THE NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MCIHiER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. 47.—No. 2. NOME, ALASKA, JANUARY 5, 1944 PER COPY—15c
MIGHTY FORTRESS OF THE AIR!
The Flying Fortress is
a flying gun. From head
to toe the B-17G, eighth
in the series of huge
craft turned I o o s e
against the Axis, bristles
with 13 50-caliber ma
chine guns. A feature of
the latest model is the
pair of weapons in the
new chin turret.
i
!
Nazis Evacuate More
Territory In Russian Drive
LONDON, Jan. 5.—(AP)—Ger
man troops evacuated the east
ern section of the Berdichev rail
way town, 25 miles south of
Zhitomir, the once German Uk
rainian headquarters of the Nazi
command.
The loss of at least part of
Berdichev was acknowledged as
Red army forces smashed down
through the middle of Ukraine,
taking the fortress of Belaya
Tserkov, 50 miles below Kiev in
the drive seeking to trap more
than half a million Germans in
the great Dnieper river bend.
The German defenders in Ber
dichev beat back Soviet attacks
against other sectors of the town.
The Berlin radio spoke of the
fighting as "unabated in feroc
ity."
A Moscow dispatch declared
a great battle to drive the Nazis
from Dneiper bend had begun.
The enemy was fighting des
perately to hold its lines of com
munication in the German-held
Wneiper bend, to clear growing
danger.
Advices from Moscow indicated ,
these German forces already out
flanked from Kiev, as far south
as Cherkasy.
By the capture of Belaya Tser
kov, 40 other Ukrainian towns
faced the same fate that met the
army which surrendered at Stal
ingrad, unless von Mannstein can
extricate them by mass retreat
across the Bug river into Ru
mania.
NOTICE»
There will be a joint installa
tion of the Pioneers of Alaska,
and members of the Women’s
of that organization, Wednes
day, Jan. 5, at 8:00 p. m. A j
full attendance is requested.
BINKS SEIFFERT, Pres. I
New Bill Entered On
Soldier Vote Question
WASHINGTON, Jan. 5.—Sen-1
ator Lucas, of Illinois, Democrat,
offered a new absentee vote bill \
for service personnel in place of
the resolution the senate has
substituted for his original meas
ure, announcing he formally in
troduced his revised proposal !
Monday, while the senate substi- !
tute still dangles in the house !
elections committee.
Lucas said: “If man can stop I
bullets, he ought to have an op
portunity to cast a ballot. There’s
nothing the states can do to take
away the necessity of the federal
ballot.”
Lucas-still wants a federal bal
lot commission as provided for in
the original bill, but its powers
to be sharply pruned so its du
ties are almost entirely adminis
trative.
A four-man bi-partisan com
mission to prepare pre-war bal
lots and turn them over to the
army and navy is the general
idea. After being filled out they
are to transmit them to the 48
secretaries of state.
GUFFEY TELLS
OF 4th TERM
PITTSBURG, Pa., Jan. 5 —
(AP)—United States Senator Jos
eph Guffey drew heavy applautse
from several hundred Democrats,
when he told them the President
would run for the fourth term,
and would be re-elected, carry
ing the state of Pennsylvania.
ARMIES IN
ITALY SEIZE
TWO POSITIONS
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
ALGIERS, Jan. 5.—(AP>—Allied
armies in Italy seized two com
manding positions against fierce
Nazi opposition, the Fifth army
troops advancing little more
than a mile west of Venafro, and
storming the 2300 foot height of
Sammucro ridge, two miles
northeast of San Vittore, gaining
domination of that bastion in the
German winter line on the road
to Rome.
Indian units of the Eighth
army seized a spur on the moun
tain ride in pushing forward sev-,
eral hundred yards against i
enemy machine gune fire, south- |
west of Tommaso near Adriatic.
PLANES SET
NEW RECORD
The War department disclosed
Wasp planes set a new military
flying safety record for the first
year, with women flying for the
irmy who covered 3 million
niles for each fatal accident.
A record of 500 accidents per
1000 hours compared favorably
vith an overall rate of seven per
cent for the air forces, <
900 asps are in service.
Gen. Leese
In Charge
Of Eighth
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
ALGIERS, Jan. 5—(AP)—Lt.
Gen. Sir Oliver Leese, 49, was
named commander of the British
Eighth army fightin in Italy,
succeeding Gen. Montgomery,
Leese commanded the corps of
the Eighth army during the
march from El Alemein, Egypt
to Tunis, and drove the Germans
from North Africa.
Montgomery has gone to Lon
don as commander of the British
ground forces under Gen. Eisen
hower.
Lesse is a tank expert.
Six-footer Leese was formerly
battalion commander of the Cold
stream Guards, who served in
World War I. He was wounded
three times in that conflict.
The new commander was edu
cated at Eton and Oxford.
During the battle in France he
was deputy chief of staff to Vis
count Gort, in charge of British
forces on the continent.
