Mediterranean Algiers Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 10, 1943, Algiers, Algiers                                Page 8 the stars and stripes weekly saturday july to 1943 red army checks latest nazi drive enemy finally admits offensive plans after four Days London the nazis started a big offensive on the russian front this week but All the wehrmacht had to show for four Days of furious fighting on the Belgorod kursk Orel sector was one jutting spearhead in the South. The russians meanwhile came through with some amazing figures on the successful manner in which big scale nazi drives have been repulsed. Even if half True the nazis have suffered a huge defeat. The soviet communique at the end of the fourth Day said that More than 1,850 tanks have been either destroyed or damaged and that More than 800 planes have been knocked out of the skies. Major operation without a doubt the most surprising development of the Battle was the manner in which the German High command is handling the news of the Campaign. In All dispatches and broadcasts from Berlin the nazis tended to emphasize the Quot local nature of the operations. That was strange since there could be no doubt that the operations along the 160-Mue front was a major one. It is generally believed that the germans have massed three quarters of their fighting strength in this sector alone. The russians announced that no less than 15 Panzer divisions had been put into the Battle. Needed Campaign the hesitancy 01 the germans in making premature boasts can probably be attributed to the fact that the wehrmacht a hand has been forced. Had the germans waited any longer it would have further impaired the morale of a people which has had to withstand the Shock of losing Stalingrad the tunisian Campaign Tuffe round the clock bombings from the air and the news that the effectiveness of the a boat has decreased. A Campaign was needed and needed Quick. There was however a slight departure in the tone of the German communiques As the week ended. The germans said they were using thousands of planes and were at last referring to the fighting As an  previously the stress had been on the scope of  Check soviets considerable speculation has been aroused Here Why the germans have concentrated such Large forces on the Fertile Black Plains of the Ore kursk Belgorod sector. While the immediate objective appears to be the extermination of the russian bulge around kursk one View is that the germans Hope to Force a break through and then head North for Moscow. The prevailing opinion Here is that the German offensive is designed to checkmate whatever offensive plans the soviets May have and to direct russian forces by threatening Moscow. Although the toll of nazi tanks has so far surpassed anything in the War it appears the russians planned their anti tank defences carefully. Fields heavily mined wide use of heavily mined Fields is one Way in which the soviets have slowed the German tank drives. Another method which the russians Are using is sending out their own ground forces to Cut of the enemy infantry and then blast the isolated tanks. Latest russian sources estimate that the germans have thrown in Sicily invaded continued from Page i yank offensive in Pacific forces i Anc to Petra at Lich wo�p�<1 in a Over the Island disrupting Dew inc la Cai i Fence and communications with blistering machine gun fire. Congress sloughs Ohl Assn ton july a in an the allies again As they had done in Tunis. Soldiers allotments june 30 �a�w5ch0u still co to were dishing out the Type of Aerial Blitzkrieg on using the soldiers of the Mikado which the nazis had once placed their own copy have been driven from three More r Washington the proposed i a a uth Pacific islands and have k a. It a a increase in allowances for service been forced to fight for their lives i Ilia latest offensive action of the Allied forces menus dependents was lost in the in a a ourth. Moreover Jap airmen based on Africa ram a Al a it 1��� Tolian for legislative shuffle before adjourn la been of the skies a it i x t y a a a ment of Congress and will not be y the score and just make the after the wed up of the tunisian Campaign brought up again until the legis Tso the aupied i Yth Cen  ? one Mon after the surrender of Pantelleria. T tit Many Way the Heck on Sicily followed Tho allowance for a wife and one child us Offens be has whether this action could be called the loner to 68 dollars a month with la Dol entered around a group of islands j j c. R 8 Lars for each additional child in he North and West of the awaited opening of a second front in Europe was Der the plan service men would t?rrif0sairbase a matter of opinion. Sicily although definitely a m Nril Hardno a to Jakc be i Ria. Island was the major objective part of Europe it not the Mainland. The trencher first months payment tendency allowances. For de think its hot continued from Page i and at the end of the week this Ous although narrow Straits of Messina separate important spot was under . A fun _ i \. A a l onery fire from american held it from the italian Boot. Incidentally in this stretch Bendova Island five Miles away of water is found the scylla and Charybdis of other islands under attack were i classic lore. Bendova and the Wood Lark and Guieb map Goth eve were s occupied i a Quot Ian Dong on Sicily the allies ii. Without a pm or ado so in the is strategic july and August when the tem in a second wave of assaults talc in he Mediterranean. Pesature really soars As von i a i Only three or four Miles of water Pesature really soars As you Are now since the air has about twice the amount of humidity at the moment that it should have. The muggy weather this week came from the sirocco the famed desert winds of Africa which Boom ranged after