--- - _77- - - -- pry s' 7 fir' a II I II ~i , I -9cor aaug Iair VOL. LIV No. 42 ANN ARBOR, MICHIG AN, 'TH"iUSDAY, DW. 30, 1943 PRICE FIVE CENTS Red Army Nears Pre-War Allied Planes Sink German Destroyers Four Nazi Ships Lost In Naval, Air Battle Off Coast of France By The Associated Press LONDON, Dec. 29.-Allied war planes, including U.S. Navy Libera- tors, and British Royal Navy cruisers have sunk three Nazi destroyers and a speedy 5,000-ton Nazi blockade run- ner in a two-day sea and air battle in the Bay of Biscay this week. An Admiralty communique tonight gave details of the engagements, which started Monday when a Sun- derland fly-boat sighted the block- ade runner about 500 miles west and northeast of Cape Finisterre, Spain. Crew Abandons Ship Allied planes set her aflame and left her listing fatally and abandoned by her crew. About 70 men on rafts and rubber lifeboats dotted the sea. At dawn yesterday a U.S. Liberator operating with the RAF coastal com- mand sighted a Nazi flotilla of 11 de- stroyers about 200 miles from the spot where the blockade runner had been sunk. The Liberator flashed the position of the flotilla to the British light cruisers Glasgow and Enter- prise, which were steaming between the destroyers and their Nazi bases in southern France. Three Destroyers Sank Flaming shellfire from the cruisers sark three of the destroyers and da- maged several others in: the battle, in which United States Naval Libera- tors and RAF coastal planes took part, it was a uncm4 'The destructiWn pf' the destroyers capped the 'spectacular day-after- Christmas- sinlingof the 26,000-ton German battleship Scharnhorst of North Cape by other units of the roy- anavy. Allies Suffer Little Loss The Allied forces came out of the Biscay battle, the Admiralty reported, with only a few casualties on the, Glasgow and "minor damage" to the two cruisers. One coastal command Halifax and one Beaufighter were re- ported missing. RAF Bombers Pound Berlin In Night Raid Eighth Attack in Six Weeks Reported To Be One of War's Heaviest By The Associated Press LONDON, Thursday, Dec. 30.-- Iarge RAF bombers attacked Berlin last night for the eighth time in a six-week period, it was announced today, and indication from the Nazi capital and neutral Stockholm, was that the raid was one of the heaviest of the war. London officially announced the raid on Berlin shortly after the Ger- man radio had reported in a broad- cast from the Nazi capital that large formations of the big black RAF night bombers had smashed the city with explosives and incendiaries. The obliteration campaign opened Nov. 18, when 2,500 long tons of ex- plosives and fire bombs were dropped on Berlin and Ludwigshafen. The Berlin radio announced the new thrust. "The sky was covered with a thick layer of clouds and British planes dropped explosives and incendiary bombs on thickly populated residen- tial districts," the German station announced. Telephonic communications be- tween neutral Stockholm and Berlin were severed for almost two hours- from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30-and this in- dicated the duration of the alert. A dispatch from Stockholm said a Swedish correspondent in the Ger- man capital told his home office after telephone service was restored: "We now live in an immense ruin in whimn there is nothing more to bomb." Rome Airfield Boumbed; Last 3 Unions Plans M Polish Border ide Russians Are Now 4ssionG 4am 148 Miles from Goal Canadians Push North OfficiallyAnni For Exp Ortona Taken, Troops ? Heavy Attack by 1 t i O rfro Advance Northward; Meet Stiff Resistance By The Associated Press ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, AL- GIERS, Dec. 29.