The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-08-15
War On Many Fronts

in northwestern Germany and in Belguim and Holland.
 The invasion of southern France was preceded by nearly two weeks Of almost steady aerial bonbard- ment Of the coast. climaxed yester- day and last night by attacks by more than 2Oo0 heavy bombers and fighters on the French Riviera fore tifications and northwestern Italy, targets including Marseilles, Toulon, Nice, Cannes and Genoa.
 s.O0o Paratro0pers
 More than 4,000 partroopers took part in the invasion and la,000 air combat crewmen took to the air an bombers, fighters and transport planes in support of the landings.
 Gen. Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, supreme Allied commander in the Mediterranean, called on all French men to rally behind the armies of liberation, telling them that victory Is certain and to remember 1918. He said the objective is to drive the Germans out of France and join with the Allied armies advancing from Normandy.
 Gen. Charles De Gaulle's commit tee of National Liberation also suin- moned all Frenchmen to a national uprising against the German forces. Detailed instructions were broad cast all during the night and carry today telling patriots where ano how to strike.
 The battle in Brittany vas hailed by Allied officers at the front as the greatest victory of the war m the vest, which General Dwight ID. Eisenhower said yesterday t might be.
 Four Allied armies-the First and Third American, the First Canadian and the Second British-were clos ing in from the west. north ana east on a large part of the German Seventh Army. plus some divisions of the 18th from beyond the Seine and front line dispatches said there appeared little chance of escape.
 Maxi Concentration
 The Germans weer concentrating the bulk of their i2 shattered diyi- sions near the eastern end of the trap in a struggle to get asmany as possible through the Falaise- -Afgen- tan Gap. Front line dispatches said Allied artillery and airplanes were taking a aerrible toll Of men and afmof.
 The Canadians closed one of the two remaining escape roads py storming the village of Epanay, astride the highway leading north' eastward from Falaise. Allied heavy guns were crashing shells on Falalse itself and the remaining highway to the east at the rate Of one a minute.
 It was finally disclosed that Lieu- tenant General George S, Patton, Jr, "old blood and guts' is leading the Third American Army whose armored columns have been smash. ing the Germans in Brittany and lower Normandy, and which made the drive up through ArgentRp to complete the trap on the Seventh Army
 Philippines
 While these moment0us events were occurring in Europe, General Douglas MaeArthur was gFlnly edg' ing his way to the Philippines on the other side of the world.
 MaeAFthuT announced that Hal- mahera, stepping stone to the Philippines and key feeding point for men and supplies throughout the southwest Pacific, had been about knocked out by constant air attack, He said the Japanese no longer had free use of their once str0nge base,
 The Japanese meanwhile Tep0rtee trouble closer home, annonnelpg that 22 American LlberatoFs nom' hers had attacked Two Jima in the volcano islands, $50 miles south ot Tokyo, yesterday,