Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 13 December 1941 — Page 1
FORECAST: Clearing by late afternoon and becoming partly cloudy and colder tonight with lowest temperature about 25; moderately cold and fair tomorrow.
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228 VOLUME 53—NUMBER 288
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1941
NAVY FEARS CA
Filipinos Behead Invaders; Litvinov Blasts H
DUTCH SINK FOUR JAP TROOP
RUSSIA CLAIMS RECORD SMASH INMODERN WAR
51 German Divisions of 750,000 Flee From Moscow Front.
KUIBYSHEYV, Russia, Dec. 183 (U. P.).—Russia claimed one of the greatest military victories in modern history today, asserting it had definitely smashed an offensive by 51 German divisions, upwards of 750,00 men, on Moscow and the Germans were fleeing. It was disclosed that the Russians, starting a counter-offensive one week ago, had captured 400 towns and villages, extending from the north to the south of the capital In a great semi-circle. Further, it was asserted that on the: v ¥ - of Marshal Semyon Tim were still in full pursuit of the Germans west of Taganrog and were impeded by German dead and smashed and trucks which littered the roads and fields,
Overshadows Rostov Rout
(Russia's noon communique heard by the United Press at London, said that the Russian southern armies had recaptured additional | towns and villages. It reported the | German 60th infantry regiment | routed with 400 killed)
Detailed reports made it diet] that on the Moscow front, the Rus- | sians had won a victory overshad- | owing that at Rostov-On-Don, | where Russian armies, which the | Germans had called beaten, gave the Nazi Wehrmacht its first defeat | in 27 months of war. | It was asserted officially that in! the Moscow fight the Germans had | Jost 85.000 of their vaunted “Herren Polk” 1a killed. The Russians had captured or destroyed 143¢ German tanks. 5418 troops and supply trucks, 575 field guns, 339 mine throwers, 860 machine guns, it was asserted, on the basis of reports still incomplete because additional material was being captured hourly.
Considers Pacific Stand
The news of the victory came while Russia was still considering its policy in the Pacific war, but] after the official Russian Commu- | nist party newspaper Pravda, de-| nouncing the Japanese for their treacherous attack on the United States, had left no doubt as to its viewpoint. ‘ The Pravda editorial shocked the Japanese colony, who had arranged a gala dinner last night to celebrate their “victory” in the “sneak” attack on the Hawaiin Islands. Dispatches from the Kalinin front said the Germans had thrown hastily formed reserves into an attempt to halt the offensive. Reports said the Germans were trying vainly to make stands in towns and villages and that Red troops hounded them from . house to house, from town to town, over snow covered roads and fields, with bayonets end hand grenades, while the now facous Red Army artillery, following fast, wheeled its batteries into ng at point after point to rain shrapnel and high explosive shells on a demoralized enemy. Klin Recaptured It was indicated that the Russians now held the initiative on all fronts and that, after having smashed the German attacks in the south and on the Central Front, the Russians might soon turn their stabbing counter-atiacks on the Leningrad front into a general offensive, Among the towns which the Russians had retaken were Klin, miles northwest of Moscow; Sol-
Bichogorss. 10, Jhies nearer the cap! wh oscow-Lenin-etad ; Istra, 40 miles west
of Moscow, and Stallnogorsk, .
miles southéast of Moscow. The Russian communique ridiculed German complaints Al the cold weather.
CURB RUBBER OUTPUT Rearranging of production and "3 number of em- & Rulibet k Co. In-
War Bulletins
0. K.'S NEW WAR FUND
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (U. P). —A joint Congressional cenference committee today approved a bill carrying funds and contract authority of about $10,500,000,000 to prosecute the war.
CLAIM ADMIRAL KILLED SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13 (U.
Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimel, commander-in-chief of the U. S. fleet, was killed during Sunday's bombing of Hawaii.
CHINESE BOMB CANTON
NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (U. P)— Radie Halifax said today that Chinese planes had bombed Canton and it was believed the Chinese were preparing an offensive te retake the city.
CLAIMS AIR VICTORY
siroved and Japan is master of the air
ALARM IN PUERTO RICO
throughout the : a. m. today and there was a blackout until dawn. There no reports that bombs | dropped.
JACKSONVILLE ALERT
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Dec. 13 (U. P.).—Reports indicating the of an air raid put naval and tary establishments on the alert today and all radio stations in the Jacksonville area went off the air for nearly three hours, naval authorities reported. +3 was ng test,” Capt. Charles
Jacksonville Naval Air Station,
upon. But I can say that these precautions were taken in deadly seriousness.”
