/ RUSSIA J^*T. — % /(c^ Tne Soviets announce the?^ greatest victory of the present Rpd Army offensive in southern Russia. ^h Ther^drsv^r capturecf Kharkov. /A____________________ -— --------- ■ Stalingrad was a decisive success, but it was mostly defensive in character. Kharkov is a victory of attack, and the city was the most important German stronghold on the southern Russian Front. Its fall today ramcs as the most spectacular event in the forward surge of the Soviet t The capture of the city was virtually forecast by German dispatches^ earlier in the day. Benin announced that a Soviet thrust iiaci cracked 1 1 j e kharkov defense line, and that tue lighting was going on in the outskirts of tne city. ^■all the v^-u-u-ld ^r^t&TTvo ads' pui t ed^Up-be ^ wdrtT^^l^nTrs taking m e n a r m amen ^ e" t~a~Kl n g u ioBCOW tells of huge tank battles that preceded RUSSIA - 2 the fall 01 the city* -mm |,he Germans defeated were )\ Hitler's best -- elite Nazi divisions. The Soviet capture of Kharkov, fallowing that of Rostov emphasize# the impression that the German command has decided on a retreat all along the line in southern Russia.\ Moscow accounts tell* of the Nazi front collapsing\^t one place after another -- and the climax of collapse was iXK at Kharkov. This powerfully fortified/are a is what they call -- a bolt. That is a bolt anchoring the top of the southern front The bolt has now l/een pulled out, and the whole front * . may be expected recede Along way. How far? fcHXXHX WJ Suppositions ai’e th^t the Germans, in the face of thej shattering Soviet offensive, will have to pull as far back as the river Dneiper, a huge retreat. At RICA Our iorces in I\iorth Africa have launched a ij successiul counter attcompensates somewhat ior the ^azi capture of Gafsa. Th^t place is an important point on the American line in southern Tunisia, j but a powerful Gernan armored thrust made^rw ?A.'A nnati^gcxgab 1 e, So our troops evacuated Gafsa. The location of the American counter attack that followed was near place called Faid. There the Germans had lunged forward, but later were hit so hard, that they were driven back for six miles. tlJto ° The drives the American lines are being staged ^ - ’t£jn by Rommel's veterans the North Afrika Ko rps, did ^ * A so much desert fighting before -W-a^ —d'TTDf'fcTl out of Egypt and all the way to Tunisia. Kiro—orre .is A Ihrmme 1~ i^_ sta^tng^a-ny kind of rfrajnx offensive*.—the^ pTmzrern- af idia—-ATri-i^a Korps ? t-o—xm jrove L- ^-4-r---o-y-rwiuen-i n?; t t ir^TTP-- wh-rc^i rro Td —-b ackTid agninst are—^f€ry - Meanwhile the British ‘Eight Army, which drove AFRICA . 2 Ro:nineI so far and fast, is lunging forward to {join forces with the Americans.^ The British announce the ! capture of a place twenty miles inside ^ the Tunisian! border and sweeping toward the iareth line -- the A fortified positions byilt by the F-rench and now held by the North A^riKa Korps. SOLOMONS The picture the Navy gives us for the last hi- sea fight revolving around G uad ale anal, ^ia^-i» ntra&d.^-t-Q—irh-e——b-rg—bat^t-l-^s that -our fleet IvaPi <7 | f^>ught\with ^She Fa9\East^n en^y. Th^e fvirst ^v/o naval s q\ad clashes cvetween\oppos ing qtiaarons\ we by arrcraft\carriXrs - wsith carrier based \lan JL ted ! nearly Vll of\the as\aulti\g. TiM$ was Ntrue of our v icd/oriein thCora 1^^e^ c.nd at a^idway where1 g ets 5 lashed out )ngainst\each other wrth their plades, the T^rship^ bein\ so farv apart\that thiey n^^er caught sigV of\.ch ofther. hater, ^ probably half a doxen | engageVents\n thXnaterXof the^olomor^, tH^ naval A.s ofVrsh^s cam^ into their ovW agaii^- wi\h Sore of \heseVctio accompanied by plenw of a?r ffthtiVr - dthersVione. \ \ « pn\c of GViadalcamfel was The\last\oceaitac epnc 01 u\ \ _J SOLO'JCnS - 2 3 I j i 1 'hr" air© t h f? r xf-kiii -a f f The shi^-s in it were near y all of the light speedy sort - destroyers mostly. Today’s Navy bulletin makes no mention of