Oldest Newspaper In Alaska. ‘“’The News of The Dav In Pictures" Meml>er Of Ilie Associated Press
THE NOME NUGGET
VOL. 44. No. 54. NOME, ALASKA, Wednesday, MAY 6, 1942. P« Copy 15#
Corregidor Surrenders to Invaders
British Forces Occupy French Island Madagascar
j
The Fortress of Corregidor and other island forts in Manila Bay surrendered to
.lap invaders, Allied headquarters in Australia announced after a month's seige.
Repulse 5 Jap
Attaeks on Midway
Pearl Harbor, May 5 (AP)
—- The repulse of five Jap
attacks on Midway island,
the last one on March 10th,
were revealed officially
w hen Admiral Chester
Nimitz, commander - in -
chief of the Pacific fleet, re
turned from inspections
and awarding honors to
personnel on the island
He revealed that the is
land has been attacked
each month since Decem
ber 7th, except April. He
personally decorated the
Marines for shooting down
the four-engined Jap pat
rol seaplane making the
last attack.
British Occupy
Is. Madagascar
Washingon, May 4 (De
layed) (AP)—The British,
stealing a march on the
Japanese, have occupied
the French island of Mad
agascar, athwart the vital
Allied supply lines in the
Indian ocean.
The State Department
announced that the United
States has served formal
notice that, if necesary Am
crican forces will help to
defend it against all com
ers. The State Department
said the move had the full
approval of this govern
ment.
The British communique
said merely that British
military forces arrived off
the island at dawn.
the efTtx't that the railroad would
follow the route of the highway
between Fort St. John and Wat
son Lake and then continue
along what is known as the “B"
Route up the Valley of the Fran
cois River, over Bering Divide
into the Polly River watershed,
and by some undetermined route
be brought to the north bank of
the Tanana some distance east of
Tan across. The other report is to
the effect that the suggested rail
road would be built entirely on
the “B" route departing from
Prince George and continuing
north to Watson Lake and thence
by the route above described into
Alaska. It is said that such a
railroad could be built for $G8.
000,000 and be completed in six
teen months. Other engineers
have estimated that it would take
five years to build the railroad
and that it would cost $200,000,
000. This is another case where
the experts do not seem to agree.
Whether, if such a railroad were
built, it would mean the discon-.
tinuance of the building of the
highway, no one seems to know, j
but there is no evidence to that |
effect. It will be remembered
that in one of his press confer-,
ences held some time ago the
President mentioned the possibil
ity of building a railroad to Al
aska, saying that the subject was!
under study, but this was before i
the announcement had been ‘
made that the highway project
had been adopted and that the
highway would be built.
British Air, Naval F orces Make
Surprise Landing on Madagascar
BITTER FIGHTING RAGES AFTER PETAIN
AND DARLAN CALL FOR RESISTANCE
UNDATED, May 5 (AP) — Bitter fighting was re
ported raging at the north end of 1000-mile-long French
Madagascar, the world’s 4th largest island, as British
sea-borne forces attacked toward the Diego Suarez
naval base after their surpise landing.
France’s 86-year-old chief of state Petain ond Ad
miral Darlan, anti-British chief of the French armed
forces, are reported to have sent a message to the com
mander in chief at Madagascar, urging the troops to
“resist the attack and defend the honor of the French
flag.”
London military quarters said the British, striking
to forestall a threatened Axis attempt to seize the strat
egic territory, captured a French battery.
A German broadcast said there have been French
casualties, and that fighting continued for more than
36 hours after the British troops landed early yester
day at Courier Bay, ten miles across the isthmus from
Diego Suarez. The broadcast said it is not known yet
whether the British landing operations will succeed,
and added, “The French government may be expect
ed to react most sharply, and 'its military effect will
probably become manifest during the course of the
day.”
There was no immediate indcation whether Jap
naval units, the nearest Axis striking force, are en
route to dispute the British coup. A Jap armada of 3
battleships, 5 aircraft carriers and flotillas of destroy
ers as well as cruisers, were recently reported operat
ing in the Bay of Bengal.
German dispatches said the British naval and air
forces first appeared off Diego Suarez yesterday and
Governor General Annet rejected a seven-hour ulti
matum. The British attack then started. The British
said the landing was executed at about 3 a.m. British
time, or 6 p.m., Monday, Pacific time.
A map showing Madagascar's position in relation to the supply
routes from America, is shown on Page Three of this issue.
