The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-03-31
BY LOUIS F. KEEMLE United Press War Editor

A powerful American naval-air thrust deep into Japanese-held wat CTS only 460 miles from the Philip pines blazed into the war news to- day amid other stirring develop ments on the worldwide battle fronts.
 Focal points in the expanding operations against the enemy were:
 l. A strong fleet of United States destroyers smashed at Japanese bases in the Palau Islands, while bombers struck at Truk, chief enemy stronghold, 1,055 miles to the east, and other objectives over a wide arc of the central and southwest Pacific.
 2. The Red army pushed relent- lessly towards the Balkans, advanc- ing to within 15 miles of the east ernmost part of Czechoslovakia now held by Hungary.
 3. The British RAP struck force ful blow at the armament and traf- fic center of Nurnberg in western Germany but lost 96 bombers in battle with LuftWaffe night fighters. The attack on Palau carried the American spearLead aimed at the Philippines, the China coast and eventually Japan to the westernmost Carolines, nearly 4,000 miles from | Pearl Harbor.
 Extent Of Danger
 The extent of the damage done to Japanese aircraft, shipping and ground installations in the Palau Islands was not disclosed nor was thethe present whereabouts of the fleet, for security reasons. It was known that the Japanese navy again declined to give battle and withdrew such WarShips as were protecting the islands when scout planes detected the approach of our forces.
 A communique from Admiral Chester w. NimitZ, commander-in- chief of the Pacific fleet, issued last night, said the assault was continu ing. It began at dawn Wednesday, United States time.
 Washington observers doubted that a landing attempt would be made because of the long supply line that would be involved and the fact that the other Caroline Islands to the east, including Truk, still re- main to be cleaned up. Palau is some 1,500 miles from our nearest advance base at Eniwetok in the 1 Marshalls.
 The attack was regarded rather as a bold forward thrust in campaign clear the enemy out of the strong ! ly-fortified Carolines and smash his entire defense system east of the Philippines.
 Planes Hit 2 Ways
 In conjunction with the attack, Navy and Army planes from the central Pacific and Gen. Douglas MacArthur's southwest command hit two ways at Truk, while Ponape and Ujelang in the Carolines and four enemy positions in the eastern MarshdllS also were attacked. In ad- dition, heavy bombers and fighters struck the enemy base of Hollandia on New Guinea, probably destroy ing 125 Japanese planes and doing much damage. In the attack on Truk, between 54 and 59 enemy planes were destroyed.
 Elsewhere in the Far Eastern the ater, the Japanese made progress in their drive across the Indian oor- der froS Burma to interrupt the main Allied supply line in north ern Burma. New Delhi reported that the Japanese had penetrated 30 miles across the frontier, cut the main highway between Imphal, capi- tai of Manipur State, and Kohima to the north, and were closing in for an assault on thet Wo towns.
 On the Russian front, the first Ukrainian army advanced 19 miles from captured Kolomyja to take Delyatin, Is miles from the Czecho- sloVakian (Hungarian) border and Is miles from the Tartar Pass through the CarpathianS to the