The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-02-08
The War On
Many Fronts.

Red armies ground up German
units in two Dnieper pockets and
stor1ned into the Manganese center
Of Nikopol today as the United
States was reported by Swedish
sources to have advised Finland to
seek peace with the Soviet Union.
In Italy, the bloody battle for
Casino went into its eighth day as
American tanks and infantry main
tanned their incessant pressure on
the almost encircled German gar
rison. On the Anzio beachhead be-
low Come, however, it was the en-
battled Allied troops who dug In
with their backs to the sea and
fought grimly to hold their 100
square mile invasion sector.
The pre-invasion aerial often
Sive against Axis Europe blazed out
anew after a 24-hour respite with
British night raids on Western Ger
many and heavy daylight attacks
on the continent by American me-
dunn bomberS.
The Russian drive on Nikopo1, q
city Of 1000 on the lower reaches
Of the Dnieper River. was being
fiercely contested by five German
divisions totalling $1,000 to $4,000
men who were trapped and virtual
" encircled by the Dnieper River
and thanking Soviet forces. En-
trenched in pillboxes and irnmov-
able firing points, the Germans were
reported desperately to hold the
town and its rich Mangagenese
mines, which turned out 100000
tos annually in peace time.
Some 10 miles to the north, an
other death trap containing 10 more
German divisions caught below
Cherkasi on the middle Dnieper
was contracted from $50 to 800
square miles by the armies Of Gems
Nikolai F. Vatutin and Ivan S
Konev, which appeared about to
split the doomed forces-number-
ing perhaps 100000 men-in two
with drive through the center OF
the pocket.
Far Northern Front
On the far northern front, Gen
Leonid A. Govorov's westward driv-
ing army repeatedly had penetrat-
ed the outskirts Of Narva, ancient
defense outpost for. the Estonian
capital, Ta1linn.
The American suggestion that
Finland make peace with Russia
was made in reply to a Finnish
query regarding the United States
attitude toward Finland should
German troops be withdrawn from
the country, reliable Stockholm
sources reported. The official reply
was given the Films several days
ago by Edmund A. Gullion. Amer
lean charge d'affaireS, these sourc-
eS said.
Meanwhile. Q Moscow broadcast
warned that the hour Of retribu-
ton" was near for Germans north
ern partner and dispatches empha-
sized that the two 1OO-plane Red
Air Force raids on Helsinh last
week end were only forerunnerS OF
what awaited Finland.
The bitter struggle for Casino
continued through the night and
front dispatches said the Germans
still held most Of the town while
American forces had fought with.
in a few hundred yards Of the his
toric 1,400-year- BenedictinG
Monastery on the crest Of Abbey
Hill Just behind the German noun.
tain bastion. Enemy reports sait
the Americans were hurting thou
sands Of men and tanks and 4
carpet Of bombs from the air 1ntt
the attack but had failed to breach
the German defenSeS.
No Details
| Today's Allied communiQue gavl
no details on fighting in the Cas-
Sino or Anzio sectors and indicated
that the main battle lines had moi
changed during the last "a hours
At Washington, however, . highly.
| placed British military source con.
coded that the battle for the beach
head was not going according x
plan, asserting that bad weather
prevented the Allies from main.
tanning o tight aerial patrol ovel
bAACA supply A414Co Al VAAS 0AGSs
United Press Car Correspondent
Reynolds Packard said italian
refugees reported that the Ger.
mans were making confident predic.
tions that they would throw thu
Allies back to their invasion boats
Refugees also reported, Packard
said, that Adolf Hitler was taking 1
personal interest In the battle TO
the beachhead. ID
Packard reported that an Allies
evacuation hospital was attacke,
by a German dive-bomber Monda.
and that 26 persons were killed ant
4S wounded by anti-personnel frag
mentation bombs.
No specific targets were an
nounced for today's U. s. bonnie
assault on northern France whicl
was revealed when wave after wav
I-0 n -. -