OFF AIR IN WEST
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13 (U. P) —Army authorities and the Federal Communications Commission ordered Southern California radio stations off the air at 10:20 a. m. (12:30 p. m. Indianapolis Time) today. No reason for the order was given.
NAZIS JOINED RAID? WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (U. P.). —Nazi pilots flying warplanes made in Germany have been operating over China recently and may have participated in the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines last Sunday, Maj. Gen. P. Kiang, chief of the Chinese military misSion in the United States, said toay.
THEY WON'T UNWRAP
RICHARD'S TOY TRAIN x=
9-Year-0ld Boy Is Traffic’s| regeral
125th Victim of Year.
An electric train carefully pa away in the closet of the Doom resi-
Commandant of the |
cked | turned from
& = 8
WELL SASH NAZIS, ENVOY PROMISES U.S.
Believes Nazis Insist Tokyo Open New Front In Siberia.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (U. P.).—Soviet Ambassador Maxim Litvinov told a press conference today that the “Red Army intends to smash back at Hitler until he is de-
stroyed.”
The newly-appointed envoy's statement was taken as an answer the Seviet
we were to direction just now.” Denounces “Gangsters” He said he was convinced that Germany was exerting every pressure possible on Japan to cause her to open a front against Russia in He said the Japanese Army has been massing troops ¥ many months along the Manukuan border but did not estimate the number available there. While denouncing Japan as “one of a common gang” he gave no intimation that the Soviet Union | intended to open up a Far Eastern frontier itself. In his prolonged statement that Russia was doing a { job none other could do on the Ger- | man -Eastern Front, he gave the impression that Russia had no desire to be obliged to divert forces to the Far East. He denounced the Axis powers as “international gangsters no. plan (Continued on Page Two
I. S. CONVICTS 14 AS GERMAN AGENTS
Face Maximum Terms of * 22 Years Each.
NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (U. P).— Fourteen persons convicted .of transmitting information on U. 8S. defenses to Germany and failing to register as foreign agents awaited sentencing today at the end of the first espionage trial of the war. ‘A Federal jury in n found them guilty. It returned its verdict shortly before last midnight, 14 weeks to the day after the trial started. Federal Judge Mortimer W. Byers remanded the 14 to jail until Monday, which he set for sentencing. They face a maximum jail sentence of 22 years each.
communicate with a station near Hamburg, Germany.
TIMES FEATURES ON INSIDE PAGES
Pacific Hero
Several
BLOW IS DEALT TO ITALY'S NAVY
Four Craft, Including Two Cruisers; Knocked Out In Mediterranean.
LONDON, / Dec. 13 (U. P.).—British and Dutch destroyers, striking before dawn’ today in the central Mediterranean, knocked out all of an Italian naval squadron gonsist. ing of.two cruisers, X torpedo boa and a motor speed boa The ' British eS attacked the * Italiah cruisers with gunfire
and torpedoes, “The leading cruiser burned
fiercely, and then blew up,” the Admiralty said. “The other, when last seen, was blazing from stem to
stern.” The British suffered no causalties. The. . brilliant night action was fought before dawn. The destroyers were part of a patrol under the command of G. H. Stokes. : A little after 3 a. m. H. M. Destroyer Sikh, Commander Stokes, with H. M. Destroyer Legion, Commander. R. S. Jessel, with H. M. Destroyer Maori, Commander R. E. Co , With the Dutch destroyer Isaac veers in company, made contact with two Italian ships, the communique said.
25-DEGREE WEATHER WILL FOLLOW SNOW
LOCAL TEMPERATURES
bh oR ‘lam... 32 we Nam... 8B «v» 32 12 (noon) .. 32 . 32 1pm... 32
The snow storm that swept Indianapolis and most of Indiana today is expected to clear skies and mel tures tomorrow, the Weather Bureau forecast. Snow flurries will end late today with clearing skies and temperatures ranging down to about 25 degrees tonight, the bureau said.
a a. a. a.
STALL AIR AND LAND ATTACKS ON PHILIPPINES
Planes Downed; Drive Off Invaders in North Luzon.
