Oldest Newspaper In Alaska. 4*lhe News of The Dav In Pictures'* Member Of The Associated Press
THE NOME NUGGET ~
FRIDAY, DEC. 26, 1941 * / £ NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, DEC. 26, 1941 F»e-Copy iu
Pressure Heavy on Philippines
Prime Minister Churchill Addresses U. S. Congress
Churchill Tells Congress l. S. and
Briiain Will Produce War Power
Greater Than Ever Seen Before
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2G (VP) —
Prime Minister Churchill predict
ed before Congress that the Unit
ed States and Great Britain will
be producing, within a year or
13 months, “results in war power
beyond anything ever seen in
Axis states.’’ The youth of Ger
many, Italy and Japan were
taught, the Britisher said, that
aggressive warfare is the duty
of a citizen and should begin as
soon as weapons are available.
“They plotted and planned the
war,” he charged.
He asserted that he found
Washington “inflexible of pur
pose" which indicated to him
that this nation has a "well
grounded confidence in the final
outcome” of the war.
Standing, hands on hips, on the
Senate rostrum, he told the Am
erican lawmakers that whi'e his
counry’s House of Commons, by
a simple vote could turn him out
of office at any moment, he won't
be “Worrying about it very
much.” He said. “As a matter of
fact, I am sure they approved
very highly of the trip I have
made in order to meet the Presi
dent of <he United States and ar
range with him in the mapping
of military plans, and all those in
timate meetings between the
h'gh officers of the armed servic
es i f both countries, so indis
pensable to the successful con
duct of the war.”
Liner Sunk Within
Sight California
Coast By Suh
—
LONG PEACH. Dec, 21 GPt —
A submarine tr.rnedo crippled
the McCormick liner and freight
ed Absaroka, 5..7C0 tons, off the
California coast, but the sub re
mained on the surface. Onlook
ers on shore said it appeared to
be crippled. The Navy said the
freighter was abandoned in a
sinking condition. Observers on
shore could see the crew of about
thirty-five taking to the lifeboats
Bomber Sinks Sub
Off Calif. Coast
WASHINGTON, Dec. 25 (Pi —
An American army bomber sunk
an enemy sub off the California
coast. The War Department said
the bomber was of the Western
Defense Command. headed by
Lieutenant General DeWitt.
Report Asiatic
Fleet Is Active
WASHINGTON. Dec. 26 f/P) —
The Navy announced that the
Asiatic fleet sunk one enemy
transpc . a'd miresweenp*- end
probably additional transports
pjnd a seaplane tender. The in
formation came in a dispatch
from Admiral Hart, commander
■of the Asiatic fleet. The Navy
said naval operations against en
emy subs are being vigorious pro
secuted in the eastern Pacific.
In the Philippines, a commun
ique said that fierce fighting con
tinues on all important fronts on
Luzon Island, the U. • S. Army
launching counter-attacks and
“local successes” reported. The
department said enemy aerial
activity continued heavy.
In the bomber attack on the
sub the communique said a. bomb
was dropped on the sub which
■merged, then sank when two ad
ditional bombs apparently scored
direct hits, “filling the air with
debris.”
japs Bring Heavy Pressure To Bear
On Philippine Defenders As Grave
New Threat To Manila Is Seen
UNDATED, Dec. 26 </P> — Vio
lent tank battles are raging
southeast of Manila as Japan’s
invasion armies are now bring
ing “very heavy pressure” to
bear against the American and
Filipino defenses. U. S. headquar
ters reported. The Armies’ an
nouncement, reporting heavy cas
ualties on both sides, indicated a
grave turn to the situation. An
earlier communique declared the
battle of the Philippines ‘•Going
well” on all fronts. An Army
communique at 5:50 p.m. Manila
time, said the Japanese are strik
ing at the peak of fury from
their Lamor. Bay beachheads,
55 to 75 miles south of the cap
ital. All U. S. so’diers and mar
inse were removed from Manila
itself by this afternoon dispatch
es said, in accordance with an
announcement that the city is
“open” and undefended. Unmov
able military stores were de
stroyed.
A War Department bulletin
painted a brighter picture north
o*.Mv* 'I~• ‘Wine that repent
ed Jap assaults on the main Am
erican fighting line near Lingay
en Gulf, 110 miles above Man
ila, were beaten off. The com
munique said General McArthur
reorganized and strengthened de
fense positions in the Lingavan
sector, while the Japs also re
ported heavily reinforcing their
troops. Heavy artillery duels are
in progress.
flint At Counter Measures
Australian Prime Minister
John Curtin hinted that momen
tous counter measures were un
der way by Britain, the U. S. and
other allied powers, to reverse
Japan’s offensive advantage in
the Pacific. Curtin said he could
not disclose the precise form of
the new allied movement already
launched, but declared he was
greatly encouraged by growing
reinforcements.
WAR TENSION MOUNTS IN PACIFIC AREA
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This map indicates at a glance the Pacific-Far East situation as tension mounted. It also locates
islands which were given trategic importance with reported development of new military bases.