battleships on either side, and speaks of only one cruiser. The Navy states: "There were no actions between heavy forces." Large air fleets were engaged, and the picture is one of small fast ships ranging over great spaces of ocean, with air squadrons striking through the skv Nearly all of the ship losses were inflicted A by air power. No warships fought gunnery duels with each other. The battle was^foupfr^ for a week - January Twenty-Ninth to February Fourth. The facts are revealed only now - three weeks after the beginning of the engagement. ThVhistoric episode of sea and air war was hidden by the closest military secrecy - until now. SOLOMONS - ? y The Navy today tells us how, out there in the Solomons, American scout planes reported heavy concentrations of Jap ships and planes to the north, t'ne enemy was up to something - but what? At first our I A naval commanders suspected Japan might be planning a supreme attempt to reinforce the Japs on Guadalcanal.^’ / O' Hiaybe the enemy intended to bring on a ^decisive Cxnsh between the full powers of the hostile fleets J qp - s —1 i (1 j1 11 i 'T1 n ~ s o in ft r o u ^15iu, bee a m c iTf.fT'TT 0 S C ~ W a S gM 111 1 HBa- 0^6 4 1‘- the naval sparring around merely to cover the evacuation of Japs from Guc.dalcana! ^Xrfrat- ^xtulrd-g-ia out. -Jlhoy sent i i 11 > In n n mi 1 1111 ~ A ?trd"did succ SOLOMONS - 4 Today's Navy bulletin gives the lie to the fantastic claims the Japs made at the time of the battle - their stories of having sunk two American battleships and three cruisers. We lost one cruiser, the CHICAGO;^.one destroyer, and three motor torpedo boats. The Japs lost two destroyers, and four other similar ships were probably sunk. Six of their destroyers were damaged, and so were a corvette and two cargo ships. Our air losses consisted of twenty-two planes.They lost more than sixty. In the very first stage of the battle, the \i vS ft4-ted—Star4r«^ heavy c ruisert CHICAGO, was sun... On he evening of the first daj of the «eek-lon, n; agement, the CHICAGO .as attacked by Jap torpedo .lanes, hit, and severely da.aged. The cruiser .as • u4- On + hp afternoon of oaken in tow during the nift • , r whiie still being towed, the the following day, v.l S OLOl^ON CHICAGO was assailed by air torpedoes again. Thirteen jap torpedo planes came winging to the assault. They were attacked by American fighters^rwp^shot down twelve of the thirteen - only one got away. But the fighter ward eceotion was too late to/*ra off* the attack on the 7 A 4 <rvCh CHICAGO. Before those twelve.of thirteen Japs were shot down, they torpedoed the cruiser with repeated hits - and the CHICAGO sank. The loss of life was little - most of the crew taken off. , !' ,1 i£l American destroyer occurred on the fourth da, of the battle. ^ a».U ••■'ship man hit b, dive bombers, not far fro. the coast of iiadalcanal. The heavy loss of Jap destroyers «as s series of American air blows, (en 31 ^ y , . ^-^saDle, our bojafe** comP#nt^4 by a sei— _____ K . ,he %rd dry of the^n, .8tln& ot_^*^cyer> backed, arr-ene., proW--»sti SOLOMOUS_- 6 a—corvette a bip cer^-o vessel. Atl three of these-r* shl-es were left on fire and in a sinking condition"5 i f~c? “ ? The neKt-«d a^par^ently - though the-Navy--does -not lial—lheffl 'are—enftk' A.merieen—dlve bomberS-^nd topped ^Irftne"-^loraatri-on of f oupy^deslrroye ^re' beMeveo- -to. have-been a nn^ani a—t>h4rd- -left- on We are told how our planes made an attack on sixteen destroyers, and again on a force of twenty, hich was followed by another assault against eighteen. his is an indication of the large destroyer forces the „cHnr in their moves to evacuate troops from aps were using in unex that were sunk 2^ sure, not jadalcanal. , -^v-irirre /fine was sent to the ounting 'other probable smkin. p . , _ two others probably jj^by motor torpedo boats ^ n riash for Guadalcanal. T„e„t, destroyers »«do » «ash « Dtt in . _nto- p T boats went o»* after them, and ur speedy mo w* r. i • SOLO:dOiiS_- 7 scorec repealed hits. Three of our small speedy craft were :.ost. As for clashes between the rival sky forces, clashes in which our planes inflicted such heavy losses, here*s an example.'