MANILA, Dec. 18 (U. P.). —American defense forces today turned back the main strength of Japanese land and air attacks. Enemy bombers again roared over Manila and struck at defense bases on Luzon Island but with decreased effectiveness, according to military reports. Several Japanese craft were shot down. Japanese invasion forces, which landed on three sides of Luzon,
failed to make any progress and in some sectors, including Vigan and en Bay on the west coast, beent beaten off. OIvillanis Jom in Defefse In northern Luzon Filipino civilians fought alongside United States and Philippine forces. With their wicked bolo Knives they were beheading many of the Japanese soldiers as they landed on the beaches. Villagers, farmers and fishermen went from their homes to aid in the defense. (A war communique issued at Washington said that ground activity on Luzon today was unimportant, with the Japanese chiefly attempting to secure air bases— especially in the northern Aparri sector. Nichols Field attacked
(A National Broadcasting Co. report from Manila said that in northern Luzon the area had been t entirely cleared of Japanese, while Columbia Broadcasting Co. reported that the Lingayen sector was being mopped up after the Japanese there had been disposed of.) Anti-aircraft guns in the harbor shot Shot Sown at least one Japanese
Nichols Field, near Manila, was attacked but most of the damage was described as in a civilian area which had been evacuated. Casualties were believed light. Both big bombers and light bombers attacked in the Manila area but met strong opposition from antiaircraft guns and defense fighter planes. Recruiting stations are crowded throughout the islands and youths of the Reserve Officers’ Training
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WASHINGTON,
“is probable.”
tioned in Guam.
apolis Time).
Along Figh
IN THE FAR EAST:
and sea thrusts on the
on the east coast of Borneo. Chinese troops attacked ton-Kowloon railroad outside
naval force in the central
was reported encircling the
are too impatient to await th: ir commissions.
Morale High
Filipino morale is high and the people are tranquil despite heavy Japanese aerial bombings of the| Manila area. Rain, rare in the Philippines, iii December, had come to the aid’ of the defense forces in some parts of Luzon. The Manila Bulletin reported that among Axis citizens arrested were four German brothers of De La Salle college and three clergymen of a Manila church. (A Navy communique issued at Washington said naval forces continued to co-ordinate their efforts with the Army on land and sea and in the air against heavy Japanese attacks on Luzon.)
THAI FREEZES U. S. ASSETS LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13 (U. P).— Thailand, which capitulated to Japan, has frozen all American and British assets and will break off diplomatic relations with those two nations, Radio Tokyo announced today.
{Corps are enlisting because they]:
Matter
PRICE THREE CENTS
S
BULLETIN
Dec. 13 (U. P.).—The Navy announced today that the capture of Guam by the Japanese
Following is the text of Navy communique No. 5: “The Navy Department announced that it is unable to communicate with Guam either by cable or by radio. “The capture of the island is probable. of less than 400 naval personnel and 155 marines were sta-
A small force
“According to the last reports from Guam, the island has been bombed repeatedly and Japanese troops had landed at several points on the island. “Wake and Midway continue to resist. “The above is based on reports until 8 a. m. today.” The communique was released at 12:30 p. m. (Indian-
ting Fronts
By JOE ALEX MORRIS United Press Foreign Editor
The Allies struck powerful blows against the Axis today on almost every world war front, but the U. S. Navy feared Guam had been captured.
American defense forces turned back enemy air, land
islands of Wake, Midway
and Luzon in the Philippines, where renewed Japanese air bombardment appeared to be less effective. Dutch submarines off Malaya sank four Japanese troop transports with a loss of perhaps 4000 enemy troops and Dutch naval forces cleaned up a Japanese settlement
Japanese forces on the CanHongkong.
At Buenos Aires, the Japanese ambassador officially told the Argentine government that Hongkong had been taken, but this seemed untrue on the basis of dispatches.
IN THE MEDITERRANEAN: British and Dutch destroyers attacked an Italian
Mediterranean before dawn,
sinking a cruiser, a torpedo boat and an E-boat. A renewed British tank drive west of Tobruk in Libya
remnants of Axis armored
strength in an effort to deliver a knock-out blow.
IN THE SOVIET UNION:
Red Army attacks on the Moscow front and in the Donets Basin continued to drive back the Germans despite
Axis counter-attacks in the Kalinin sector.
A Berlin radio broadcast
said the Axis forces on the
eastern front had executed a “tactical move to the rear.” On the other side of the picture, the Tokyo and Berlin propaganda broadcasts claimed that Japan had won mastery of the air over Malaya by destroying 129 British airplanes in a great air battle in which Japan lost 17. ~The Axis also claimed that a new British destroyer, apparently the Matabele, had been sunk off the Spanish
coast by submarine attack, battleship Arizona had been
and that the United States sunk off Hawaii.
