' Ili II P p, I irt 43UU ti1 weather Continued Cool VOL. LIV No. 156 ANN ARBOR, 1CHIGAN, FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 1944 PRICE FIVE CENTS Allies Expand Beachhead in Normandy Germans Announce Beginning of Powerful Russian Oj Pensive U Reds Fail To Confirm Nazi Report of Drive Hard Tank Battle Rages Near Bayeux; Heavy Fighting Reported in Caen By The Associated Press LONDON, June 9-A top-ri-king German radio commentator declared today that powerful Russian armored forces had launched an offensive on a wide front north of Iasi in Romania and had advanced several miles in the center and on the left flank. There was no immediate Russian confirmation of the push, and the Nazi commentator, Ernst von Hammer, did not say flatly that it was the beginning of the expected Soviet thrust through the Galati Gap toward the Ploesti oil fields and the wealth of the Danube valley, generally expected to be timed with the Allied invasion of Hitler's Europe from the west. Earlier Russian dispatches had said that "soon Russian infantry will march across German land." Warsaw May Follow If the attack actually was more than a relatively local operation among a series of fierce grapples north of Iasi in the past two weeks, it was --likely to be followed immediately by Forces May Cut Off erourg Pennsu New Thrust Believd BTed Tmed With Recent Allied Invasion of Normandy By WES GALLAGHER Associated Press Correspondent SUPREME HEADQUARTERS ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE, Friday, June 9-The Allies were thrusting ahead along the whole expand- ing Normandy. battlefront today, developing their threat to cut off the Cherbourg peninsula in heavy close-quarters fighting against fresh German tactical reserves whose advent brought the invasion into its second phase. A single Allied division was credited by headquarters with having taken more than 1,000 Nazis prisoner since the European fortress was breached Tuesday, while it was disclosed that the Canadian infantry and armor had taken 600 prisoners and freed a dozen towns as they advanced rapidly southward through woodlands and farms between Caen and the captured town of Bayeux, often in house-to-house combat. A fierce tank battle has been raging for 24 hours near Bayeux, a cor- respondent with the Canadian forces G erarnls ReelI Beyond Rome Two Towns Fall North of Capitol By The Associated Press ROME, June 8.-In lightning drives of as much as 26 miles in 24 hours the Allied Fifth Army today captured Civita Castellana, 32 mles north of Rome, after other swift armored units had pounded through Civitavecchia, important seaport 38 miles northwest of the Italian capital. Little Resistance Met Only the slightest resistance was being encountered by Lt.-Gen. Mark W. Clark's troops as they pressed af- ter the reeling German 14th Army, which an Allied spokesman declared had been reduced to "batterer rem- nants. There yet was no indication where the disorganized enemy would attempt to halt the Allied steam- roller. Civita Castellana is the junction of three main highways and two electric railways. Light reconnaissance units entered tie town early n the evening. Civitavecchia is a city of 36,000 popu- lation, with docks that will be of value to the pursuing Allied forces. Drive into Braciano Captured in the swift thrust north- ward was the former headquarters of the Nazi commander, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring. The "elaborate, tunnelled underground stronghold" was situated about three miles south- east of Civita Castellana. N C ormaCoast Shows Marks Of Destructionr By LEWIS HAWKINS Associated Press Correspondent. Representing the Combined American Forces ON THE BEACH IN NORMANDY, June 7.-Shocking evidence of death and destruction still dominated these three miles of beach across which Allied armies drove into France yes- terday, but the threat of disaster was giving way swiftly before the Ameri- cans' hard-won advance into Nor- mandy. Before noon soldiers who yesterday were barely hanging onto this wreck- strewn bit of sand and rock, were fighting their way forward to the deepest penetration yet scored in this sector. On the right flank two com- bat teams were edging cautiously forward and were a mile to two miles inland. I heard machineguns pop- ping and grenades and mortars booming while Americans mopped up patrols who had clung desperately to this sector, although by-passed on each side all along. A considerable amount of mopping up remained to be done, as I learned quickly when I climbed