16 Mar 1945
Page 1
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This newspaper page contains 21 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
The Montana Standard
Location
Butte, Montana, United States of America
Date
Mar 16, 1945
Page
1
Tokyo radio reported heavy losses and substantial damage from recent American Superfortress incendiary raids. Japanese sources cited civilian emergency measures and evacuation orders for Japan’s five major cities.
American Fifth Army mortars silenced several German machinegun nests defending Vergato a mountain stronghold 14 miles southwest of Bologna on the Bologna Pistoia highway Allied headquarters announced Vergato nearly surrounded but the road to Bologna remained open and Nazis fought stubbornly A German raiding party drove Eighth Army troops from a position southwest of Imola near Riolo Dei Bagni as front activity dwindled with no major changes.
Partly cloudy to cloudy conditions with occasional snow showers in Butte and Montana west of the continental divide. Temperatures expected to hold with little change. highs around 35 in Butte and 40 to 50 elsewhere Friday. Snow possible across western mountains Saturday with colder air.
General MacArthur announced Australian troops have landed on Bougainville island’s northwest coast opposite Saposa, initiating a final campaign to clear Japanese forces. The amphibious assault proceeded inland with no reported opposition.
The Senate approved a bill authorizing the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to spend up to 1.468 billion dollars on subsidies for the next year. Taft warned subsidies may rise overall to 2.1 to 2.328 billion, with 560 million for the meat price roll back and other allocations for rubber, butter, flour, petroleum, copper and more. The measure faces House action.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill told Conservative delegates that the European war could end before summer. He predicted victory over Germany and said a postwar general election would be possible once war conditions ease. He urged the party to defend free enterprise against nationalization and left-wing ideas. He attacked critics while rallying supporters for a late coalition exit.
P L Koenig chairman of the U S crop reporting board visited Helena and praised Montana farmers for recognizing the state's opportunities. He said Montana offers more agricultural development prospects than any western state as statistics tie to the state’s status as the nation’s third largest in land area and farmable acreage. He spoke with Jay Diamond A H Kruse and A D Robb before continuing to Washington.
MacArthur’s forces report heavy air and ground operations across the Philippines. In Mindanao they seize southern Zamboanga peninsula and bomb Davao area while Formosan and China seas air crews sink eight ships, including a destroyer and a 5,000 ton tanker, as 31st division moves toward San Ramon and Manicahan.
The War department lists 17 Montanans wounded in action in Europe. Names include Sgt. Howard L. Huffman of Highwood, First Lt. Richard L. Kerr of Bozeman, First Lt. Joseph S. Hermann of Floweree, and others from Great Falls Columbus Dillon and Helena, with kin listed for each.
Paris radio reports Adm. Jean-Pierre Esteva once Vichy president general of Tunisia was sentenced to life imprisonment military degradation and national indignity.
Guam, Friday, March 16. A small number of Japanese troops stubbornly resist Marines on Iwo Jima in the 25th day of battle. Marines mop up fanatical remnants trapped in caves on the northern tip as Fifth Marine Division tightens control. The Seventh Army air command bombed Chichi Jima while Liberators attacked earlier. Wake Island also faced naval air activity.
The United States invoked the Crimean charter Thursday to prevent Romania from slipping to a Communist minority after Premier Radescu was ousted and Groza’s Communist government took power. A State Department statement said Allies consult on political integrity and joint action under Crimean accords.
The U S Pacific Headquarters reports about 4,000 American Marines killed in the Iwo Jima invasion, described as the costliest Pacific assault. Vice Admiral Turner says U S losses are less than one fifth of Japanese dead, with Nimitz estimating around 20,000 Japanese casualties as of March 14.
Soviet shock troops pierced the Frisches hall coast southwest of Koenigsberg in a seven mile advance, splitting the East Prussian pocket and driving remnants of about 200,000 German troops toward the sea along a 39 mile front. Berlin and Moscow reported simultaneous pushes toward Gdynia and the Vistula delta as Stettin suburbs faced renewed Russian strikes. Heide Waldburg, five miles southwest of Koenigsberg, changed hands amid bitter fighting after months of back and forth across the region.
British and Indian forces inch toward Mandalay from east and west against Japanese in Fort Dufferin. Supplies reach the fort through the south gate despite shelling while 275 field guns are silenced nearby. Troop movements near the Myinma bridgehead hint at further developments as Japanese resistance shows signs of weakening east of the Irrawaddy.
A U S Army soldier in the First Army beyond the Rhine captures 340 Germans after initiating a one man roundup. He starts with 19 prisoners and calls for surrender as he moves toward prison cages.
Three Allied forces launch a major offensive against the Saar basin with the U S Seventh and Third armies and the French First army attacking from multiple fronts. American patrols report traffic halted on the Cologne Frankfurt super highway while front dispatches cite towns afire along the southern Saar line.
Allied air forces crushed the German army general staff center at Zossen near Berlin in a 2100-plane raid aided by night bombing. About 650 airmen targeted administration buildings and nerves center while heavy anti air fire was lighter there. Sixteen bombers and three fighters were missing.
An anti Nazi German medic surrendered with eight soldiers east of the Rhine. He claimed he had methodically crushed their wrists and ankles to enable their escape from battle.
Henry J. Shaffer elected exalted ruler of Butte lodge of Elks, succeeding Ray Stoness. Shaffer, Continental Oil cashier, has 12 years’ membership and came to Butte in 1912. Other officers elected include Thomas Meager, Joseph McCarthy, Francis Wakley, Frank Riley, John Degnan, Frank Loos, David Horn, Joseph Binney, James Finlen Jr., Thomas Kelly, and Floyd Fluent as Elks Home Building trustees.
Sgt Ralph G Neppel 21 of Glidden Iowa led a machinegun squad under direct German tank attack in Birgel Germany on December 14. Wounded in the legs and head he dragged 10 yards to firing position firing eight Germans before the tank retreated. He insisted a fellow sergeant be evacuated first and is recovering in England.
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