-The roar of battle lifted from the ruined streets of Or- tona today as Canadian troops, who took the town in a savage eight-day battle, pushed on up the Adriatic coast of Italy toward the stubborn Nazi resistance. Ortona, once a neat town of 9,000, resembled a tomb. Every street was piled high with debris and the dead still lay in the streets and doorways, dispatches said. Those civilians who remained in the town through the bitter, bloody street fighting were too dazed to realize the Germans had gone. While the victorious Canadians drove on toward Pescara, Indian troops of the Eighth Army wiped out pockets of resistance in Villa Grande, a hotly-contested village about three miles inland from Ortona. Farther inland, other Eighth Army units were reported within, eight miles of the provincial capital of Chieti. On the extreme opposite end of the Italian fighting line, British troops of Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark's Fifth Army fought fiercely to repel a full- scale German attack on the town of Ponta Fiume at the mouth of the Garigliano River. The Nazis struck suddenly yesterday in clear, cold weather, evidently attempting to forestall an Allied assault in that area as the rain-flooded Garigliano began to subside. No decisive result yet was in sight. Leatherneecks Treaten Base AtGloucester Marines Overcome Sharp Jap Resistance To Expand Beachheads ADVANCED ALLIEID HEAD- QUARTERS, NEW GUINEA, Thurs- day, Dec. 30,-(AP)-American Marines have overcome sharp Japanese re- sistance to continue their advance to within a mile of the Cape Gloucester, New Britain, airdrome, the high com- mand announced today. The Leathernecks, aided by tanks, artillery and bombers pushed forward a half mile in a day's fighting against enemy opposition which had stiffened considerably since the Cape Glouces- ter invasion last Sunday. Gen. Douglas MacArthur's com- munique said that the beachheads, established to the east and west of the Cape, had been generally expand- ed with the aid of artillery and aerial pounding. The Marines driving toward the airdrome are operating on the east side of the Cape, from the Borgen Bay area. The Japanese launched strong at- tacks against the Marines' Borgen Bay flank, while at the same time strengthening their defenses on and near the airdrome. The Australians have made good progress in their offensive northward on the Huon Peninsula Coast, New Guinea, reaching Blucher Point, 30 miles north of the Allied base at Fins- chhafen, after smashing stubborn enemy resistance. Blucher Point was occupied Tuesday. Ground attacks against United States 6th Army invasion troops at Arawe, 60 miles southeast of Cape Gloucester, have slackened, but the Japanese continue to plague the Americans with air raids. Recent aerial assaults were light, however. The Japanese lost 37 planes in heavy raids here Sunday night and early Monday. ASTP Men To Get Furloughs All ASTP men stationed on campus except the men of Company G, who L. - a r.. - ......L. .- - !'1L. .- -4 . ... . Air Force Smashes Three Nazi Airdromes By The Associated Press ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, AL- GIERS, Dec. 29.-American two-en- gined Mitchell and Marauder Bomb- ers of the 15th Air Force struck hard at three Nazi airdromes on the out- skirts of Rome yesterday, tearing up hangars and other installations and destroying at least five parked enemy planes, it was announced today, (A German news agency broadcast said that Rome was bombed at noon yesterday. The Nazi-controlled Paris radio asserted heavy bombs fell near St. Peter's Basilica while the Pope watched from a Vatican window and asked to be informed of any damage. (The German broadcast said that Allied planes dropped heavy bombs on an outlying residential quarter, and that six hits ,ear the Basilica of San Paolo killed and injured many persons. It added that about 50 were wounded by machine-gun fire. There was no confirmation of these Axis reports from any Allied source.) Marauders attackers the Guidonia and Centocelle airfields east of Rome, while Mitchells swept over the Ciam- pino Field, south of the capital, in two waves, spreading havoc with high - explosive and fragmentation bombs. The Marauders reported five enemy planes destroyed for sure, and Mitchell crewmen said they saw sev- eral craft burning. An Allied com- munique said the three fields were "accurately bombed." Great forces of American and me- dium bombers which dropped hun- dreds of tons of bombs on rail and airfield installations at Rome July 19 and Aug. 13, while Italy still was in the war, were specially trained to carry out precision attacks and were instructed to avoid historical and religious points. They were remark- ably successful igl this respect. Work Hold-Ups Make 5,000 Idle in Detroit DETROIT, Dec. 29.