— On the fifth day of the V. battle, a squadron of flying fortresses, escorted by fighters, blasted a cargo ship - twenty Zeros came speeding to the attack. Eight - possibly nine - were shot down. And( we did^nVt lose a plane. On one c.ay alone, twenty Japs were shot down over Guadalcanal. Such is the official picture that we fin are finally given of the battle that was kept so secret - the ±x vast destroyer and airplane conflict ranging over a hundred thousand s uc e miles of ocean. Here is a bulletin, issued by the Government of GANDHI - India on the subject of Gandhifs fast. That’s hov/ important they consider the Mahatma’s refusal to eat anything. The little brown Saint is now in the seventh day of his hunger strike - and this is considered the critical stage. He intends to fast for twenty-one days, and the question is - will he survive it? Today, six doctors visited Gandhi in his orison - | the prison being the fabulous palace of the Aga Khan. | The six physicians conferred on the Mahatma' second it ion, and announ'Sd^e s eventy-three year old mysti^ascetic r>h ills These are normal was suffering from ndU^ta a ^ effects after a week long fast. • ^ +ho+ as the Gandhi hunger strike The doctors say that, as r the apoointed twenty-one days, the goes on toward tne - o,. and will ke forced to lie Mahatma will become weaker . . all the time - not even taiving. He perfectly quiet all GANDHI_- 2 will communicate with bystanders by writing notes until he is too weak to hold a pencil. Then he will be able i to do no more than make signs. But, apparently, signs will surfice. ^oday one physician stated: "People around Gandhi know what he wants even if he only moves a linger." New demands are being made for the release of Gandhi, the latest being urged in the Indian Parliamen.t. A British leader argued in opposition, and characterized! the Mahatma- s hunger strike in these *ords: "a pistol ag ain is held at our forehead." That figure of speech is an odd expression ■in Gandhi's fast - when one of political importance in Gan, , . refusal to eat is called a pistol at the aged man’s re-usoi t ••fMrorvt British Raj in India, head of the magnificent nn LANDIS A little more than five hours from this present moment, at midnight, an important wartime change will ! go into effect throughout a large area of this nation. # This event will concern the safety of millions of people. Instead of my trying to tell you about it, suppose we go to headquarters - switch over to Washington and hear from James 1. Landis, United States Director of Civilian Defense. Director Landis in Washington -- will you tell us about tonight's event?. I MR^LANDIS: Thank you, Mr. Thomas. The event you have spoken of is indeed vital to teverv nan, woman and child in the states along the Atlantic Coast and I am grateful for this opportunity to describe it to your vast radio audience. At midnight tonipht the new air raid warning signals go into effect. These new regulations were promulgated by Lieutenant General Hugh A. Drum, Commanding the eastern defense command anu i irst army, ±or the eastern military area. These new signals are as follows — when you hear a steady, even note of a siren, whistle or horn this is the blue warning. It no longer means all clear. It means now that enemy planes have been sighted and are headed in /our direction. Black out your house lights. Keep your radio on to receive special messages. If you are driving, turn your headlights on low beam and drive carefully. When you hear short blasts of a whistle or horn, or rising and falling notes of a siren, that is the red signal, the same as the present air raid signal. It means go that planes are oractically