Program will go into full stride. Disposition of ROTC students in the Enlisted Reserve will be placed on active duty under a separate pro- gram already announced. Swallowed Knife, Glass Don't Digest Private Pat Pisula who told police he entertained a group of friends Sunday night by attempting to swal- low a breadknife and chew his drinking glass is in "potentially" seri- ous condition at St. Joseph's Mercy hospital, Dr. J. H. Maxwell said last night. Pisula, a 25 year old Willow Run soldier, may have punctured his lung when in fit of bravado he "swal- lowed" the 81-inch breadknife, ac- cording to physicians, but he appar- ently is suffering no ill effects from three substantial bites he took from his glass. Catherine Fletcher Will Play Showgirl in Heart of a City jor Japanese forces in this area. HENRY C. CASSIDY REPORTS ON RUSSIA: Here Is Inside Story of the Soviet Union Editor's note: Here is the first of a series of nine stories written by Henry C. Cassidy of the Moscow Bureau vf the Associated Press to give Americans an insight into the complicated affairs of the Soviet Union. The second article is on Page Three. The first story is on Premier Joseph Stalin and the second tells about his associates. Cassidy has just returned from a 20 months report- ing stretch in the Russian capital. By HENRY C. CASSIDY NEW YORK -(I)-- Joseph Sta- 1i xr-r c-r. a1dn..Pi- .4. their war, I can say what they well know, that Stalin is their leader, in military as well as state matters, in fact as well as in name, and is plotting already the downfall of their enemies. He Runs The Army This is one of the first questions people have asked me since my re tut nto the United States on leave -is Stalin really running the Red army? The answer is. emnhatically. yes. mendous operations, telephoning to his generals in the field and over- seeing their victories. He is not an arm-chair strate- gist. He went to Tsaritsyn in June, 1918, as a civilian, commissar of food for southern Russia, during the civil war. He found a military situation bordering on the catas- trophic, and plunged into his frst military venture, becoming chief of the revolutionary military council He sits at the head of his con- ference table. At the sides are the members of his "Stavka," or gener- al staff. Its members, whose names have been made known, are Mar- shals K. Y. Voroshilov, G. K. Zhu- kov and M. N. Voronov, and Gens. A. M. Vasilevsky, A. A. Novikov and F. J. Falaleyev. A number of other officers also attend the de- liberations. They hear full, up-to-the-minute reports on the military situation, Fp W 11UtU LUIU1C l lY , UU torial committee chairman, and per- sonnel administrator, whose job it will be to recruit coeds to alleviate labor shortages and other wartime emergencies. Other positions on the Women's War Council will be filled automati- cally, as in former years, by the head of Panhellenic, president of Assem- bly, WAA president, and the women's editor of The Daily. Students Can Still Get Ration Book 2 Applications for War Ration Book Number 2 still will be accepted in Room 2 University Hall for students who missed the registration deadline last week, -Assistant Dean Walter B. Rea announced last night. Catherine Fletcher has been chosen to play the role of Judy, the gay and defiant showgirl, in "Heart of a City," by Lesley Storm, a wartime drama of London, which will be pre- sented by the Play Production of the cia Meikle; John Babington will por- tray the lucky RAF pilot, Paul Lundy, and the part of Tommy, the heart- broken song writer, will be played by Harold Cooper. This foursome pro- vides the romantic interest in the play. "Heart of a City", is based on the observations which Lesley Storm made during the time she spent back- stage in The Windmill Theatre, Lon- don, which kepts its shows running continuously throughout the terrors of the Luftwaffe. The Windmill was founded as a "shop window" for youthful talent, and it is the reac- tions of this group which Lesley Storm strives to present in this play. In the play a tribute is paid to the gallantry of Londoners, especially the show people, who can entertain and be entertained while the Nazi blitz roars in full force. "Heart of a City" was hailed by some critics as "the best war play of the season," after being produced on Broadway last _.