10 PCT. INCREASE ASKED BY RAILROADS
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (U. P.).— Increases of 10 per cent in passénger and freight rates, with certain exceptions, were asked today by the Association of American Railroads in a petition filed for Class 1 railroads with the Interstate Commerce Commission.
an YOU shiver involuntarily
Let Snow Be A Reminder—Clothe-A-Child!
ment to take a child shopping or send your check or money order 10 hia Indianapolis Times Clothe-
charities, station WLW of Cincinnati will present a honoring Clsthe-
Acid Toe Will start a 10 pm. tomorrow .
the L. 8. Ayres and 8. S. Kresge stores
The dimes will sjay there on the sidewalk until Christmas eve: Bus iD ihe Ieantime Ts Times I Qeinung Shilrén a he dines laid down each day. Every dime goes wii helping clothe an- “# 2 8 ARE THERE many children in need? Yes. At this moment there seems no possibility that Clothe-A-Child can care for all the chil<
ROOSEVELT MEETS WITH WAR CHIEFS
Sees Naval Aids After Talk With Hull, Stimson.
WASHINGTON, Dee. 13 (U. P.).— President Roosevelt today called in Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and a group of Navy officials, presumably to discuss progress of the war and United States strategy. Mr. Hull and Mr. Stimson were to see the President at noon. White House Secretary Stephen T. Early was asked if the naval conference indicated that a report has been received from Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, now in Hawaii inspecting damage wreaked by Japanese bombers Sunday. “If it has arrived I don’t know
dren ;
3
= ¥ about it,” Mr. Bari replied,
itler
HIPS
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4000 GO DOWN IN SUB ATTACK NEAR THAILAND
British Lines in Northern Malaya Reform After Slight Withdrawal.
SINGAPORE, Malay, Dee, 18 (U. P.).—The sinking of four heavily loaded Japanese troop transports off southeast Thailand was officially reporte ed today, but it was acknowl« edged that Japanese armored spearheads had’ forced a slight British withdrawal in northern Malaya.
About 4000 Japanese lives were lost in the sinking of the transports, a communique issued ‘at Batavia said. The same communique said a “Japanese post” on the east coast of Borneo was wiped out. (In New York NBC heard the British radio broadcast that Duteh
sn
Slam had sunk five Japanese trans ports “with a loss of thousands of lives.” The Borneo settlement was des scribed by the official agency Aneta as one long established on the Duteh Coast. A number of motor launches were seized, other vessels were destroyed and Japanese found at the coastal post were interned, the agency said. The British lines in the north have now been reformed after falle ing back a slight distance south of the Thailand frontier in the Kedah sector on the northwest and the Kota Bahru sector on the norths east, official statements said.
Use ‘Ladies From Hell’
Japanese landing attempts near Kuantan, about 200 miles north of Singapore on the east coast, were reported smashed. (London dis= patches said there was no confirma tion of reports of Japanese landings in southern Malaya, near Singae« pore.) Famous Indian and Scottish troops—including the heroic World War “Ladies from Hell”—bore the brunt of fierce fighting ageinst the Japanese near the Thailand frontier, They were strongly supported by the R. A. F. Dispatches from the front said that Indian troops on the east coast, near Kota Bahru, wers “plastered heavily” by enemy wars ships at. short range during one landing operation, but kept on fighting until they had cleared their sector of Japanese forces.
Dutch Subs Effective
Indian motorized units on the northwest sector (Kedah) carried out “successful reconnaissance patrols” into Japanese-held territory and ine flicted “heavy casualties on the enemy and destroyed an important enemy position,” it was added. Sa Dutch submarines carried out one
the enemy in the attack on troope Ships off Patani, in southeast Thai and, The submarines, part of the naval reinforcement the Netherlands East Indies Government sent to Singa« pore to aid the British against Japanese attack, were opera under orders of the British na Far Eastern fleet commander in chief, Japanese planes raided Penang Island, off the West Coast, three times yesterday. It was said that in a heavy raid Thursday “not more than 100” civilians were killed,
Raid Japanese Islands
Australian and ‘Netherlands Hast Indies planes raided three Japanese islands in their defense zone yes« terday and sank one Japanese steamship and one schooner, (The Netherlands Aneta news agency quoted a member. of the Netherlands Army staff at Batavia, NEI, that the Netherlands Govern ment would not shrink from large scale destruction of materials : resources if necessary to them from Japanese attack.
SHELBYVILLE SAILOR IS KILLED IN ACTION
P.) .—=Gerald Owen Smith, 26, was killed in action at sea, according word received by his parents from os Navy Department He held the he Tanking of ok
submarines operating’ off southern :
of the heaviest blows yet struck as 4