The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-08-31
War On Many Fronts

ahead of schedule and that the Ger mans have lost their best fighting men by stalking everything on try ing to block the Allies in Nor- mandy.
 This decline in fighting quality. Eisenhower intimated. will make the defense of the German west wall and Siegfried line more difflcult Eisenhower said defense of the Reich depended not upon the strength of Notifications but on the fighting quality of the troops man. ming them. This war has demon- strated repeatedly that no defensive line is worth much unless it is ex- plotted extensively. he said.
 Eisenhower added that as the Germans fall back. they are bound to try to withdraw their forces from Norway. Denmark. Holland and Bel. gium to defend the Reich. and sug- gested they would have a hard time getting them out intact. Regarding the end of the war, he merely iter- ated with a smile his forecast in Algiers last winer that the Germans could be beaten this year If every one on the home and battle fronts does his duty.
 Command Divided
 Eisenhower announced that Field Command in northern France had been divided between It. Gen. Omar V. Bradley Of the United States and Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery of Great Britain, with each having equal rank. Eisenhower himself is expected to assume overall com. mard in all France, including the army in the south.
 As Eisenhower outlined the mili- tary prospects in France. the ad- vance Of the British and American armies bid fair to engulf the entire robot bomb coast at least as far north as Holland. The British drive to Amieng, focus of six railways and most important junction in northern France. threatened imninenJy to disrupt the enemy's communication system.
 Overrun in the British advance were Beauyls. G0urnay and Mar- seilleen- -Beauyais. Southwest Of Am iens. the Canadians pushed intb Rouen, which the Germans ap- n0uneed they had evacuated. and made three new crossings of the Seine between Rouen and the sea.
 Fast End FFenG
 At the eastern end Of the front. nov extending more than 200 miles below I.e Hayre to St. Dizler, ll5 miles east of Paris. London broad- east said American troops had eap- taIred St. Dizier
 The Germans in southern France were concentrating their efforts on escaping up the lower Rh0ne Valley to Lyon, Frances third largest city, where they might make a delaying stand to permit withdrawal Of the remnants of their shattered 18th Army towards Germany,
 4 large part of those trapped at the confluence of the Rh0ne and Dr0me rivers got out and reached the Lyon area. The Americans were herding others north from Llyr0n towards Valenee on the RhOne, towards which one Ameri- can column was headed from the southeast. reaching chabenil, six miles from Valenee.
 Nice Capture
 The capture of Nice carried the Allied forces on the Mediterranean to within l2 miles of the Italian frontier, where the Germans were pTeparing to make Q stand to block the passes Into Italy and already had forced an American advance patrol out Of BTiane0D, near Mont 0eneYre,
 On the Italian front, British troops Of the Eighth Army shifted to the AdTiatie side 10 join the P0ls isb forces there were preparing 10 storm the eastern end Of the GeFs man Gothic line, They occupied Pesar0, on the coast, and uFbln0I le miles inland, and crossed the F0glia river. The Germans abandoned the entire RFea along the F0ella f0g se miles Inland and withdrew into the aothle Line,
 On the R0maDlan front Moscow said German resistance had melted almost completely eway. The Germans made only a brief rear guard stand st Ploesu end lt 1 was doubtful if they would do much | more outside Bucharest, where the | IlOlnaniaDs were reported AlFeaay % | control inside the city,
 sIe,01e pEls9neTs
 The tWe Soviet armies ln Romania captured Ik,000 more prisoners yess Iarday, increasing the total for the ls-dsy offensive t0 Sie000, Moscow asiiHatAd
 In the Pacific, it was announced Iaht the aerial campaign against Japanese sblppirg and island bases from the KuFile Islands north Of Japan t0 the East Indies had been intensified, ~ least @ more enemy ships we're sunk 0f damaged, That was ln addition to Waghin8ton's all-