Mines and Traps Left by Fleeing Nazis Near El Agheila
British Eighth Army pursuing Rommel’s remnants advances 120 miles from El Agheila with the Axis main force 240 miles from Tripoli. German and Italian troops retreat leaving thousands of mines and booby traps to slow Allied progress as Montgomery’s forces push toward Sirte. Berlin and radio reports claim Rommel’s rear guard linked with the main Axis force. Allied air and naval actions continue sinking Axis ships and bombarding targets in Tunisia and Libya.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lewis Hawkins
London
Eighth Army
Erwin Rommel
el Agheila
Sirte
Tripoli
Mussolini
Africa Corps
Zauta En Nofilia
Bernard L. Montgomery
Morocco
Marble
Arch
Rammel
Berlin
Rommel
Fettle
IG. S
U. S
Bizerte
Italy
Admiralty
Tunisian
Andrew Browne Cunningham
North Africa
Tunisia
Libya
Wavell opens drive to retake vital Burma road
Allied forces in the India area announced a Burma offensive advancing about 40 miles into the country to reopen the Burma road to China. The dispatch says troops moved south from the Arakan border into western Burma, capturing the Maungdaw Buthidaung area, while enemy forces withdrew. Aerial sweeps supported the advance, with reports of operations near Rathedaung.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Wavell
Burma Road
Associated Press
New Delhi
India
Carchibald
Archibald P. Wavell
Burma
China
United Nat ‘Tions
Arakan
Maungdaw-Buthidaung
Akyab
Marungdaw
Buthidaung
Bay of Bengal
Mayu
U. S
Joseph Stilwell
Ben
United Nations
Rathedaung
Maungdaw
Gasoline policy resumes with crackdown on bootlegging rise
Price Administrator Leon Henderson said gasoline sales would restart at 12:01 a m Monday with A and B coupon books valid for certain gallons while warning of rising bootlegging and black market activity. He reported 190 dealers suspended and pledged stricter enforcement and tighter supervision of fuel regulations. James Byrnes ordered reports on policy adequacy and remedial action, and relief measures were announced for homeowners using oil heat. Senate probe chair Maloney said the inquiry will resume to study future conditions.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Richard L. Turner
Washington
Leon Henderson
James F. Byrnes
Henderson
Ickes
Transportation
Eastman
Byrnes
OPA
Maloney
Soviets Roll Germans Back Thirty Miles
Soviet information bureau said in a special communique that the third winter offensive in the Voronezh Don region killed 20,000 Germans and captured 10,000, with spearheads driving 30 to 37 miles and over 200 populated places gained as the front extended from Kursk to Stalingrad.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Eddy Gilmore
Moscow
Don
Voronezh
Soviet Information Bureau
Britain Downs Three Of Six Nazi Bombers
London reports that three of six Focke-Wulf 190 fighter bombers were shot down over southeast England today while the other three were damaged, two severely. RAF fighters and anti-aircraft fire shared the defenses, with all RAF crews returning safely and only minor town damage reported.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
England
Selsey
Universal Book For Rationing Ready January
The Office of Price Administration said universal ration books for 192 stamps will be printed by eighteen firms at up to 500000 daily and distributed to consumers in January. The project totals about 150 million books and nearly 30 billion stamps, with security to deter counterfeiters. Delays due to prioritizing military shipments may affect delivery timelines and space in freight rooms.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington
Office of Price Administration
OPA
United States
CPA
South African Commander Dies In Plane Crash
Capetown December 19 Maj Gen Dan Pienaar commander of the First South African Division and famed desert tactician is killed in an air crash while flying from the Middle East to South Africa. Eleven other soldiers died including a colonel and two lieutenant colonels. Pienaar was a national hero and popular commander.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Capetown
South Africa
Dan Pienaar
Middle East
Pienaar
McNutt plan reshapes WW2 discharge for older soldiers
