The daily monitor. (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1940-1942, 1941-01-17
War

Continued from Page -
began.
British authorities at Malta,
island citadel in the Mediterran-
can, said 10 axis planes were
shot down In q tempestuous dive
bombing raid on the harbor and
city yesterday. with three others
damaged.
In contrast to official German
and Italian reports Of the attack,
the British said little damage of
military importance was inflict-
ed as British machine guns chat
tered from rooftops and win
dows at the low-flying raiders.
Hitler's high command report
ed Nazi dive-bombers renewed
their efforts to sink the British
aircraft carrier Illustrious, al
ready crippled in q furious at
tack off Sicily Jan. 10, striking
at the 23.000-ton vessel as it
awaited repairs at the port of
Valletta, Malta.
The Nazi high command said
Several direct hits" were scored
on the Illustrious," and in
formed German quarters de-
clared the craft was now so bad
ly damaged she would probably
be knocked out of the war.
Furthermore, mum erou S
bombs struck the Malta arsenal"
a Nazi communique said, lard
a merchantmen was struck di-
rectly by the heaviest calibre
bombs"
During the night, distress sig
nails cracked out of the North
Atlantic from two large British
ships-the 14,935-ton passenger
liner Almeda Star and the TO-
578-ton freighter Zealandic.
The ISIS" signal from both
ships - meaning attacked by
submarine"-came from the
same general zone northwest of
Londonderry, ireland, prompt
ing speculation that the Ger
mans may have sent out q new
series Of U-boats big enough to
stand the buffeting of winter
storms at sea.
Later messages from the two
ships reported that each had
been torpedoed, but it was not
Immediately known whether
they had sunk. The Almeda
Star had previously been class
flied by Germany as a pirate
ship" to be sunk without warn.
ing because she allegedly car
ried arms.
In South American waters,
the Cat and Mouse" Saga of
the French foodship Mendoza
and a closely watching British
cruiser moved nearer q climax
as the Frenchman crept north
ward safely inside Brazilian ter
ritorial waters-with the British
cruiser Erickson just outside.
Three times in the past week,
the Mendoza has started to run
the gantlet without obtaining a
British navicert for her cargo,
and each time has turned back.
British authorities said ser
ious fires" were started by Nazi
incendiary bombs in the raid on
Bristol but fire officer declar-
ed 80 of the 100 blazes were
put out in less than 10 min
utes."
In London, where two afraid
alarms sounded before dawn,
200 soldiers and rescue workers
dug all night long with the aid
of screened lights to remove
more bodies from the rubble of
a London mems hostel, bombed
Wednesday night.
All four floors of the lodging
house were known to have been
occupied when it was hit.
So far, As men have been res
cued alive; but while the search
continued, officials said no faint.
est sign of survivors had como
from the debris for many hours.
Cold weather repeatedly linn.
tied fighting on the Albanian
front to patrol activity, while
forces encircling the
italian garrison at Tobruk, Lib
va, continued their preparations
for an assault.
Japanese reaction to the Unit
ed States attitude in the far
East was reflected in violent
anti-American comment In the
press as high military and cab
met Officials held q 4S-minute
with Premier Prince
Fumimaro Konoye. Domei, JAP
anese News Agency, said vital
questions" were discussed.
II was the third such confer
ence this week and foreign OBJ
expressed belief II her.
aided closer cooperation be-
tween the cabinet and army and
navy chieftains.
The jittery Balkans were kept
IN state of anxiety by reports
IF repeated clashes at the Soviet
Rumanian frontier and
~ reports from diplomatic quar-
lers that Adolf Hitler intends