Corregidor and Other Fortified
Islands Surrender to Jap Invaders
Allied Headquarters in Australia, May (5 (AP) —;
Corregidor and other fortified islands in Manila Bay;
surrendered today, it was officially announced. Be
sides the fortified rock of Corregidor, other forts are:!
Fort Mills, Fort Hughes, Fort Drum and Fort Frank.
Report from General Wainwright
Discloses Imminence of Collapse
WASSINGTON, May 5, 3:45 p.m.—11:50 p.m. (AP>
—The War Department announced that the Japs as-,
vaulted Corregidor fortress and a landing attack was'
n progress there at midnight Tuesday, Manilla time.j
The imminence of the collapse of this center of
heroic American and Philippine resistance to Jap in
vasion. was disclosed in a brief report from Gen. Wain
wright that a landing attack was started across the
narrow stretch of water separating the fortified island
from Bataan Peninsula.
There is no estimate as to the number of troops,
holding out against the continuous aerial and artillery
bombardment since the fighting ceased on Bataan aj
month ago.
Nazi Idea Is Jeered By British
REPORTS OF PEACE OFFENSIVE BY BERLIN
DO NOT INTEREST LONDON
LONDON — The London Daily Mail hinted in its
issue recently that Germany is seeking to cry quits
in the aerial warfare between Germany and England,
which England is now climaxing with thunderous
blows with British Royal Air Force planes against Nazi
dominated Europe.
The Daily Mail, quoting a Berlin dispatch to a Swiss
newspaper the Journal de Geneve, said: “It is semi
officially stated Germany is willing to call off the bomb
ing of English towns if the RAF will change its meth
ods of bombing German cities. The present bombing
duel is highly unpopular with the German people.”
Ignored By Britain
Authoritative British quarters commenting on the
purported German offer, declared: “We are going
after those blighters wherever they are. That’s final.”
British home minister Morrison referred scornfully to
the “cry of German propagandists* that it is to us to
call off our raids and save ourselves.”
Reports of an Axis peace offensive persist, and
they’ve shifted now from Italy to Germany. But they
still sound like Axis propaganda designed to create
confusion among the Allies.
Peace Reports Are Bogus
The latest reports, coming from Turkey, say Nazi
Marshal Goering has made three peace bids to England
recently. But an authorized London diplomatic source
says the reports are bogus, and he adds: “That would
be futile anyway. It is hardly likely that the Allies
would bite at any Axis peace feelers at a time when
Allied striking power is reaching its peak.”
At Stockholm, Sweden, local newspapers reported
Berlin dispatches as saying that 10,000 German child
ren were being moved out of the RAF target zone,
5,000 from Hamburg alone, and sent to Hungary to
live with peasant families.
Oen. Jonathan Wainwright
(above) was in command
of Corregidor and other
forts in Manila Bay which
fell to Jap invaders.
Promulgate Stiff Regula
tions Controlling Install
ment Buying and Charging
Washington, May 5 (AP)
Stiff regulations controll
ing installment purchases
on nearly every article in
common use in the Ameri
can home were promulgat
ed by the Federal Reserve:
Board, which, in addition
said ordinary charge ac
counts on such articles
must be paid by the tenth
of the second month after
the purchase. The orders
are immediately effective.
Railroad Now
Planned From
U. S. To Alaska
WASHINGTON —(Although no
thing official has been announced
on the subject, there are numer
ous reports to the effect that U.
S. authorities are still consider
ing the possibility of connecting
the United States with Alaska by
railroad. One such report is to
Jap Militarist Discusses Possibility
Invasion Japan from Alaska Bases
_ I
TOKYO, May 6 (AP) — Schichiji I to. well-known
military commentator said in the May issue of the
magazine “Contemporary Times” that the season of
melting ice in the northern Pacific brought to the fore,
the possibility of an American offensive against Japan
from Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, but said var
ious factors discounted that possibility It is not Japan
but the United States who should fear operations in
the Northern Pacific.
The distance between Alaska and the U. S., poor
transportation facilities in Alaska, the vulnerability of
Alaska to parachute attack because of sparse popula
tion, make Alaska the weakest point in the U. S.
defense. He declared naval bases in Alaska are no^
completed and have only large enough harbors for;
small auxiliary ships, subs and destroyers, and are not
sufficient to replenish any carrier striking force sent
against Japan.
He added that heavy fog and other weather factors
limit U. S. naval operations from m'id-June to early
August and that the U. S is unable to transfer all rei
maining capital ships from the Atlantic to operations
against Japan.