AXIS IS NOT
YET BEATEN
_
WASHINGTON Jan. 5—(AP)
—The Office of War Information,
in sobering up war reports, cau
tioned the people of the United
States that “We still are nearly
3,000 miles from Tokyo” and that
no signs of either Germany or
Jap cracking were in evidence.
It further asserted Germany
last year lost one-fifth of its con
quered lands and Japan one
twentieth.
Both countries still were j
trong, with shorter communica
tions, it further added.
Berlin Again Is
Listed Among
Cities Bombed
Nazi Winter
Line Split
Is Report
STOCKHOLM, Jan. 5.—(AP)—
A Germn military spokesmen ad
mitted the Nazi winter offensive
line on the eastern front was
split by a ‘‘very deep penetra
tion.’’
Dispatches from Berlin, said the
spokesman, made no effort to
mde the fact tne Russian offen
sive had roiled up the German
defenses in the Kiev sector, split
ting unes into two fronts, one
dbo mues, tne other 4ih) miles,
long.
me Swedish correspondent
said uiey were given only a black
picture ot war developments of
ootn r.des in Germany,
-vr ne met tde spokesman a
oumo damaged tne toreign of
nce. lues were still blazing in
Benin, it was said, from the
heavy RAF' raids Sunday and
Monday.
Tne Germans indicated they
didn't expect their army to be
aole to counter-attack success
tuily or regain their positions.
Dispatcher said that two long
fronts still existed and that the
Kurrians might be able to roll
up the flanks.
MARINES
REPULSE
ATTACKS
ADVANCE ALLIED HEAD
QUARTERS IN NEW GUINEA,
—(Wednesday) — United States
marines repulsed sharp counter
attacks at Cape Gloucester on
New' Britain island, killing 200
Japs and raising to 1500 dead, the
price paid by the foes in defense
actions, since the landing on De
cember 26.
Gen MacArthur’s communique
also announced that Aussies were
pushing north along the Huon
Peninsula in New Guinea and had
gained 15 miles in three days,
and that only 80 miles southeast
American fliers at Saidor con
tinued active dropping of 32 tons
on bombs on Lakun’s airdrome
at Rabaul damaging a schooner
and some barges off the New’ i
Britain coast.
PRESIDENT IS
BACK AT DESK
WASHINGTON, Jan. 5—(AP)
—The President, recovering from
the grippe, is w’ell enough to start
work again.
His annual message to congress 1
will be delivered Tuesday.
There will be appointments
however.
I
(UNDATED) — Allied planes
resumed violent attacks on the
French invasion coast after the
day and night attacks in which,
bombs were cast on the German
cities of Berlin, Kiel, and Muen
ster, and on Bulgaria, Yugoslavia,
Italy and France.
Probably more than 3000 tons
of explosives were dropped yes
terday on the Nazis, by flights
of 3000 planes of Britain alone.
United States heavy bom be is
set great fires in Kiel, the north
west German naval sub base, and
tangled railways 200 miles
southwest at Muenster smashing
communications and creating a
bottleneck for essential Hitler
defense against the coming in
vasion.
The Germans admitted heavy
damage to Kiel and told of a
great shroud of smoke hanging
over the city.
Wave after wave of planes
spanned the channel yesterday
in one of the greatest of daylight
operations of all times.
The Allies lost 25 planes, in
cluding 18 heavy bombers and
destroyed at least 17 German
fighters.
The wooden Mosquito gave
Berlin its third raid of the year
last night in a lighter measure
than the 1000-ton blows which
ushered in ‘‘44'’.
No planes were lost.
Fortresses of the 15th United
States Air Force struck rail
ways and bridges and railway
yards at Dulnitsa, 30 miles south
of Sofia, the Bulgarian capitol.
The German controlled Scan
dinavian telegraph bureau said
Sofia was also raided and that
heavy damage and loss of life
resulted.
Medium American bombers hit
railway yards at Dodoj, 55 miles
from Saraevo in Yugoslavia, and
attacked barracks of troop con
centrations in Travnik.
Bad weather curtailed fighting
in Italy, although fighter bomb
ers were able to strike gasline
dumps near Chieti and a railway
bridge near Balsorano.
INCORCOPRATE
FOR SECURING
STATEHOOD
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Jan. 5.
—“Statehood for Alaska” was in
corporated here yesterday w'hen
seven Anchorage men formed a
non-profit organization to pro
mote the Territory into becoming
the 49th state of the Union.
The newly-formed organiza
tion invited the membership of
all Alaskans and was incorpor
ated by Dr. Harold Sogn, A- A.
Shonbeck, oldtime gold mine op
erator; Arthur G. Woodley, air
ways officials; Z. J. Loussac,
retired druggist; John E. Man
ders, attorney; Edward Coffey,
territorial senator; and Robert B.
Atwood, publisher of the An
chorage Times.