Pacific News-Review

Notes And Comment On

The Progress Of The War

From Aug. 16 To Sept. 15

Aug. 16: Five towns have been taken by the Allies since their landing in the south of France.

Aug. 17: Russians have launched a full scale offensive in the extreme south, and are advancing into Rumania on a wide front.

Aug: 16: Part of the German Seventy Army has escaped from the “Normandy pocket,” through the Falaise gap; but the whole Army is now being driven into the corner formed by the Seine and the coast, by the British and Canadians, driving north-east, and the Americans, wheeling in from the east. The enemy is hope lessly trapped, and is being wiped out by our air forces, now supreme and prac tically unchallenged. American columns from Alencon are now only 40 miles from Paris.

Aug. 20: The Allies, in the south of France, are now moving rapidly upon Marseilles, Toulon and Cannes. Enemy resistance is w r eak.

Aug. 21: Germans say they will declare Paris an open city. American forces are now only 22 miles from Paris. In the south, the Maquis have taken Toulouse, and Allied troops have reached Toulon.

Aug. 22: General Montgomery’s armies are closing the trap on all German troops south of the Seine, between Paris and the sea, by making a drive along the river to the sea. Montgomery told his troops yesterday that they have won a great victory, and appealed to them to finish the job off in record time.- Aug. 23: After four years of ’ German rule, Paris is free and in French hands. 50,000 French armed patriots, supported by several hundred thousand French un armed men and women, attacked the remaining German garrison on the 19th, and drove the Nazis out, after four days’ fighting.

Aug. 23: With Allied forces threatening the Pas de Calais launching areas of the flying-bombs, the Germans are stepping up their bomb attacks on London.

Aug. 23: Rumania, as the Russian armies were pouring into the country towards the oilfields and the capital, abandoned the Axis and decided to become one of the United Nations and fight against Germany. This announce ment was made by ‘King Michael from Bucharest, and broadcast repeatedly.

Aug. 25: Paris Radio —now under Allied control —announced that the last of the Nazis have been driven from the city.

General de Gaulle arrived in Paris to-day, and was welcomed enthusiastic ally.

Aug. 26: Red Army units are advancing into, and occupying, Rumania, mowing down disorganised units of Germans on the borders.

Aug. 27: Bulgaria is seeking surrender and has approached Britain and America regarding terms.

Aug. 28: Allied forces have advanced, in some points, 100 miles beyond Paris, towards the German frontier, Aug. 28: In Rumania, advancing Rus sian forces have occupied Galatz (im portant rail junction and Danube port).

Aug. 28: The Russians have seized a pass through the Carpathians and broken through to Hungary.

Aug. 29: French troops, in southern France, have crossed the Rhone at sev eral points near Avignon.

Aug. 30: Racing across the 1914-18 battlefields, with little resistance, Ameri can columns are only 30 miles from Bel gium an(J 50 miles from the Sedan gap.

British and Canadians are surging north eastward from their bridgeheads' on the Lower Seine, towards Belgium. They have “pocketed” the Pas de Calais areas,

and ended the flying-bomb attacks on England- Aug. 30: The Russians have reached the Ploesti area of Rumania. The retreat ing Nazis blew up and set fire to the, oil wells.

Aug. 31: British armies in northern France have advanced rapidly from the Seine towards the Somme.

Aug. 31: Russian forces have entered Bucharest.

Sept. 1: British and American troops are rapidly advancing upon the borders of Belgium and Germany, on a 300-miles front. British, troops are past Amiens and Villers Brettoneux.

Sept. 1: A full-scale Allied attack on the Gothic Line, in Northern Italy, has commenced.

Sept. 1: Russian troops have reached the borders of Bulgaria.

Sept. 1; American bombers from the SW Pacific to-day hammered airfields on Mindanao (southern Philippines).

Sept. 2; Most of the cities of southern France have been abandoned by the Ger mans or captured by the American and French invading armies, or by French partisan armies.

Sept. 3: Finland is entering upon peace talks with Russia, and demands that Germany remove her troops.

Sept. 3: To-day (five years after out break of war) Germans are everywhere in retreat from France. Their retreat in many places is almost a rout. They are abandoning immense equipment. French partisans’are everywhere arising and tak ing charge. The Americans from Nor mandy and from the south are already all over central and south-western France.

France generally is free.

Sept. 4: British troops entered and lib erated Brussels (capital of Belgium) and are also at Antwerp (10 miles from the Dutch border). The Belgians gave the British a tumultuous welcome.

Sept. 6: Fighting is in progress on Ger man soil around Saarbrucken (east of the Moselle River). US units are near Strasbourg (in German-occupied Alsace).

Sept. 6: Russia put an end to the anomalous situation regarding Bulgaria’s self-declared neutrality by declaring war on her. Bulgaria immediately sought an armistice.

Sept. 7: German resistance on the Ger man frontier and the Siegfried Line has stiffened considerably. Canadians are reported in Calais.

Sept. 10: On the Eastern Front, the Russians are trying to force the Narew River and advance on the former Polish Corridor. There are also powerful Red drives towards Yugoslavia, Hungary and

Czecho-Slovakia. Junction between Rus sian and Yugoslav armies is reported.

Sept. 11: British have broken from the bridgehead across the Albert Canal (Bel gium) and are across the Dutch frontier.

Further south, the Americans have lib erated Luxemburg.

Sept. 11; Mr. Churchill and President Roosevelt have met in Quebec for what is called a Victory Conference.

Sept. 12: The Allies now are fighting on German soil in strength. The Ger man fortress town of Aachen is threat ened. Le Havre (which held out for a fortnight) surrendered to Canadians.

Segt. 13: American task force, on the Bth, destroyed an entire Japanese convoy of 52 vessels and shot down 68 aircraft in the Philippines, Further US attacks were made on 10th. Tokio reports that other US planes raided Yap. RAF Beau fighters are ranging over hundreds of square miles of the Indian Ocean, and have attacked and left burning or beached 14 Japanese merchant ships in Indo- Burmese waters.

Sept. 13: Great Allied forces are now approaching the Siegfried Line on a 150miles front, from the Dutch border to the Ardennes.

Sept. 13: Russian troops have taken Lomza (northern Poland) after heavy fighting. They thus expose the southern flank of East Prussia.

Sept. 14: British and US forces have launched an offensive to pinch out Aachen, Siegfried Line fortress town and big railway junction.

Sept. 14: There has been another three days’ aerial onslaught on Japanese tar gets in the Philippines, beginning Sept. 12. Attacks were made from Allied car rier-based aircraft.

Sept. 15: American troops have-landed on Halmahera Island (Netherlands Indies).