War Manpower Chairman McNutt tightens the discharge path for men over thirty eight requiring written application to commanding officers. Applicants must show value to factory work or family dependents, plus a job offer. Estimated waivers under this system stay under five hundred thousand. total eligible near eight hundred fifty thousand.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ray Tucker
McNutt
Oernight
Stimson
Uncle Sam
Taft calls end to competitive food bidding
Senator Taft urges eliminating bidding among government agencies for scarce foods. He proposes consolidating procurement under Agriculture Secretary Wickard for Army Navy and leasehold needs to ensure civilian rations aren’t severely cut. He argues a single buying authority could set a schedule meeting military needs while preserving civilian supplies.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington
Taft
Ohio
Wickard
Allied and Axis Move Materials in Tunisia Battle
Allied and Axis armies step up material movements amid sporadic rains ahead of renewed Tunisia fighting. U S 12th Air Force and RAF pound German communications. Flying Fortress bombs Axis warship and Bizerte docks. A-20s with P-38s attack northeast of Mateur destroying planes on the ground. Mateur yards damaged. four enemy planes and six damaged by US fliers, three American losses. Spitfires down an enemy fighter and an Italian bomber. P-38s near Gabes and Sfax down a Messerschmitt and damage locomotive and cars. Margaret Herlihy acquitted in Bisbee murder case of Capt. David Carr.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
North Africa
Tunisia
United States Army
12Th Air Force
RAF
Bizerte
Mateur
United States
Gabes
Sfax
Germans turn Poland into vast center for murdering Jews
The Inter Allied Information Committee stated that Germany transformed Poland into a mass murder hub for Jews through mass shootings electrocutions and lethal gas. It also claimed that 99 percent of Jews in Yugoslavia or who sought refuge there are dead.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Associated Press
London
Inter-Allied Information Committee
Poland
Yugoslavia
Russians Claim 273500 Deaths and Captures in Winter Offensives
Soviet communique reports 94,000 killed and 72,400 captured in the Don and Stalingrad fronts between November 19 and December 11, plus 20,000 killed and 10,000 captured in the Don region so far. It also notes a separate Nazi policy summary by Allied governments in London detailing mass deportations and extermination plans against Jews, with estimates of up to 2,000,000 Jews dead and 5,000,000 in danger.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Associated Press
Stalingrad
Don
London
Stephen S. Wise
American Jewish Congress
Europe
Warsaw
Eshetto
Rickenbacker Calls Rationing Protests Silly After Sea Ordeal
Lt. Col. Edward V. Rickenbacker, fresh from a 21 day open boat ordeal in the South Pacific, urged Americans to push wartime production and rationing protests as ridiculous. He spoke at a Washington press conference with War Secretary Stimson, recounting 71 harrowing days with seven companions and praising American pilots while condemning Japanese pilots as inexperienced. He also praised General MacArthur and noted the bravery of troops in Guadalcanal and New Guinea, urging home front resolve to sustain gains.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hamilton W. Faron
Washington
South Pacific
Edward V. Rickenbacker
Eddy
Stimson
Toom
Rick
Pacific
Te Hing
Guadalcanal
Solomons
Rickenbacker
New Guinea
Douglas MacArthur
Air
Brisbane
Australia
Hanford MacNider
Ricken
Dage
French Vessels Aid UN in North Africa War Effort
Admiral Cunningham reports French warships from Dakar are escorting Allied convoys in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. He notes free movement for Allied ships, says France’s Toulon meet aided the Mediterranean position, and praises U S and British ships, submarines, and Malta based air power contributing to landing millions of tons of stores. He cautions against rosy views.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
North Africa
Dakar
Atlantic
Mediterranean
Sir Andrew Browne Cunningham
Algeria
Tunisa
Ans
Cunningham
Toulon
United States
United Kingdom
Fleet Air Arm
Malta
Mustic
Also Mentioned on This Page
Madang
Cape Endaidere
Buna
Amboga
Kumusi
Cape Sanamanda
Cape Endaradere
Buna Mission
Cape Endaiadere
George Marshall
U. S. Army
Velikie Luki
Rzhev
Britain
Das
Senator Taft
Bisbee
Ariz
Margaret Herlihy
David D Carr
Fort Hauchuca
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