overhead. You must^to shelter immediately. Motorists must turn out car lights before leaving. After every red signal, the long, steady note will always be sounded. This blue signal does not mean* all clear. It means only that enemy raiders have passed but may return. your home must stay blacked out. Trai i ic and pedestrians ijjay LANDIS - 3 move again. This blue warning remains in force until the all clear is announced by telephone to | the civilian defense corps, and by radio to the general public. If the all clear is to be given in any other way in your community, it will be announced by your local defense council. These new air raid warning signals go into effect tonight at midnignt in the New England states and in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina', Georgia, Florida east of the Apalachiocola River, and the District oi Columoia. The Q.C.B. recommends that all states except those on the west coast adopt these new signals. But I urge every one of* you listening in the Atlantic seaboard states to memorize these air raid warning signals. Remember -- the long, steady note -- the short blasts, or wavering note -- T.h e iong steaav note again -- all these are warnings on which vour X r Ana now back to Lowell Thomas in sarey may depenc. N New York. — laaMcnoosisE 1^7„. f l''L a /demanded the resignation of Ferdinand E. Eberstadt - J '"ar Production Chief Donald Nelson today a Vice-Chairman of the V’.P.B. And this climaxes a feud that has been going on p.-zf'l ^/for months between Donald Nelson on the one side, and * I the Army and Navy on the other.. Eberstadt, before he went to the W.P.B. , was the head of the Army and Navy Munitions Board, and tet represented the viewpoint of the armed services. Two weeks ago, Donald Nelson deprived Eberstadt of some of his pdwers, and transferred these C* to another W.P.B. vice-chairman, Charles E. Wilson. ,._v , 9M -t , That brought the quarrel to. the breaking point, and something had to snap. Today, the whole thing broke open with a loud j snap - Nelson ousting Eberstadt. The VPr Production - n+ hn-r itv and did not consult Chief acted on his own authority, b i+ o states a producticn Beard President Roosevelt - so siaue spokesmrn. F A E. / To-av Secretarv of Agriculture If ickerc told tx£ a £on&te sur) -co-naittee trat r.e I f goiri^’ to ?sk the t *^v I to furlcu,rh troops to work on tarns. T is fits i fit:, ie cf -ana of pov-erlal Senate forces^ wr h i c h . a. ^ ■- c*f: ‘F i! s a a in ^ e e .o *r—»»o r*-—n~~o ~r c 1 i ~ tr.c ir o^t : .•j ^_ of-—a*-- pie—j'r-irFjr—1 •et-s-e-rr-*—-'Ifrov—ft~*«—1»fre Apr?^ to L’Pant-—v c s—G-; - qd 5 c~ ce—1 c r s——fv 4 ^ .-.f ,■ oj -—re a —ao i e r.< er —* r rr—wi’t-i.'' er — t t o> —"-r r e ^ v-o ■:■ t i —t-^e— q - p ^ o ;> & o o o—^ Z' ecr e t ar v V. i ckarc s t at ed that last ve ar a e a s ^e tae Army to furlough soldiers for farm work -- but the Army refused. Today he statec: "I am going to ask again tnis ve ar, if it is neeessarv . T‘ ^ And Secretary Wicka^d talked to the subcommittee about the black cancel in meat. He said the nation has a serious oroDlen in black name t one rations — particular!" in connectio *ith beef. «-TTa-R- acketeers are getting as nigh as one dollar and seventv-five cents a pound for bee: i t h e DiscJC market in l^ew York. V ROOSEVELT ^resident Roosevelt today talked about spend—' thrifts. x.e v. as re 1 erria to people v«ho don*t want to spend iH o n t y n o a xor - ost war planning. Because they don't want to spend money they are spendthrifts. The President explained the paradox by sayin that if we invest now in post war planning we'll save several billions of dollars and snare ourselves hu e lot of /A un uxxxemployment -- when peace time returns again. The President drew a thrifty picture of himself as a great saver of money# --^oes that portrait surprise you? The Presidemt admitted that few people ever saw him in the frugal guise of a careful economizer.