GOOD
EVENING
.
EVERYBODY:
Although I
am
in Chicago, at the Democratir.
convention, and naturally e
er
to talk about
r t
•
the big
news
tonight comes from France; where
Today w~s marked by the most violent
fo
the invas~on -- also the greatest clash oft nks
Last night's news
of
the huge British break-bhrough
in the Caen sect r was followed by Swift and powerful
enemy
action.
The German Commander, who is described
as Rommel,
realized instantly the dire thre t to his
army, with
the British pouring through the gap they
had smashed open.
So he mustered every tank and m c ia
ha could, and hurled ponderous forces of mechanism
agah
st the spe rhe
~
d that was thrusting forward so ra idly.
The British met the charge head-on, and t at's wen
the gre test armored battle of
Western
Europe was
fought.
tl!!£1 -
2
All through last night and on throug today
the conflict raged.
In some places the German's won
so ■e
ground, this at the expense of too heavy a cost.
The
l\r ■ ored
punches weremet by
·
evastating fire, and
finally the huge counter-attack simply wore itself out.
Whereupon, having hurled back the assault, th
British resumed their drive forward.
This was the
state
of
affairs late today.
They pushed new masses
ot
armor through the breach in the enemy f~ont, and
ktpt
rolling -- for advances if from four to seven
■ ilea.
And the latest news pictures the drive as hav-
ing reached the plain of Calvador, with
the most open
kidd
of country ahead for motorized operations -- the
road to Paris.
So no wonder British Commander General YontgomeJ
spoke
jubilantly of the success of his tactics success
that may turn out to be fol
~
owing wor
d
s.
One di patch
from
Surpe ■e
Allied Bea ouarters today uses the following
words:
•News
of the high•st importancemay be imminent.•
And still another dispatch says ffThe outcome of t
h
e
[BA!Ql -
3
battle may determine the length of the Europe!n w~r."
ITALY
-----
Also
double success in Italy has an
appropriate sound -- the capture on th~
same
day of
two historic seaports:
Leghorn, on one coast and
\
Ancons on the other.
1
In each case, the Allies acquired
possession
of a good seaport.
Ancona on the Adriatic is an old and famous
port, which in the days of the past flourished richly
on the Mediterranean trade with the East.
However, h
the greater
strategies of battle are on the leghorn
eidt
of the peninsula, which gives that harbor the more
iam6diate
importance.
American troops today marched into a city of
devastation, with only a fraction of its former large
population wandering
amid
the ruins.
Between constant
Allied bombings and methodical German demolition, the
harbor
works were mere
splintered
wreckage.
The Germane
•ell aware
of the importance of the port for
future
Allied
supplies,
blew
up
everything.
However, aepairs will
be made
in fact
today
Aaerican engineers had already started rebuilding th e
ltlL! -
2
rebuilding the
docks.
The harbor
used to
ban le seven-
teen
thousand, five
hundred
tons of cargo
a
day.
It
-
bad sixty docks, thirty-five power cranes and twenty-
one large warehouses.
A busy
port
that again.
and it will be
General Clark's Fifth Army is now up against
that
■uch
.
vaunted Nazi Gothic Line, which is said to
begin just North of the River Arno.
And Allied reports
are not ainiaizing the strength of the new enemy battle-
front.
The country rises to the
high
Apennines, travereed
.
b7 passes, and the Germans are said to have fortified
every pass with bugA pill boxes, some carved into
1olid rock thirty feet deep~
·
In captured
Leghorn,
civilians related today
that the W~r-blasted port
had
been visited several
aonths ago by Mussolini, the fallen Duce.
This is
told by United Press correspondent Eleanor Packard,
who accompanied the American troops when they marched
in. She says that during his visit to Leghorn, Musso-
lini appeared
a few times
in public, and the people
got the impression that he had become feeble-minded.
They said he was thin and emaciated, with hollow
cheeks.
Bis eyes were vacant and staring, and ~e fumbled
stupidly
with
his bands, as if his nerves were shot
--
half out of bis mind.
The people at Leghorn believe that Mussolini has
now left Italy altogether, and is living in seclusion in
Germany --
with little or nothing to say in the
puppet
Fascist
Government that plays the stooge to the Nazis.
RUSSIA
------
The latest bulletin from Russia uses these
words:
•The most powerful diive ever launched agains
the
Nazi's.•
This is Moscow's discription of the
offensive battering toward the Polish City of L•ov
one of Europe's great transport centers.