they had gone out Over the Mediterranean and came Back in dripping with moisture and discomfort. This was a highly irregular proceeding according to the Weatherman. Washington july 9�?ten additional Jap ships have been sunk and four damaged by . Submarines operating in the Pacific the Navy department announced today. Sent to the Bottom were two transports five cargo vessels two tankers and a Schooner the announcement said. Frtnth"vsnharalr0ands a Pate opted vague Quot a is and was somewhere out Over the sea. A what All this Means is that the japs have been pushed Back still torrid dry southerly wind the Africa "sandworms16 and a a i usher and at any notions they temperatures heat blow frown Eay Spring through september but a in Berk it stoned never for More than two Days at a stretch. Overshadowing the actual land its the sirocco that make Bis a Jfe which were carried out with Kra located right in the Center of r smoothness under the com a huge funnel break in the Atlas my ind Gen. Douglas Macarthur Moun a at the rim of the de  Kula Ert the hottest City in the coun a a North of new Georgia Island try. Bisk a gets the full Impact of Ere  Fleet of considerable the winds after their race across ? was intercepted and decisively heavier strata of cooler air to the tie Battle on the Rich farm Plains i hot thin air strata Over tile Road More than 500.000 men. I they Bend and instead of touching observers Here do not believe j the Road double Back into the sky any decisive action has taken i seeing the proverbial Palm Trees the scorching desert and the temperature goes As High As 120 degrees in the Shade a a did you know a the Weatherman mused a a that Tripoli once was the hottest place on Earth that was Back in 1932 on september 13, when a temperature of 136 degrees was recorded the highest temperature recorded  he guessed it could happen again. Sand and dust storms will be another feature of the african summer to harass the soldiers located Inland but a real Sand storm Seldom appears along the coast except at Tripoli where there Are no mountains to catch the Sands carried by the winds. But there May be Days in Algiers Oran and other cities when the Sun will turn into a thick red Ball and tile sky becomes overcast and darkened by a dust Haze. This is the time too when you la be seeing plenty of mirages. Mirages Are simply and purely a hot weather phenomenon said the Weatherman. One of the most common is the a water in the mid dle of the Road Mirage. You la be driving along a Flat Macadam Road and suddenly spot what looks like a Lake right across the Road some 300 Yards ahead. There Are no Pike or Perch in these lakes a said the Weatherman Are not sufficient let new Laws be sadly. A a what you see is merely a i  a  the read Quot a in the next breath. Ii Duce de his by said Long �?ov11 said Quot but the italian people Deli t rays pass from the serve All our respect and love be beaten. Japanese losses included at least ten cruisers destroyers and submarines the Navy disclosed. Only american casualty was the . S. Helena 9,700-ton Cruiser with a Normal complement of 800 officers and men. Earlier the destroyer Strong was lost in another engagement. During furious Jap attempts to blast  positions on Bendova Island menacing their Munda base 123 nip ponese aircraft were shot out of the skies in three Days against a minimum of Allied losses. The Royal australian air Force and new zealand aircraft Are co cooperating with . Flyers in most operations. Landings at Trobriand and Wood Lark marked the first test of joint army and Navy amphibious training which has been going on in Australia for months under supervision of rear Admiral Daniele Barbey. Officers who had been in the North african invasion in november gave first hand teaching based on experience. Separate the Island from the toe of the italian Boot at its northeastern tip while the Southern coast running almost parallel with the african Mainland is 90 Miles from Tunis As the Crow flies. Thus the Island almost bisects the Mediterranean and acts As a Gateway Between the Western and Eastern part of the sea. So important was the Island considered that the Luftwaffe at one time concentrated an important share of its Mediterranean air Power there. Sicily is about the size of Massachusetts covering an area of to i too Square Miles. The distance across the Island from East to West or from the base of the Triangle to the tip is about 160 Miles. The Island measures 80 Miles from North to South on the East coast and tapers off to some 30 Miles at the end. Running along tile North Shore from East to West Are the Mcdonie mountains actually a continuation of the italian apennines and broken by a number of passes chief of which Are those from Francavilla to Castro ale and from Termini to Caltanissetta. In the Northeast lies the famous it. Etna Volcano the islands highest Mountain 10.758 fee which has erupted 120 times thus far in history. Sicily a principal harbours Are located on the coastal Plains of the North and East. Largest Are Palermo and Messina in the North and Catania and Syracuse on the East. All four harbours have or had excellent Dock facilities. The South and West coasts Are moderately Steep with wide beaches. The South coast is particularly devoid of promontories and natural harbours. Jor part of Sicily a 3,929,444 inhabitants reside. The Island has two main Railroad lines one stretching along the North coast from Messina to Palermo and the second running from Messina to Syracuse Down the East. Trains Are ferried across the Messina Strait for switching to the Mainland track which leads to Rome. Sicily a principal highways run along the coast and follow the contour of the Island. In addition there Are three other main roads crossing the Island from North to