-(P)-Approx- imately 5,000 war plant workers were madeaidle today by work stoppages on day shifts in two Detroit area factories but officials of both plants later reported that production re- turned to normal after the afternoon shifts in the two factories involved had come to work on schedule. A third strike, in the aircraft en- gine division of the Highland Park plant of the Ford Motor Co., was re- ported tonight. Chrysler , Corporation announced the closing of its Dodge Truck plant in Mound Road, putting 3,000 per- sons out of work following a work stoppage by 320 women assembly line workers and the Ford Motor Co. re- ported about 2,000 men employed on B-24 bomber plane wing assemblies had left their jobs. The Dodge Plant women workers said they left the factory because "it was too cold for work." The company1 asserted the plant temperature was at the same level that has been maintained thus far this winter and in previous winters. Churchill Recovered ' LONDON, Dec. 30. (Thursday)- (A')-Prime Minister Churchill, in a buoyant and jocular "personal note" issued through No. 10 Downing Street early today, announced to the Allied nations that he has recovered from his bout with pneumonia and that all along he has been able to dis- charge fully his. official duties. i - P"1 '---I rWage Controversy Is Still in Progress as Negotiations Continue Regents Get $16,750 To Make 'U' Center In Stud E h n t ane. i i i Soviet Forces Take 250 Communities In 24 Hour Drive Toward Bug River By The Associated Press By The Associated Press WASHINGTON, Dec. 29-Leaders of the Railroad Firemen, Conductors and Switchmen, last of the union holdouts, officially cancelled strike orders tonight in telegrams to re- gional chairmen i- the field. The cancellation order went out without any mention of the wage con- troversy, which is still unsettled as far as those three groups are con- cerned. H. M. Fraser of the Order of Rail- way Conductors, said the message to his regional chairmen merely said: "Strike instructions and order can- celled account federal control of rail- roads." Signs Point to Settlement There wei'e signs that efforts are underway to wind up the whole wage dispute and let the roads return to private management. Then followed these developments: 1. The heads of these unions con- ferred at the White House with War Mobilization Director James F.' Byrnes. (President Roosevelt, who has been handling the railroad case personally and had offered to arbi- trate all wage disputes, was keeping to his room because of a head cold.) Confer with Somervell 2. The 15 non-operating unions, together with representatives of rail- road management, conferred at the War Department with Lt. Gen. Bre- hon B. Somervell, appointed to oper- ate the roads when the government1 seized them Monday night because ofi the strike threat. 3. Leaders of the firemen, conduc- tors and switchmen went back to the War Department for a further con- ference with Somervell. 4. The trainmenarim engineers, whoj agreed when the President first pro- posed arbitration, signed a contract .1 Making the University one of the centers for future training of Latin American students, the Board of Re- gents in their meeting yesterday ap- proved a State Department program which will bring all Latin American professionals coming to this country to Michigan before they enter other institutions. The program provides that- these students spend the first two months of their training in this country in the English Language Institute of the University. 'Under State Department The new plan comes under the of- fice of Inter-American Affairs of the Science and Education Division of the State Department. The English Language Institute has been in operation for three terms and aims to give Latin Americans new to this country a working knowl- edge of English and train them to teach the language in their native countries. $16,750 Fund Presented The State Department has deposit- ed $16,750 with the University to be used as a revolving fund from which salaries will be paid. Students in the Institute reside in English House on Washtenaw and the program is under the direction of Prof. Charles C. Fries and works on an exchange basis with the Univer- sity of Mexico. At the same time, the Regents ap- proved a plan for cooperation with the Division of Child Welfare of the State Welfare Commission to train 15 student child welfare workers here beginning Monday.