LATE MESSAGES

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 August 1942, Page 4

LATE MESSAGES

THE MOSCOW PARLEYS (Recd. 1.55 p.m.) LONDON, Aug. 17. The British and United States’ delegations reached Moscow at 4 p.m. on Wednesday and left in the early hours of Sunday. General Wavell arrived on Thursday, his plane, owing to a slight mishap, was obliged to return to Teheran shortly after taking off. Soviet fighter planes escorted the three Liberators in which Mr. Churchill and Mr. Harriman and party reached Moscow. The Liberators circled Moscow before landing.

The party included a Scotland Yard Inspector, Commander C. R. Thompson, and the Chief of the Russian Section of the United States State Department, Mr. Roy Henderson. Soviet officials kept the secret well, only airport officials and those at the talks, also an inner ring of officials, knowing Mr. Churchill was in Russia.

The Axis-controlled radios since August 1 had been broadcasting news of Mr. Churchill’s visit to Moscow, but nothing about his visit was published in England. The Paris radio on August 1, stated Mr. Churchill had left London by air for Moscow. Vichy and Rome radio on August 2 broadcast similar announcements. A few days later the German stations announced Mr. Churchill had arrived at Moscow.

The Bremen radio stated M. Stalin would keep Mr. Churchill as a hostage until the second front was opened! The Ankara radio then began giving news of Mr. Churchill’s movements and the American radio stations on August 8 revealed Mr. Churchill was visiting Moscow.

RUGBY, August 17. The full text of the communique has been issued by Headquarters of the European theatre of operations. The United States Army and Air Ministry states that United States Flying Fortresses, escorted bv R.A.F., Dominion, and Allied fighters, made a high altitude attack on railway marshalling yards at Rouen late on Monday afternoon. The attack was successful, all the Fortresses releasing their entire bomb loads on the target. Enemy pursuit planes were encountered, and one was shot down by the gunner of a Fortress. Briga-dier-General Eaker, CommandingGeneral of the United States Army Air Force Bomber Command, led the attack in a Flying Fortress. Meanwhile, other escorted Fortresses were conducting diversional operations. All of the Fortresses returned safely. Our fighters had many combats with enemy fighters, two' of which were destroyed. Two of the escorting fighters are missing.