15 Aug 1944
Page 1
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Newspaper
News
Location
Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
Date
Aug 15, 1944
Page
1
Allied troops report successful invasion of southern France with weak German opposition. American forces seize escape roads near La Ferte Mace while British and American units push toward Vassy and Conde, trapping Oberkommando in a widening Normandy trap as German rearguard collapses.
Heavy bombers of the U S 34th Air Force bombed Takao docks on Formosa and sank three freighters in the straits between Formosa and the China coast. General Stilwell’s headquarters announced the action. Takao is a major port on Formosa’s southwest coast and a key base for Japanese operations in the China-Philippines area.
The German Transocean News Agency said in a Berlin broadcast that the war correspondent of the New York Sun was taken prisoner by the Germans in France. The name given was Gowen, unclear if it referred to Gault MacGowan who has been covering actions in France.
Letters from servicemen reveal wounds near Gambrill State Park and in France. Technical Sgt. Richard A. Fox writes from England detailing injuries with no date, while Staff Sgt. Frank Albaugh, in France, sends a Purple Heart home.
The Allies announced Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower named Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr. to lead the American Third Army in France as operations push through Brittany and Normandy. Bradley heads the 12th Army Group with Hodges commanding the First Army. Eisenhower praised Allied coordination as German resistance is battered, while warning the final victory may still be distant.
The invasion of southern France was perhaps the worst kept secret of the war. Thousands of French and American troops knew it was coming. Correspondents in Normandy and Brittany were widely questioned about the planned assault. The French underground was likely informed and spread the news to others.
British heavy bombers dropped explosives behind Canadian lines yesterday while attacking German positions, causing a number of casualties among Canadian forces.
Allied forces press the Mediterranean front as France nears freedom from Hitler. Reports from Normandy Brittany and the Riviera indicate German forces are stretched with many divisions rebased to blunt the western offensive. French forces in Africa train and the French Navy grows in strength as air and sea actions pound coastal defenses.
London reports that on August 15 at least 2 000 American and British heavy bombers attacked Germany Holland and Belgium with about 8 000 tons of bombs hitting 19 air bases and stations. Allied planes targeted southern France for five days, destroying rail bridges in the Rhone valley and isolating the landing area as Liberators and Fortresses struck five Rhone bridges and roads to Frejus.
On a B-25 over Southern France Kenneth Dixon reports that less than an hour after Allied landings there was no major fighting observed from 1,000 feet. Glider troops landed successfully with little or no resistance and parachute drops marked the inland area as thousands of chutes opened.
Russian forces began fresh assaults in front of Grajewo two miles south of the East Prussian border after breaking Osowiec defenses. Zakharov’s Second White Russian Army group struck the German line, supported by air bombardment, threatening Lyck and probing for a German withdrawal from northeast East Prussia. Maslennikov’s Third Baltic Army meanwhile overran southern Estonia, capturing Antsia and 100 other communities, widening Red Army gains toward the Baltic.
Tokyo radio said U S land based heavy bombers struck Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands about 600 miles from Japan. Twenty two Liberators attacked the fortress and two bombers were reportedly downed. The report noted fighters engaged the attackers as Nipponese radio claimed success.
Allied forces struck southern France on a broad Mediterranean front around Toulon and Marseille seizing beaches along a 125 mile Riviera with minimal opposition. Airborne and naval forces backed by 800 ships pushed inland while French resistance rose. initial objectives fell within hours and the invasion proceeded toward Nice and beyond.
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