Daily Post - 17.03.1943, Blaðsíða 1

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DAILY POST
nesday, March 17th 1943 Price 50 aurar.
BattleRagesEastOiKMov
Nazis Attempt To Cross Donetz River
London March, 16th. —- Moscow messages report that Russ-
ian forces have made further progr'ess towards Smolensk, while
further south the main weight of the fighting has shifted to the
east of Kharkov, the evacuation of which by our Allies was an-
nounced last night.
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IV — 49
Now that the Germans have
recaptured Kharkov, the fight
ing has shifted to the middle
reached of the Donetz Basin, a
few miles east of the city, —
where the enemy is concentrat
ing all his efforts to crossing
the river. Extremely heavy ca-
ualties were inflicted on the
enemy by the Russians, as they
fell back.
HEAVY CASUALTIES
The Red Army has establis-
hed new positions on the left
bank of the Donetz river, and
so far repulsed all the enemy’s
attempt to cross it. North of
Kharkov, in the region of Biel-
gorod, picked German formati-
ons xare meeting with stiff So-
viet resistance, and here the
Nazis have made no progress.
SIÍORTENING OF LINE
West of Rostov, there have
been continued artillery, duels
where the Russians are up a-
gainst the strong German de-
fence line guarding Taganrog.
Our Allies report local succes-
ses in this area. The Kuban di-
strict is not mentioned in Mos-
cow dispatches to-day, but it
may be gathered from the en-
emy communiqué that the Rus-
sians are advancing here also,
as the Germans speak once a-
gain of a shortening of their
lines.
Up on the Central front, the
enemy is still being forced to
retreat. Our ARies are here at-
tacking on a 100 mile front, the
line curving from south of Bye
lyeto south of Vyazma. — Paul
Winterton, BBC correspondent
points out that the Russian re-
verse on the Kharkov front is
to some extent offset by the
good progress being made by
the Red Army on the Central
front, where Soviet columns
advancing south of Byilye have
reached a point 60 miles from
Smolensk.
40 PLACES LIBERATED
The liberation of 40 places in
this area was effected yester-
day. The Luftwaffe lost 20 air-
craft in this region, 12 being
brought down by anti aircraft
fire, and eight in combat.
Up on the northern front, —
south of Lake Ilmen, Marshal
Timoshenko’s forces have forc
edan important German de-
fence line along a river near
Staraya Russa.
Dowd With Hitler
“Nieder mit Hitler” (“Down
with Hitler”) was scrawled in
chalk on many walls in Mun-
ich after last Tuesday’s raid by
the RAF says a British United
Press correspondent on the
German frontier.
“A trustworthy eye-witness
tells me that in some places
these inscriptions remained for
several hours before the police
washed them off,” he wires.
“Hundreds of inquiries were
subsequently made in working
class districts where anti-Hitl-
er feeling was believed to ex-
ist, but no arrest were made.”
GhurcliiH Fnlly Recovered
Loud cheers went up in the
House of Commons this 'morn-
ing as Mr. Churehill entered
it for tb" first time since his
illness. I vas later received in
audience ’ -r H.M. the King, and
stayed ( mch.
Jap Convop
Smashed
Darwin Raided
London, March 16th.
From the South-West Paci-
fic comes the news of a series
of smashing attacks by Allied
planes against an enemy con-
voy north of Australia.
Yesterday three Japanese
transports, packed with troops,
and apparently unescorted, —
were spotted south-west of
New Guinea, heading for the
Aru Islands, which lie about
400 miles north-west of Austra
lia.
As soon as the enemy’s posi-
tion had been flashed to Head
quarters, aircraft were dis-
patched to the attack. The Al-
lied bombers scored hits on two
of the vessels, setting both on
'fire, while fighters raked the
crowded decks with machine-
gun fire, killing and wounding
mány of the enemy troops. On-
ly one of the attacking planes
failed to return. •
TWO DOZEN BOMBERS
The Japanese made a deter-
mined attempt to raid Port Dar
win yesterday, by sending over
two dozen bombers, escorted by
25 Zeros.
Spitfires took a heavy toll of
the enemy aircraft, which did
only slight damage, shooting
down two bombers and twelve
fighters for the loss of four of
their own. Moreover two of our
pilots are safe.
”Sofia“
An Ankara message reports
that all German officers in
Bulgaria have received orders
to go to the capital, Sofia. —
The Germans are said to be
becoming increasingly nervous
about the Bulgarian Black Sea '
coast, from where the greater
part of the civilian population
has been evacuated.
7,000 French-
men Flee To
Nonntains
London, March 16th.
An agency message from
Zurich reported last night that
French patriots, said to numb-
er some 7,000, have taken to
the mountains in the Haute Sa
voy, in defiance of Hitler’s mo
bilisation order for young
Frenchmen, who are to be sent
to Germany for slave work in
the Nazi war factories. These
7,000 have rejected an ultima-
tum to surrender.
LOSS OF FOOD
The message also reports that
some 250 of these'young French
men have already been forced
by loss of food to give them-
selves up, ana are reported to
have been loaded upon Ger-
men lorries, and sent to an un-
known destination, in spite of
•Hitler’s promise that they
should meet with no punish-
ment if they gave themselves
up.
REFUSED TO SURRENDER
German dispatches say that
the main group, which refused
to surrender, is now being hem
ded . in by Laval’s police, and
by Italian troops.
A message from Genev. says
that there is a nation-wide op-
position in France to the mo-
bilisation order, and that distur
bances have already occurred in
Toulon.
39 Dsp 9n M
. Eleven torpedoed Indian sea
men adrift on a raft for 30 days
in the South Atlantic, have ar-
rived in a U.S. port.
They were among over 100
other Mohammedan members
of the British Merchant Navy,
all of whom were survivors
from recent U-boat -Uacks on
two Allied freighte”
(Continued 1. 4).