South. In general the roads Are modern and have a minimum Width of 20 feet most of them being two Lane highways. On the Island Are ten Good Aird Romes. Wheat farming is the islands biggest agricultural activity with Citrus Orchards along the Northeast coast second in importance. Sulphur mining and refining is the chief Industry. Three quarters of the worlds output of Sulphur comes from the area around Caltanissetta the Island exporting More than 200,000 tons annually in Normal times. Sicilians themselves Are As a Rule a danish people who prefer to live by themselves. Badly governed for hundreds of years they developed a resentment and hatred of almost every Type of government including Mussolini a. Sicily staggered continued from Page it is on the Northern coastal Plain toward Italy where the a Mussolini frantic continued from Page i place yet but the opinion is that the next several Days will be critical. It should be recalled that last year after the germans had announced the beginning of a summer offensive it took the in the distance Over an arca of Flat desert is something else again and much More rare. Contrary to the popular belief tile Palm Trees Are really there but they re farther wehrmacht 25 Days to gain the a of a than it of think. It s the Light initial objectives the capture of on Asan which makes Hom Sevastopol. New newsprint Cut Washington a five percent reduction in the use of newsprint paper for the third Quarter of the year has been ordered t the War production Board. The web found publishers were not making the ten percent Cut agreed on earlier for the entire appear and disappear and sometimes makes them look upside Down. The Weatherman had no suggestions on what could be done about the whole business. He agreed the siesta idea of the natives during the hottest hours of the Day was excellent provided you could talk your co into doing it and there was an Olive Grove. Handy. But for most soldiers its therefore. A dered a i just another Case of sweating it heavier Cut for the third Quarter out. Cause they give an example which is nothing Short of marvellous. And i do not know actually what More could be asked of our people. They give us their soldiers they give us their  revealing for the first time the presence of labor unrest Mussolini said a a the workers meetings the suspension of work sometimes for a very Brief interval during last March were sporadic and economic. Not a single soul among the workers responded to the Clandestine suggestions for manifestations on the squares. The workers when not warped by bolshevik dreams Are Fine Fellows Well behaved and  Mussolini scored the Black markets As a a incompatible with fascist ethics and promised that when the Means was found to increase rations a a then we shall find the manner of controlling  again playing for popular sympathy he promised the closing of Large hotels and a a luxury restaurants and a More rigid control Over tile upper classes. A a the other Day As you know i read religiously the provincial newspapers the inside pages too i saw that the Idle ladies of Rapallo have organized a Golf party on a course having 22 holes. Now ladies who amuse themselves with 22-Hole Golf deserve to be sent and will be sent to work in the factories and in the  finally the skittish italian Leader impressed again and again upon the wimple the nazi theme that surrender now would mean National catastrophe and utter destruction. A a tile enemy has too often said that he would invade the continent. He will have to try it. But that is a Trump that can be played Only once although Caesar was Able to invade Britain a second time. Quot it is necessary that the enemy no sooner try to land than he be checked. To the last Man. Here is the duty of the fascists give the feeling More than a Hope of Success. As for my own responsibility one Day i will prove to you that this War could not and should not have been  never before had this once proud dictator uttered such pleading cajoling. Revealing words. The Only conclusion to make of such a or bombers and fighters were hedge hopping All Over the Island often at will shooting up everything from Large plane hangars to locomotives. Whatever the amount of fighters the enemy sent into Battle he usually got the worst of the engagement. As is shown by the fact that tile Axis lost 131 planes during six Days in he Mediterranean theater last week. Fifty three Allied planes failed to return to their bases during the same period. But the compiling of such figures is Only a Small part in the general estimation of the terrible damage the Allied raids Are wreaking on the air Power of Sicily. There will probably never be any accurate calculation of the number of grounded aircraft destroyed or severely damaged while standing in hangars on runways in dispersal areas. And today All Over Sicily Many airfields Are bomb pocked almost beyond repair Many administration buildings a air nerve centers lie in ruins. Operations of the week represented the third stage of the strategy of reducing Italy a air defences in Sicily As formulated by the High command of the Northwest african air forces. The first stage started last november Writh raids on Western Sicily sports supplying the enemy forces in Tunisia. Next came the attacks on the Eastern ports mainly Catania and the important train ferry terminus of Messina. In the present stage the islands air installations Are bearing the Brunt of the massed Allied assaults. One of the curious phases of the operations of the past few Days has been the wide Range of variation in the kind of fighter opposition put up by the enemy. Quite often no Axis fighters came up but then on other occasional speech was that he a really on the from 20 to Over too attempted to spot Buck the Allied formations