up from the confusion of the beach to the gently rolling upland. Promptly I heard a sniper's bullet singing past my ear, missing by a few feet that seemed much more like inches. Despite the still nasty surf which showed signs of subsiding toward a lunge of Soviet armies toward War- saw in Poland, Moscow announced yesterday that 10,000 Germans had been killed in eight days of futile attacks north of Iasi, while the Nazis reported at least 10 Soviet rifle divisions had been "wiped out or decisively mauled" in the same fighting. Offensive Expected Telasi region has been most fre- quently cited by the Germans as the logical jumping-off point for the expected Soviet summer offensive and even Moscow commentators have spoken of the military and political advantages of striking into the Bal- kans before dealing the death blow to Germany itself. Except for the recent action around Iasi, the main Russian front has been quiet for nearly two months. Meanwhile the Russians cleaned up the Crimea. May Push in South Another Berlin radio announce- ment, by the commentator von 01- berg of the Transocean News Service, ignored the Iasi sector, emphasizing instead that "all indications are that one of the Russian offensives will be launched south of the Pripyat mar- shes in the direction of Lvov." In this sector, several hundred miles north of the Iasi front, the commentator said large-scale mili- tary traffic was passing through railway junctions being bombed by the Germans. Reds Capture Height Moscow, in the midnight supple- ment to the Russian communique, said that in the Iasi area. the Red Army had "waged engagements to improve its positions" during the day and had captured a height "of great importance." German attempts to restore the situation were unsuccessful and about 200 Nazis were killed, Moscow said. The supplement stated that Soviet troops had broken into enemy tren- ches south of Tiraspol and wiped out most of an enemy company. Slosson Sees Nazi Collapse Late This Year Germany probably will not collapse until almost the end of this year, Prof. Preston W. Slosson estimated with certain reservations in a discus- sion of the invasion sponsored yes- terday by the Post-War Council. "We have reached at last the be- ginning of the end," Prof. Slosson said, "assuming that our calculations are not all wrong." He pointed out that the influence of the United States in settling the peace will be greatly affected by the strength of our armed forces on the continent. "Although the Russians rejoice at the implementing of their own strategy, we have gained guar- antee against domination of all Eur- ope by Russia singly." The necessity for a second front was beyond all question, Prof. Slosson remarked, adding that no nation was ever brought to surrender by aerial attack alone. Lindbergh Teaches High Flying in Gilberts (ABOVE) YANKS STORM ASHORE-American assault troops heavily laden with full equipment, push ashore onto a beachhead on the French inva sion coast as other landing craft follow theirs in. (BELOW) WOUNDED CANADIANS TENDED ON FRENCH BEACH-Canadian soldiers who were wounded in beachhead struggle are treated before transfer to clearing station. Barrel of gun protrudes from slot in concrete works, and barbed wire entanglements show along the wall. Rail Junctions Behind Norman B atic one Hi Allied Air Forces Make 27,000 Sorties By The Associated Press SUPREME HEADQUARTERS, AL- LIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE, June 9, Friday-Allied Air Forces, surpassing the total of 27,000 sorties since the invasion of western Europe began, smashed at vital rail junctions well behind the battle zone and at scores of other objectives throughout the third day of the battle of Nor- mandy. Weather Improves As the weather improved steadily, daylight operations were the greatest today in all the three days of invasion warfare, and at noon the 27,000 sor- ties mark wss passed by British-based aircraft. During this period, approximately 54 hours, Allied loses were 289 planes of all types-barely more than 1 per cent. German planes destroyed in the period totaled 176 planes out of the meager forces which were dwarfed by the massive Allied bomber and figpter fleets thundering constantly through European skies. Opposition Is Limited As landing forces pushed forward to join airborne troops and expand newly-won territory, American For- tresses and Liberators, nearly 1,000 strong and escorted by up to 500 fighters, smashed at transport bottle- necks and airfields 100 to 150 miles behind the Normandy