Evening star., 1944-02-06
War Review
Axis Badly Rocked
On Two Fronts
By Ho,card p. Bailey


231st Week of World War III
Disaster overlook the Axis on two
main fronts last week and Amer
lean and Russian successes were so
vital that material progress was
made toward ultimate defeat of the
enemy.
On a third, the Italian front, it is
reported that Marshal Rommel has
been rushed back into control in a
desperate effort to eliminate the 5th
Army's beachhead, which menaces
not only Rome, but all German
forces now campaigning on the Gus
ta7e Line to the south.
Most sensational development of
the week was the American attack on
the Marshall Islands, which caught
the JapS mapping and which has
penetrated the outer ring of jap
arcse defenses, placing the Amer
leans in an excellent position to
harass the main japanese base at
Truk or move northward to retake
Wake Island.
Striking with the most massive
display of naval power in history,
Admiral Nimitz directed an attack
which was aimed at Kwajalein
Atoll, in the western end of the
Marshalls, instead of Jaluit, Woetje,
Mill and other bases facing east,
where the Japs were supposed to
have their greatest strength and ex-
pected attack. 1t was another ex-
ample of the tried and proyen leap
frog tactics which have carried the
Allied forces forward in the long
series of victories over the Axis,
which has been hard put to main
tain extended lines of communica-
ton.
Air Attack Paves Way.
In a heavy air attack which pre-
ceded and accompanied the land
Ing operations, enemy air fields
. throughout the Marshalls were
pounded into uselessness and re-
sistance to the landings was limited
to the ground forces which were so
shocked by the bombing and can
nonading that there was little fight
left in them. The 7th Division of
the Army which took Kwajalein
1slet suffered only 27 dead, 9 miss
ing and 100 wounded in ridding the
greater part of the islet of Japs who
lost at least 1850 in dead alone
Throughout the operation, it was
stated casualties ran at about a
1-to-46 ratio and even the hard
boiled marines were described as
sickened at the slaughter they were
carrying on.
Roi, the principal airbase in the
Marshalls, was quickly seized and
by the end of the week the greater
part of the 80 islets in the Kwaja-
lein Atoll were occupied and the
permanancy of the occupation was
Indicated by the landing of repre-
sentatives of the American military
government, trained at Charlottes-
vile. Va, who are taking over ad-
ministration of the civil affairs OF
the islands.
In the New Guinea operations, all
of Southern New Guinea Is now
completely under Allied control and
Australians are moving toward
Wewak, the principal enemy airbase
on the island which was bombed
again in another surprise attack by
American planes, leaving nearby 80
enemy planes wrecked, the majority
o. which never even rose to show
fight
The January score was 500 Jap
planes destroyed to the loss of 80
Allied craft. .,e
IA Jap Ships Sunk.
1t was announced Monday that
American subs had sunk IA more
Jap ships, including two large and
one medium transport, assumed to
be on their way to strengthen the
Marshalls.
On Monday, also, Navy four
motored Consolidated Coronados
bombed Wake Island on 2,4o0-mile
fight which gave the Japs cause to
stop and consider for Truk is only
1900 miles from the airfield on Roi
and when Rabaul falls will be IN
vulnerable spot for shuttle or CO.
ordinated bombing from those bases.
Toxic warned the japanese people
to be prepared for bad news.
Monday was day of good an
nouncements, for from Gen. Still
wells headquarters came the state
ment that an entire Japanese regi-
ment operating along the new Ledo
Road supply line into China had
been eliminated and that a second
Is being drawn into a similar fate.
And just as a reminder to the Japs
that there is no front on which they
may relax, Navy bombers attacked
the base at Paramushiro on the
northern tip of the Kuriles Tuesday
night. No resistance was met
The Nazis, who have proven them
selves adept at escaping from en-
trapment on the Russian front, last
week took one chance too many and
somewhere between 100000 and 15O,-
600 troops, composing 10 divisions, or
the troops left in 10 divisions, have
been completely encircled by Ukrain-
ian forces moving eastward from
DNl 4oC1h hOF dllu WGSlWdIu lIOIIl
Smela, important rail center which
was captured on Wednesday. Bat
ting fiercely to break out of the
trap, at least 10000 Nazis were
killed Thursday and the Russian
lines held firmly.
Up on the Baltic front, the Ger
man colonists already see defeat
ahead and are reported fleeing back
toward their homeland. A victory of
extreme Importance came Wednes-
day when Red troops broke across
the Estonian border and moved
rapidly along the highway and
paralleling rail line, which run from
Kingisepp to Narva. This advance
has placed the Russians we'll along
the southern coast of the Gulf of
Finland and in an excellent position
to move westward to Tallinin, where
the last rail line now useful to the
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