- The program is for students work- ing for their master's degree in social See REGENTS, p. 4 Volak ie RUSSIA 'Luki . Rzhiev \ V t skOsha SM OLENSK Rogackov' Gorodets >ZhlobinKhalch -' p Konotop% KI EV Romnyt \ Smela Keecu \ 9\ nme Z' wan tne rauroaas emoodying nis... - awards-4 cents an hours general wage increase and 5 cents in lieu of Prof. Duff endack Resigns overtime and away-from-home ex- From Physics Department ysics DeparPmen! 1penses. U.S. Ships Shell Jap-Held Kieta Village Is Important Enemy Air, Sea Base SOUTH PACIFIC ALLIED HEAD- QUARTERS, Dec. 30-()-American warships, bent on hastening the withdrawal of the Japanese from their last big Solomon base at Bou- gainville, ventured into waters Mon- day where they had not been before to shell the important enemy air and shipping point of kieta for an hour and a half. The bombardment, announced to- day, occurred at a point directly across the island from the one beach- head on Bougainville the Americans possess at Empress Augusta Bay. Kieta is midway up the island's east coast along which Japanese have been reported withdrawing from the southern half to the north. The warships, including cruisers, fired 3,000 rounds into Kieta village, the Chinatown area, the Arawe barge depot and Rigu mission sector. The only opposition consisted of weak ground fire. There were even indications the Japanaese were taking out some' troops from the north toward Buka and New Britain. Fred Hampson, Associated Press war correspondent, reported from Munda, New Georgia, that returning Marine Corps pilots of light bombers, told of attacking enemy barges off North Bougainville. Ending a 20 year association with the University, Prof. Ora S. Duffen- dack of the physics department ten- dered his resignation to the Regents meeting yesterday. Prof. Duffendack is leaving his aca- demic work to accept a position in private industry with an eastern re- search firm. While the Regents accepted his re- signation, the Board granted him permission to continue his war work here. , For the past two years Prof. Duf- fendack has been chief of a research committee of the National Defense Research Committee. Under his new association, he will be permitted to conduct this war work here for the duration. * State Control Over Wayne'U' Proposed DETROIT, Dec. 29.-(YP)-Council- men Frank Cody and Charles E. Do- rais asserted Wednesday that they thought the State should take over Wayne University-at least its junior colleges. Dorais and Cody expressed their opinions during a discussion in which Mayor Edward J. Jeffries urged the council to join him and the Board of Education in a plea to Gov. Kelly to provide past-war state funds for additional buildings for Wayne. The State," Cody declared, "should also finance and supervise the cours- es of study of public junior colleges in Highland Park and Dearborn, too, I believe." In a spectacular breakthrough along a 110-mile are west of Kiev, Russian troops have recaptured in one week from the Nazis almost the entire Kiev bulge. They are now only 48 miles from the pre-war Polish border, having few natural obstacles to impede them with the exception of the Bug River, 200 miles away. Germans Fear Big Invasion In Two Weeks Channel Islands Said To Be Attacked by British Commandos By The Associated Press LONDON, Thursday, Dec. 30.-The Nazis sounded two invasion alarms last night, and a Wilhelmstrasse offi- cial was quoted today as saying the big thrust could be expected in 14 days. A series of British Commando stabs on the channel islands within 22 miles of French Normandy in the north, and a big scale massing of Allied ships at Gibraltar in the south were reported by the Germans. The German official's prediction, the basis for which was not disclosed, was reported in a Berlin dispatch to the Stockholm newspaper Dagens Nyheter, Reuters said. The fact that Gen. Dwight D. Eis- enhower's invasion staff is still in- complete, with the appointment of a United States ground commander unannounced, suggested that the Nazi spokesman's statement might have been issued in an attempt to obtain Allied reaction. The German account of the Com- mando raids on Sark followed an official Nazi announcement Sunday of a combined British and French raid Christmas Eve on an undisclosed point on the German-held French channel coast. Official British comment was lack- ing on the raids, but it can be as- sumed that lightning hit-and-runt raids to east German "Atlantic wall" defenses will increase as the invasion hour approaches. The Sark assaults, DNB said, "failed like all similar attempts of this kind." Berlindsaid the Commandos struck the tiny rockbound island in the eaily hours on Dec. 28. A German communique declared, "The enemy left dead men during the hasty re- treat." The date of the other attack was not disclosed. 