European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 7, 1945, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Today rats Ian Letton Mimee we arc thes my news ppr of one franc volume number 63 one franc Man Speicht Beatsch 1m Ersten pm Ersten on the first new Yordi Vonparis Manila liberated by paratroopers few japs remain 6 Tion of Manila and More than prisoners from three years of Jap anese subjugation was proclaimed today by who chose a Day of Victory to give the re minder that Japan itself is our final the knockout blow was delivered by paratroopers of the Lith air borne who had made an Over night Advance of 35 Miles North Ward from tag Aytay they drove into Manila from the South As yanks of the 1st cavalry and 37th infantry who had won the Northern half of the smashed across the pasig River Barrier and entered the Southern a Token Garrison which the japanese left in Manila was sur rounded but still was resisting american troops steadily february 1945 6 Macarthur said today that the fall of Manila Marks the end of one great phase of Pacific struggle and sets the stage for we Are Well m our but Japan itself our final Macarthur with Australia the Philippines liberated and the ultimate redemption of the East and Malaya thereby a our motto becomes on to we Are read in this Veteran and proven command when called mar god Speed the reduced the sire of the and Macarthur said that destruction of the japanese units was Immi the japanese had put the Torch to the cites business and Manila helpless firemen because were there virtually was no water enemy troops had blown up pumping two of the four Bridges spanning the wide pasig River inside Manila were blown up by the one was the big Concrete and steel Queen Bridge and the other was the Ayala eight Hundred Allied prisoners of War and 550 civilian internees were freed sunday from the ver min infested Bilibio prison in the Center of which the philippine government had abandoned As a penal institution before the War these prisoners were set free by 37th troops not Long after 1st cavalry units had freed per sons from the Santo Tomas intern ment the Bilibio prison staff and there was no fight at Santo the japanese commander took 270 including prominent american business and held them unto he had won Safe continued on Page 4 3rd p one Many headaches Stettin g e a o Sbars q Berlin Warsaw mushrooming in every the massive russian offensive on the Eastern front has the German general staff thinking there fighting an one tentacle like drive Lias split East isolating German forces Between Danzig and another threatens Stettin a Frankfurt and of theres the main russian squarely at reds smash across Oder in strength at 2 Points Battle for Berlin loomed today As two red armies crossed the Oder River in strength on fronts 150 Miles apart and engaged the germans in furious fighting beyond the last big water Barrier protecting the Reich Moscow announced that marshal Ivan Konies 1st ukrainian army troops had smashed across the River Southeast of Breslau after break ing strongly fortified German positions on the West capturing six important communications towns in their first surge through enemy Konies troops last night had gained 15 Miles on a 50mile front in a push North to Ward the Bres Auberlin super German declaring the Zero hour had arrived for said that marshal Gregory Zhukov 1st White russian posed for the frontal assault on the German held at least six Bridgehead Over the Oder on a 55mile front from South of Frankfurt to a Point fighters raise hell on 4 Battle fronts medium and fighter bombers ended a 24hour bad weather pause today with blows at nazi communications on the 3rd and 9th arid French 1st army ninth fighter bombers hurled explosives into 15 r a i 1 y a r d wrecking or damaging nearly 300 rail cars and 283 motor the 1st tac of battered German communications in the Rhine Val splattering locomotives and rail cars and strafing the mar shalling Yards at Kraut pcs see finish when reds take Berlin by James staff writer with 94th of this division said Todar that Many German prisoners believe the War will be Over As soon As Berlin to the the they seemed to lose their will to fight with every mile the reds there has been a definite towering of German morale since the russians started their said 1st Charles new but there is no feeling of gut it in them at ther Are Only worried about what is going to happen to Germany now that they have the Jennies Are getting the news about whats happening with the said sgt Harrison who has guarded prisoners in Africa and the ones i talked to Are sure that the War wont last a Day once the Ruskys get hold of dont use my name because i still have relatives in said a German born american but All the prisoners Ive interrogated know they cant win the their attitude changed since the russians started to one of them said the War is Over for me it will be Over for you in three weeks when the russians take god help us do you think those mortars Are russians overshooting asked a As shrapnel rattled on the Root somewhere Northwest of dispatches from Moscow told of intense russian artillery Hammer ing at German positions on the West Bank of the River while red army storm troops fought bitter Battles in the streets of flaming Buestrin and Keystone cities of the Oder River official Moscow reports placed Zhukov troops less than 34 Miles from the German capital while enemy announcements said that the soviets were Only 30 Miles heavy armoured Battles were rag ing into the third Day for the town of 15 Miles Northwest of Buestrin on the West Bank of the and at 14 Miles South of Frankfurt and also on the West Bank of the three other engagements were being fought for