beachheads. Enemy opposition in the air con- tinued on a limited scale.' However, fliers reported ground fire was ex- tremely heavy. Ten rail centers on main lines lead- ing to the Brest and Cherbourg pen- insulas were pounded by the Fortres- ses and Liberators and by Marauders nd Havocs of the U.S. Ninth Air Force, and the Ninth's fighter-bomb- ers alone made ten separate attacks during the first six hours of daylight, losing only one Thunderbolt. Farley Resh m WAR BULLETINS By The Associated Press ADVANCED ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, NEW GUINEA, Friday, June 9-A Liberator bombed and damaged a Japanese heavy cruiser off north- west New Guinea, headquarters announced today. Encircled enemy positions east of Mokmer airdrome on Biak Island in the Schoutens were being reduced by a triple American barrage-from artillery, tanks and destroyers. Two five hundred pound bombs exploded off the bow of the Japanese cruiser near Waigeo Island June 6. Liberator planes fought off twelve attacking Zeros. * * * * LONDON, June 8-Marshal Tito's Partisans have inflicted "heavy losses" on German SS divisions in violent fighting in western Bosnia, the free Yugoslav communique broadcast today said. The broadcast added that Partisans had renulsed a German attack near Gracac, near the Ardiatic coast, and "beat off T70 Germans" in a battle at Cerknica, near the Italian frontier. * * * * SUPREME HEADQUARTERS ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE, June 8-Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower declared today in a confident appraisal of the first 54 hours of the Allied invasion of France that his faith in the sea, air and ground units had been "completely justified" and that the ground forces under Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery were "performing magnificently." * .* * * LONDON, June 8-Prinme Minister Churchill cautioned the House of' C'omm'ons today against "over-optimisnm" regarding the invasion, news. LONDON, June 8-A German broadcast today said Allied planes were parachuting carrier pigeons in cages into France, "telling the French people to send them back with detailed information about German installa- tions." It also said millions of leaflets were being dropped, "inciting the French to sabotage and espionage." ROME, June 8-Ivanoe Bonomi, a pre-Fascist Italian premier, was asked by Crown Prince Urmberto today to form a new government to succeed that of Marshal Pietro Badoglio. Prince Umberto, acting in his new capacity as Lieutenant-General of the realm, acted after a series of conferences here with various Italian political leaders, including members of the Rome Committee of Liberation. reported in a front-line dispatch dat- ed Thursday. The Germans, strengthened by parachutists, are putting up fierce resistance and -some desperate hand to hand- fighting has .taken place inl several wooded areas, he said, adding that "the Germans are clinging tena- ciously to Caen, using that city as a pivot of fierce counter-thrusts to test the strength of our lines." Caen Is Battle Center Caen, nine miles south of the Seine Bay on the Orne River, was the cen- ter of bitter and protracted battle against strong German defenses, but the Nazis themselves acknowledged that the Allies were inside the city and had pushed five miles south and west of Bayeux, which is five miles from the coast. In general, however, the Allied command kept mum on exact locations. At least two German tank divisions have been identified in battle. It was disclosed early today that with better weather the Allied inva- sion schedule had regained most of the nearly 24 hours it was thrown off in the movement of supplies and rein- forcements from England in the first two foul days. It was indicated that the first for- ces ashore Tuesday could have pushed ahead more rapidly than they did, but Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's Supreme Command decided it was wiser to slow the advance somewhat Tuesday and Wednesday while await- ing more adequate strength, rather than make a temporarily spectacular gain and risk having the spearheads nipped off. Speed Supply Flow Now with improving weather the flow of supplies and new units to the front has almost caught up and is proceeding faster than ever. The British Sixth Airborne Divi- sion, which the Nazis claimed yester- day to have "annihilated" has held repeated German attacks, the com- munique said. It later was disclosed at headquar- ters that Americans were fighting for a lateral road, which