1 Man of the Year LONDON, Thursday, Dec. 30.-The Red Army has surged to within 48 miles of the pre-war Polish border west of Kiev in a spectacular break- through along a 110-mile arc, con- tinuing today its offensive across flat steppeland that offered the Germans few natural defenses short of the Bug River, 200 miles away. The Soviet power drive took 260 communities in 24 hours, including the major rail hub and fortress town of Korosten as powerful German de- fenses were suddenly shattered, Mos- cow announced. Vygov Is Vital Point Capture of the town of Vygov, 12 miles beyond Korosten, and Ushomir, in between, on the railway line south- westward to Novograd Volinsk placed the Russians well beyond the Zhito- mir-Korosten highwater mark of their earlier offensive toward Poland. Additional details of the Moscow communique, recorded by the Soviet 'Monitor, also put the swift-moving Red Army 13 miles, from the impr- tant rail junction of Berdichev as they captured Byelopole to the south east in a significant 10-mile push from Nekhvorosch, taken . Tuesday. Byelopole is on the Berdichev-1ev highway. 35-Mile Sector Taken Advances in the past 24 hours gave the Russians complete control o' a 35-mile sector of the trunk railway line from Leningrad to Odessa s they captured Chernykhov, 1 - north of Zhitomir, Turchinka 'sd Fassovo, rail stations between Koro sten and threatened Zhitomir. * In another important thrust at tie southern end of the advancing Rus- sian are the Second Ukrainian Ariy captured Skvira, 50 miles southw t of Kiev, terminus of a short feed r railway into the Kiev-Zhmerlka line. Germans Abandon Equipment The Soviet midnight bulletin told of Germans running away, abandon.. ing equipment and "suffering excep- tionally heavy losses and equip- ment" in engagements still taking place. Korosten fell to rapid Soviet frn- tal and flanking attacks as the town was hemmed in after an artillery barrage. Here again the Germans were routed and the Russians con- tinued on southwestward to take Vygov. Commission Debates School Election Vote At its second day of sessions here yesterday, the Michigan Public Mu_~ cation Study Commission, appointed by Gov. Kelly to consider post-war school planning, endorsed a proposal which would allow all persons Who vote in the general state elections to be eligible to participate in the gen- eral school elections. Also considered at yesterday's meeting was the suggestion to syfl,- chronize school and normal spring elections, since, as Sen. Milliken of Traverse City, a member of the om- mission, pointed out, special school elections alone attract few voters. The entire afternoon was spent in debating a proposal to reorganie into 250 units the state's present 6,274 school districts. The first proposal which would permit all voters in general state elections to vote on non-financial school issues will be considered next month at the special session of the state legislature. Final approval must still be given to the consolidation scheme. In favor of the voting proposal it was asserted that since a large part of the state's revenues for education come from the sales tax, non-proper- tied voters should be allowed to 'par- ticipate in school elections. Bomber Navigator TO SALUTE OR NOT TO SALUTE: Son Meets WAC Lieutenant Mother By DORIS PETERSON Pfc. Harry Hilton, a member of Co. A, was faced with a difficult problem yesterday: should he salute his mo- ther when he met her as a good Arny man or should he kiss her as a duti- port to the Ninth Service Command headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. Pfc. Hilton enlisted on June 14, his younger brother who was 17 at the time he enlisted in the Seabees on July 15 and Lt. Hilton enlisted on the WACS, because it's such a won- derful experience." Lt. Hilton said. Both of her sons have won medals for marksmanship. Before entering the service Lt. Hil- ton did personnel work for 16 years. Cha anlzfa n Aia Ahit:,, - nnt