Bridgehead at a Point three Miles South of Frankfurt and at two Points North of Fuerstenburg lies on the main Bres Auberlin railway and its Cap Ture robs the Ger evians of important Supply routes to the silesian hundreds of red air Force bombers hammered at German lines of communication Between the Oder and in East Prussia troops of marshal Konstantin to Kossovsky 3rd White russian army captured 45 Miles South of its capture indicates that to Kossovsky Northern Wing u now moving up close to positions held by Chernia Kovsky left in the encircled prussian prov Ince the germans Are being split up into Small groups and falling prey to roving assault groups of soviet machine most of the country now is under control of the red far to the the russians growing attack Southwest of Buda pest began to take on steamroller shape and it appeared that the reds before Long would be surging for the austrian japs Advance on Tayt 6 japanese troops were advancing to Day toward one of South chivas chief Wolfram after capturing the air base town of in Kiangtung in Western chinese forces counterattacked to Ward one column was House press told six Miles from the nazi defense stiffens omber blow supports soviet drive in East 8th a bomber fleets today swung into tactical warfare in direct support of the russian armies locked in Battle along the Oder River a column of ports and with a shield of split three ways to mangle the great rail centers in Leipzig and Chemnitz these three rail hubs of Central Germany feed trains to Berlin and the Chr Machts Eastern line from the Saar and Ruhr Industrial centers in the the lock oils of coupled with the Hook in of silesian munitions by the might strangle the Nart War Effort the heavies thundered close to the charred nazi which was still belching smoke from fires stoked by bombs of Raf mosquitoes last one of the biggest Railroad centers in the is 65 Miles South West of Leipzig is farther South and 30 Miles from the czech is 120 Miles from the Crews were less fortunate with the weather than when they smashed Berlin through broken a few of today targets Sere bombed visually but others were attacked through rough storm Clouds that blacked out the View Only a few German planes were not a single bomber was escorting fighters shot up 16 locomotives near Leipzig and raided an ammunition train and a troop they destroyed four nazi planes on two 300 34th troops arrive Back in states 6 ans More than 300 veterans of the 34th arrived at fort spelling last week after More than three years overseas service in North Afri Sicily and some will get 21day furloughs before reporting for while others will spend 30 Days at Home and then return to their outfits in by Richard staff writer resistance today stiffened along a 25mile de sense arc Between the West Wall bastions of Gemund and reports that elements of the 1st and 3rd armies had pierced the main Siegfried line defences these two an Cho cities still lacked official confirmation by third army forces burst the main Siegfried defences at Brand Northwest of Prum and at last reports were meeting heavy enemy stars and stripes correspondent Russell Jones with the 1st army said elements of both the 78th and 9th inf had gone through the Barrier in the North Ern sector of the but added that heavy defences still confront 1st army 2nd and 9th neared the nazi communications centers of Schleiden and Gemund where German distance was along a seven mile tie 2nd 18th battled renewed nazi Comiter thrusts in three Miles Southwest of other in Fantry advanced Yards to the Western outskirts of Scheuring which is Yards Northwest of Schleiden the Advance of the 1st army met a new obstacle which the Ger mans had not planned melting snows were swelling the Olef River which runs through the path of the american Advance be tween towns of Schleiden and Gemund northward still in the Kester Nich sector above 78th div men advanced Yards toward the Hurtgen Forest town of sen the scene of Home of the most bitter fighting on the Western front two months ago during the initial 1st army drive Southeast of other 3rd army forces advanced a mile and a quart and took the Siegfried line town of four Miles North of Brand Southwest of 90th men beat their Way for Ward a mile and a Quarter to take continued on Page 4 Long awaited big three conference in session first disclosure from a responsible source that the big three meeting is now in session was made today by sir Walter Secretary general of the British Trade Union disclosure of the since that at Teheran one year and two months at the opening of the world Trade Union Congress when sir Walter explained Church ills absence by declaring that me Long awaited meeting the big three was taking place at this Vry United press in London reported that a censorship mucus inadvertently passed for world publication sir waiters it said publication of the statement was in direct contradiction to an agreement Between the and a censor in the associated press office passed the Story without referring it to higher it was in the White House declined to admit that president Roosevelt is at tending the big three army news service Jonathan acting White re porters no he declined to comment on the Citrine statement on the grounds that Citrine occupies no official Posi Tion in the British government and that he u a labor Leader with the same relation to the govern ment As William Green Al president holds in the sir Walter gave no hint As to where tile meeting was being Txie French Telegraph according to the associated that the Allied leaders were conferring at a russian Black sea 20 Miles above stains Home pro Vince of German radio continued to As Sert the meeting was being held continued on Page i