was not speci- fied, but. which apparently was one of those running westward from Caen, nine miles inland, and roughly parallel to the coast towards the' Cherbourg peninsula. It also was disclosed that 'the Amer- ican First and British 50th Infantry Divisions spearheaded the initial sea- borne landings Tuesday. American forces are on the west of the beach- head area and the British Sixth Air- borne Division on the east, with the left flank running north and south slightly east of Caen, it was said at headquarters. Caen was described as heavily de- fended and "a tough nut." Since dawn Tuesday, 176 enemy. aircraft were listed as destroyed in air combat, while the Allies have lost 289 in the same period, including un- armed troop-carriers and transports. Jap ruiser. Hit in Pacific Enemy Fleet May Open Fight Soon By the Associated Press Indications that the elusive Japa- nese Fleet may soon fight rather than yield more territory to Ameri- cans advancing across the Pacific were seen today in the appearance of a heavy cruiser off Northwest lNew Guinea, Liberators Fight Off Attack United States Liberators fought off 12 intercepting planes to damage the Nipponese Warship Wednesday, southwest Pacific Headquarters Van- nounced today. Two 500-pound bombs hit near her bow. It was the third enemy combat vessel re- ported this week in southwest Pacific waters where none had been engaged for months. The brief air-sea battle occurred off Waigeo Island, 400 miles west of Biak Island where American artil- lery, tanks and destroyers combined to reduce Japanese positions east of the recently captured Mokmer air- drome. Chinese troops seized a foothold in the strategic Burma road town of Lungling, spotlighting a series of Japanese reverses reported yesterday on all oriental battlefronts outside the Changsha Theater. Changsha Defense Desperate Defenders of Changsha were put- ting up stubborn resistance against four Nipponese columns pressing down on the Hunan provincial capi- tal from three sides. One force was less than ten miles from Changsha, strongest defense point blocking the invaders' southward drive along the Hankow-Canton Railway. Far to the south Chinese troops stormed through the west gate of Lungling, primary enemy base on the China segment of the Burma road. City War Bond Drive Is Aided By Army Units Cooperating with the city in its Fifth War Loan Drive, Army person- nel, under the direction of Col. Young, have started their War Bond drive, and have already collected $1,000 cash value of bonds, according to Lt. Flegal, who is in charge of collections, All Army and civilian personnel of the 3651st Service Unit will be con- tacted by "minute men", consisting of 130 officers and enlisted men. Each company and class will be competing against each other. Credit for sales will be given to the Ann Ar- bor American Legion, since the Uni- versity and the Army do not have a quota to fill. Prizes for the highest man in each company, and to the highest man in the service unit will be presented at the conclusion of the drive. The Judge Advocate General's School, which has always been at the top, is determined to surpass its quota in the previous Expected R oosevelt ry Oppo se N Olmimatioln By The Associated Press James A. Farley resigned as New York Democratic Chairman yester- day in a move widely interpreted as meaning he expects President Roose- velt to run again and that Farley, as a fourth term opponent, does not want to hold party office during the campaign. In VWashington, Senator Overton (D.-La.), an opponent of a fourth term nomination, said he assumed Farley would "actively oppose both the renomination and the re-elec- tion of Pr:esident Roosevelt." Most GEOGRAPHY FAVORABLE: Dodge Discusses Invasion T errain The Allies launched the invasion of Europe in the most favorable area in view of geographic considerations, Prof. Stanley D. Dodge of the geog- raphy department said yesterday. "Thereare four geographicdivi- sions along the northern coast of France. From Calais to the Rhine easy access to the interior. This was the spot selected by the Allied forces. Beyond St. Malo to the west rocky cliffs line the shore and there is steep coast," Prof Dodge explained. The peninsula on which Cherbourg is lnra +A i is+1,,,h rvnc+ fan r.hln 1 nnn east of the Elbe Rivers. "The chief barrier which will face the Allied forces is the Rhine because the only practical way to cross that river is above Cologne. From Basel to Mainz it flows through a deep gorge, and south of that is neu~tral Switzerland,"