Liveblogging World War II: February 24, 1943
Charleston Gazette: Nazi Tunisia Drive/Reds Gain West of Kharkov/Rommel Repulsed In One Sector, Both Sides Now Bringing Up Reinforcements:
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN NORTH AFRICA, Feb. 23.—AP—Hurled back in one sector and stalled in another, the German armored units of Marshal Erwin Rommel relaxed their pressure along the Tunisian front today, giving the stubborn Allied defense forces their first rest of the bitter three-day struggle to keep Nazi spearheads from cracking their lines. "The fighting has died down," said a terse dispatch from the front, and both sides apparently prepared to make the most .of the lull by regrouping and bringing up supplies and reinforcements, In the hills north of the Kasserine gap, Rommel's most dangerous thrust had been halted by British and American tanks and infantry four miles from Thala, the gateway to the strategic Kremansa plateau near the Tunisian-Algeran frontier.
30 to 50-Mile Advances Made/3 Enemy Strong Points In Ukraine Taken: LONDON, Feb. 23.—(AP)—The triumphant Red army, spurred by Premier Stalin's praise and exhortation to drive the Germans from Russia, marked its 25th anniversary today by accelerating its smash westward through the Ukraine, recapturing three important Nazi strong points along the route leading from Kharkov to Kiev. Answering Stalin's order to Give The invaders no respite, the "army of avengers." as he termed them, drove into Sumy. 100 miles northwest of Kharkov: Akhtyrka, 42 miles to the south, and Lebedin. about half way between them and 20 miles farther west. Lebedin lies only 175 miles east of Kiev, and the recapture of the three towns, announced in a special communique broadcast by Moscow and recorded here by the Soviet monitor, marked advances of from 30 to 50 miles in the Red army's continuing offensive, freeing hundreds of square miles more of the rich, productive Ukraine.
Jap Warship Hit at Rabaul/Heavy Bombers Assault Ships, Shore Bases: ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN AUSTRALIA. Wednesday. Feb. 24,—(AP)—A Japanese cruiser or destroyer has been bombed and damaged at Rabaul. New Britain, the Allied high command announced today.
Scheme to End Fast Rejected/Viceroy Rejects Gandhi Friends' Compromise: NEW DELHI, Feb. 23.—(AP)—An attempt to end the 21-day fast of Mohandas K. Gandhi, now in its 14th day, by a compromise between the Indian nationalist leader and Viceroy Lord Linlithgow ended in failure today. The latest scheme designed to end the hunger strike was instituted by a combination of English men and Indians. Horace Alexander, member of the British parliament, who had been serving in India recently as a representative of the Quaker Relief Agency, first conferred with the fasting Hindu leader at Poona. After the conference, he advised Chakrayarthi Rajagopalachari, a member of a recent conference of Indian leaders seeking Gandhi's unconditional release, that under certain conditions Gandhi might end his fast.
Wooden Guns, Rag Soldiers Guard Chagrined Congress: WASHINGTON, Feb. 23.—(AP)—Grim, gray, anti-aircraft "guns," which have peeked skywards for months from congressional office building roofs to provide "protection" for the nation's lawmakers are made of wood and manned by "decoy soldiers," it was disclosed today. His curiosity piqued over just what protection was being furnished congress, Rep. Cooley (D.-N.C.) climbed, unchallenged in civilian clothes, to the rooftop of its new office building and discovered the secret.