Soviet troops
are now
*itbing eight miles of the city.
The Nazis
ad ■ it
the progress of the drive, and tel
l
of th
6
Russian'
forcing the BugRiver to the North of Lvov.
This gre
~
t offensive is in the South, while in
the Borth the story is much the
same.
Russian zroops
are driving
fo•ward
in the area of tbe Baltic States,
and tonight Stalin announced a twenty-four mile advance
with
the capture of sevenhundred towns and villages.
l!Zl-~RQQ!!BQl
A story of crazy violence co es from Greece,an
account of a meeting of
bigb
German office
rs
at
Athens.
These
top Nazi Commanders gathered at a hotel
to
discuss
ailitary
plans, and here is what happened -- according
to
the exiled Greek Government.
As they sat across the
conference table, the German officers got into a hot
argu■ent.
Their planning discussions turned into
a
savage row,
with the
~
urling of charge and counter-charge.
And
it
came
to
a
climax of pistol fire, with the officers
firing at each other across the table •
.
Six were killed
in the military conference that turned into a shooting
■ atcb.
So we are told by the exiled Government of Greece
which adds that the C~ief Nazi Commander in the
Peloponne
escaped from the shooting, only to be killed by Nazi
guards at the hotel.
PEICE
FEELERS:
Reports of
Nazi
pe
a
ce moves
persist and
one
.
'
story comes along in considerable
detail.
It rela es
that recently Hitler's outfit tried to
get
in touch
with the Soviet's to open negotiations far a separate
peace with
Russia.
This report comes from London and
states
the unsuccessful Nazi attempt was made in Stock
bola
by a group of German tourists.
That is
--
they
pretended
to be tourists but in reality
were
officials
of the Berlin Foreign Office, beaded by Dr. Paul Shmidt,
a principal
aide
to Hitler's Foreign Minister von Ribben-
trop.
In stockholm these tourists tried to get in
touch
with Soviet representatives there, but the Russian's
wouldn't bite, wouldn't see them.
CONVENTION
---------
As you would expect, Chicago is a hotbed
today
this first day
of
the convention.
At the me ent
it
looks as though Vice President Henry Wallace has
lost
out, and that Barry Truman of Missouri will be
Bo. 2
aan on the slate.
\~ow
come?
Well, one story is
...-
that the White House feels that Wallace bad four years ir.
which
to
make
good -- and that he didn't hence, be is
now on bis
own.
Another rumor concerne the President, and where
be will be when ihe
aakes
his speech of acceptance.
I could tell you something about that.
But, with a war
on, we are not talking about the whereabouts of the
Co■■ander-in-chief.
The buzz of gossip certainly has been on the
hu■
here in Chicago, everJ since the
news
came about
President Roosevelt'• address to the Convention,
that
he
willspeak
-
Y
radio tomorrow night -- instead of
Friday night, as had previously been expected.
No reasor:
11 given for the change in
plan,
and everybody is won-
dtring.
There h
a
s been
u
nen
d
in
g
speculation about t
h
e
possibility that President Roosevelt might make his spee
-
~
to the Democratic Convention from some
oint over eas
in
a war
zone.
Nothing is really known about this -
publicly
I
mean - but that doesn't keep
jaws
from Waggin@
And
today's announcement about tomorrow's presidential
radio address to this
ia
bering of the Democrats is just
the sort
of thing to increase the buzz of gossip to
ao ■ ething
like
a
roar.
For one thing, the news brings about a ch
a
nge
in
the Convention schedule.
The plan was to have the
balloting tomorrow night -- with the
p
reside
n
t's radio
~
ddress to follow on Firday night.
Now, howe~er, the
time
for the ballotin
g
bas been advanced -- tomorrow
afternoon, so as to make way for the president via radio
•o•oreow night.
In the battle for the Vice Presidency, the name
spoken everyw
h
ere here in Chicago is -- Truman.
This
follows in
e
vitably the events that occurre
d
toda
,r----
lir1t as
you know, Byenes wit
_h
dre
!
_
J
Yesterda
y
, con erv
a
t
w
tive Democratic o
p
inion was concentr
-
ting on the War
l(obilizati
n
Director -- in opposition to 'ice lresidert '
lallace, the
da
rl
i
ng of the New
D
e ler~.
Today, howeve~
1
•
Jaaes
F.