Hongkong
Surrenders
After 11 Days
—
UNDATED. Dec. 25 :,?) — Im
perial Tokyo headquarters an
nounced that the British garrison
at Hongkong surrendered at
12:50 a.m. PST. after 11 days of
bloody seige. The garrison, hope
1« -'y outnumbered by the Japs,
twice rejected demands to sur
render the island citadel of Hong
king with a population of more
tlian a million. The fall of Hong
k og was long anticipated by the
British and means a serious but
not fatal blow to Britain's Far
E st defenses, and further gives
the Japs a new base only 750
miles from Manila.
Free French Take Islands
Meanwhile, Free French head
quarters in London reported that
fik-ncral DcGaulle’s forces have
taken possession of the strategic
French islands of St. Pierre and
Miquelon off the coast of New
Found'and.
In the critical battle of the
Philippines, Christmas brought
an apparent lull in the fighting
as the Japs reinforced their in
vasion hordes and consolidated
their positions at two new beach
heads only 50-odd miles south of
Manila. After a quiet night, the
U. S. Army spokesman announc
ed, “Our troops have more than
held their own on all fronts.”
U. S. subs were officially cred
ited with accounting for two and)
possibly four more Jap naval
craft.
Fail Score New Gains
An Army communique indicat
t?d that the invaders failed to
score any new gains in striking
toward Manila in seven direc
tions. A traveler arriving at Man
ila from Batangas, 60 miles due
south of the capital, said he saw j
a U. S. destroyer put two Jap
destroyers to flight in a brief off
shore battle Saturday.
Tokyo headquarters, reporting
a new landing on the east coast
of Luzon island., asserted that
the invasion forces, attacking
from the west coast of Luzon in
the Lingayen Gulf sector, contin
ued to drive southward toward
Manila. Other Jap troops are re
ported to have executed landings
at Kuching, capital of Sarawak,
North Borneo.
Malaya Situation Unchanged
On the Malayan front, the
British reported again that the
i “situation remains unchanged,"
| indicating a stiffening of the
British defense against the Jap
, columns pressing southward to
ward Singapore.
100 Jap Transports in Philippines
With a hundred Jap transports
officially reported in Philippine
waters, observers estimated that
the Mikado's expeditionary force
totalled at least 120,000 troops,
heavily outnumbering the regu
lar U. S. Army and native Fili
pino defenders.
•SOURDOUGH"
STATIONERY
At Nugget Office
Buy Defense Bonds and Stamps
FAR EAST TROUBLE ZONE
I
'
This area of the Far East, centering around Thailand and the
Chinese province of Yunnan, commanded the news spotlight as
Japan's next move was awaited in the Far East crisis.
13,900 Germans Slain In Russia
During Christmas While British
c
Inflict Heavy Damage in Afi ica
UNDATED, Dec. 26 UP) — Hit
ler's Crimean armies are report
ed to have lost 20,000 killed in a
six-day battle at the approaches
to Sevastopol, long-beseiged Rus
sian naval base. Soviet dispatch
es said they lost an additional
13,900 Germans slain on other
battlefields during the Christ
mas holidays, with its steam-’
roller Red Army counter-offen
sive sweeping on unchecked,
Advices reaching London said
the Russians recaptured the strat
egic Oka River city of Kaluga,
110 miles southwest of Moscow.
Kaluga is 63 miles northeast of
Tula, where the Germans for
weeks attempted to break thru
to Moscow.
On the North African front,
British headquarters reported
more than 13,000 Axis prisoners
have already been removed to
the rear with the British troops
inflicting heavy losses on Gen
eral Rommel’s forces attempting
to retreat near Agedabia, 60 mil
es south of British-captured Ben
gasi.
Cairo military observers said
most of the tanks of Rommel’s
fleeing armies have already been
wiped out in the heavy battle
which marked the 340 - mile
sweep of Britain’s desert armies
across Libya.
British Capture
Bengasi, Second
City of Libya
UNDATED, Dec. 26 OP) —Brit
| ain’s desert armies are officially
reported to have captured Ben
gasi, chief Axis supply port east
of Tripoli, after a 340-mile sweep
across the Libyan desert, since
November 18th.
Fortified by the Italians at a
cost of millions of dollars, Ben
gasi, provincial capital of Libya,
and second biggest city in the
fast dwindling Fascist north Af
rican empire, lies on the Gulf of
Sirte. German armored legions,
heading the fight of the Axis
armies back to Tripolitania, are
reported cut off south of Ben
gasi.
No Nazi Attempt
Stop Russian
Steam-Roller
UNDATED, Dec. 26 tVP) — On
the Soviet front, Russia's great
counter-offensive is reported to
have driven the Germans out of
50 more villages in the Kalinin
sector, 95 miles northwest of
Moscow. A Red Army bulletin
said newly captured prisoners
testified to the “further deterior
ation of the German fighting spir
it."
Soviet dispatches told of Ger
mans stumbling back in retreat
from point after point, suffering
bloody losses, abandoning tanks,
trucks, guns and ammunition
dumps.
A bulletin from German head
quarters reported “the violent
fighting continues alorg the en
tire front” but there is no men
tion of German counterblows
to stem the Russian steamroller.