20 Aug 1944
Page 1
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Newspaper
High Point Enterprise
Location
High Point, North Carolina, United States of America
Date
Aug 20, 1944
Page
1
War analyst Kirke L. Simpson reports August currents shaping the eastern and western fronts. Nazi morale falters as homefront cheerleaders push retreat toward victory and new promises, while French resistance grows amid Allied advances and Vichy collapse.
Aug 19 reports from Paris say German forces evacuated large stores of supplies and prepared to continue the fight. Maquis couriers report resistance troops within the city ready to act, with a claim that 10 officers including Col. Kolopfestein were killed July 14 when a charge wounded them crossing the Seine.
Japanese postwar planners propose a three bloc world order with East Asia Europe and the Americas led by chief nations under the three principles of neighborliness joint defense and reciprocal economy. Allied air strikes continue against Japan as MacArthur reports crippled supply lines and ongoing offensive patrols around New Guinea and the Philippines.
Pvt. Alfred B. Richie of Hickory North Carolina was convicted at a court martial for murder and robbery in the death of Cpl. Peter Defusco of Uniontown Pennsylvania. He was sentenced to hang. The body of Defusco, skull crushed, was found June 27 near the 37th Infantry motor pool. Richie, 26, did not testify. He was inducted February 26, 1942 at Fort Jackson South Carolina. FBI later testified Richie had 1065 dollars on arrest with 180 dollars claimed earlier for gambling devices.
Lt Col Melbourne W. Boynton 39, head of medical safety at the Office of Flying Safety, died during a high altitude parachute test at Clinton County Army Air Base near Wilmington, Ohio. He reportedly fell after a 42,000 foot jump from a Flying Fortress, as observers watched the chute fail to deploy. The incident followed experiments begun by Lt Col W Randolph Lovelace at Wright Field.
Allied forces push toward the Rhone valley as American Seventh Army advances from Marseille toward Aix en Provence. Gen Ferdinand Neuling identified among captured German officers. French and American tanks spearhead operations around St Maximin and Cannes area while Germans withdraw and reserves wane.
Red army units penetrated toward Lomza and OstrowMazowiecki as additional lines breached Nazi defenses on the east Prussian border. Moscow reported 300000 troops plus tank and air support driving from the Warsaw region toward East Prussia with several towns and railway junctions falling in a widening Soviet advance.
On the French Swiss frontier dated Aug 19 frontier reports-state Pierre Laval arrived at Belfort at noon and Marshal Petain was expected there overnight. Belfort lies about 65 miles west of Basel and near the German border. Rumor says Laval would set up administrative offices at Belfort.
The State Board reports seven new infantile paralysis cases, raising the total since June 1 to 566 across 62 counties, with deaths steady at 23. First-case reports come from Hoke and Edgecombe. Gaston, Ashe, Burke, and Surry add cases. An emergency Hickory hospital is praised as a preventive measure amid the outbreak.
French interior resistance forces the Maquis have liberated 70 villages southeast of Paris and taken over whole departments. They report police in Saone and Loire joining the movement as German garrisons at Thonon Evian Lefayet and Schamomix negotiate surrender. The area sees raids into Brittany and Poitiers while Maquis block munitions trains and attack at Cluny. Allied air support and French towns like Annecy Grenoble are cited in ongoing engagements.
The Die Zeitung published in London reports Nazi decrees aim to create chaos after defeat. It says Goebbels intends to uproot Germans and keep them away from home to enable an underground fight and hinder Allied occupation and reconstruction across Europe.
The Sunday Times argues against using British islands as partial payment for debts and urges continued joint security and cooperation between Britain and the United States. It stresses that both sides owe debts and that mutual defense depends on ongoing collaboration, not sovereignty over islands.
Allied advances near the Seine put American third Army troops within miles of Paris as German forces retreat toward the capital. Explosions scar Paris while Patton’s patrols push toward Mantes and Vernon. German command admits pressure but holds back direct liberation as the push continues.
President Roosevelt announced Maj. Gen. Patrick J. Hurley and Donald M. Nelson will depart for China to meet General Chiang Kai Shek. Hurley handles military issues while Nelson discusses economic problems. Wilson becomes War Production Board chair in Nelson’s absence. The mission will last several months and reshapes industrial reconversion leadership.
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