Byrnes of South Craolina made
a
formal re~uest
,
tb&t his name be kept out of the Vice •residential
ca■ petition.
In a
letter to the Chairman of the dele
g
ation fr
bis own state, South Carolina, be stated that he was
wi
tbdrawing
President.•
"In
deference to the wishes of the
Those were Byrnes' own words -- indicating
that the White House
was movint him out
of the
p
icture.
The meaning
of i
1
all
became clearer
announced
that President Roosevelt
was
g
iving
support
to Senator
Truman
of
Missouri.
This
was
stated by
Democratic
National Chairman Hannegan,
who is
quoted
I
•
'll
by
the
United Press as saying:
WTbe President has in-
dicated that he
will
be
ha
p
py
to run with Senator Truman,
and that he thinks Trum
a
n would Strengthen the ticket.
All of which is taken to indic
a
te the W~ite
Bouse
beli
e
f t
h
t
V
i
ce
Jtre
i
d
ent
1
all
ac
e cannot be re-
QQB!ll!!QB -
4
nominated.
The Presi
d
ent h
ad
expressed his prefe
A
rrnce
for Wall
a
ce, though not in any diet atorial w
~
y, and now
be was switching with an okay for Truman.
If he can't h•
lallac
~
,
he
will
t
a
ke the
Missouri
~ena or.
That's the
logic,
as
p~opounde
d
here in Chicago.
And
he belief is
expre
~
sed
that Senq
t
or Trem
a
n
will
get the Vice Presi
d
e
ial nomination
perhaps even on t
h
e first ballot
thou
-
the Wallace
forces still
seem
to be
full of fight.
In
the rise
of Truman we seem to sense a compro-
aise
intended to pacify the angry Southern Conservatives.
They'd prefer a Southerner for Vice President --
lik
Byeles of South Crolina, who has withdrawn, however,
in deferecne to the President.
Truman is
oa
the Souther~
~ringe,
Missouri being one
of the border states.
And
he stands high in public esteem -- after his work as
head of the Truman Committee lookin
g
tino the w
a
r ex
p
en-
ditures.
However, the Southern revolt is still much i
n
evidence.
Vtriour dele ations from Dixieland have
Pledged themselves against a fourth term, 8n
d
have
COIVEBTIOI- 5
~--------
declared in favor of Senator Byrd of Virginia for
President.
And today the news came that the Texas
deleg3tion had toted to line up for Senator Byrd.
As
!or the Vice Presidency, the Texans left the open.
They will deiide tonight on their choice for second
place on the ticket.
Of course, there are two rival sets of Texans, a
one group pledged for a fourth term.
The other was left
uninsbruct
e
d, and now has joined with other Sout~ern
insurrectos in favor of Senator Byrd of Vinginia.
It
ien•t
clear
what
all these Dixieland maneuvers will
aaount to, but certainly they won't affect the aomina-
tion for the Presidency.
Here is
the latest -- a statement by the Vice
President.
At
Convention Headquarters here in Chicago,
he declared
this afternoon that he'll put
up
a fight to
the
finish for eenomination.
He referred to the
President's letter endorsing him but not insisting
and sadd
it was esactly the kind
of
letter th a
.
e
hi
lf
"I
did not sug
ge
st the let
t
er,"
said
••e
wan ed.
QQl!l!!lQ! -
5
Wallace, •I told the President that, in justice to him-
self and myself, there should be nothing in the nature
of dictation to the convention.•
Ris intention to battle it out for the nominatia
was expressed in these words:
•ram
in this
fight
to
the finish.•
And he added:
•r
will put op the very
beet
fight I nowhow.•
All of which is a Vice Presidentil
pro ■ ise
of
a
sla ■ -bang
contest.
Fate, or somebody, fixei my he
a
dquarters
at the B
l
ackstone Hotel in the suite adjoining National
Deaocratic
Chairman Hannegan. And I
wish
you could sit
with me, in my room, with the door open, and watch the
strea■
of Democratic
bigwigs
and bosses as they go in
and out of the Hannegan suite.
It sort of
makes
you wonder
whether the convention is being held at the hotel, on the
seventh f
~
oor, or
out
at the Stadium. At any rate, the
keynote address wi
l
l be delivered at the stadiua, and
not in Chairman Bannegan's rooa -- so, now ii I'm heading
for the
Stadium, while
I
transfer this broadcast back to
Bugh
Jaaes
in New York.