LATE MESSAGES

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 March 1945, Page 6

LATE MESSAGES

WESTERN FRONT.

WASHINGTON, March 22. Except for the Remagen bridgehead, the Rhine is a formidable defensive advantage to the Nazis, said the Under-Secretary of War (Mr Patterson) at a Press conference. While the prime military accomplishment has been won in Western Europe we must still fight the battle for inner Germany. There were great sections of the German Army on, the Rhine’s east bank, not yet committed to action. He also gave a reminder that there had been other periods when the Germans reorganised and found a new line on. which to fight bitterly. He summed up our Allied accomplishments, which comprise, firstly, the Siegfried Line has gone. From Holland to the upper reaches of the Rhine, it has been, breached, turned or destroyed. Secondly, except for diminishing a pocket centred on the Speyer, the entire west bank of the Rhine from Nimegen to the Swiss border, is m Allied hands. Thirdly, the Saar Basin, Germany’s second most important industrial region, has passed into our hands. . RUSSIAN GAINS LONDON, March 22. Troops of the Third Ukrainian Command continued to fight for the destruction of the encircled enemy in the area of Heililgenbeil, says a Russian communique. They occupied a number of inhabited places in this* area yesterday and took over eight hundred prisoners., Our troops arecontinuing the offensive in Danzig direction and occupied several inhabited places and in this area yesterday took five hundred prisoners. In Czechoslovakia, north east and east of Zvolen, troops operating in the wooded mountainous country of the Carpathians took over forty inhabited places. The Germans in the area of the lower reaches of the River Drava north-west of Orasje, forced the river in two places arid attempted to extend their bridgeheads. The Bulgarian and Jugoslav troops fighting with Soviet forces routed German units which crossed the river in a determined, counter-attack and threw back the remnants to the southern bank of the Drava.

Yesterday along the front, we de-, stroyed or disabled eighty-nine tanks and self-propelled guns, shot down fifty-one planes, besides taking fifteen thousand prisoners mentioned in the order of the day. The Germans lost over thirty thousand killed. Troops of the First Ukrainian Front in this offensive also took booty including 57 tanks and self-pro-pelled guns, over one thousand mach-ine-guns, over thirteen thousand rifles, three thousand lorries, twentyseven locomotives, 1520 railway trucks, five thousand horses, seventyfive ammunition dumps, and twentyone planes.

JAPANESE CLAIM

NEW YORK, March 22

A shelling duel between three British destroyers and Japanese shore batteries off the southern Andaman Islands on March 19, resulted in a British destroyer being sunk and two heavily damaged, says an Imperial Japanese communique. CAR MANUFACTURE. CANBERRA, March 23. General Motors Holdens Ltd. has told the Government, it is prepared to proceed immediately to undertake the manufacture of motor vehicles, including chassis and engines, in Australia. Mr. Curtin has given an undertaking to the Company that if the Company’s proposals are carried out. and a complete car is produced within a reasonable period,, rhe Government will not engage in. motorcar manufacture.

Mr. Curtin stated that the Government intended to treat uniformly all firms submitting plans for the manufacture of motor-cars in Australia. Two other proposals had yet to be placed before the Government and more were expected. These included proposals from purely Australian and British firms.

PETROL SUPPLIES.

SYDNEY, March 23. From early in April the . petrol available to civilian motorists in New South Wales will be only about the quality of pre-war standard petrol. This change to a lower rating octane spirit will apply in most other States at various elates from May to September. The Minister for Shipping Senator Ashley making this . announcement said motorists in Britain, the United States, and New Zealand had already reverted to lower octane spirit, and Australia must do the same.

“TWO-UP” SCHOOL RAIDED AUCKLAND, March 23. As a sequel to a police raid on a gaming .school last night when 48 arrests were made, William Edward Hart, 44, clerk, was charged before the Magistrate (Mr. Luxford) in the Police Court this morning with using premises occupied by him in Albert Street as a common gaming house. Cyril Michael Poole, 42, wharf labourer, was .charged with assisting in the management of lhe house. Both pleaded guilty. The police stated that when the raid was made a big game of “twoup” was in progress. Such gaming schools seemed to be springing up all over the city. . For the accused, Mr. Terry said there was no evidence of any social evil involved.

The Magistrate expressed surprise at. counsel’s suggestion that the offenCe was just part of the public’s gambling habits, and that it was no more harmful than art unions and the totalisator. “This class of offence is no potential. .It is in fact, and, if left unchecked, will, assume serious proportions,” he said. “'There have been a number of these cases recently, and in future offenders, whether first or seconcf will deceive salutary punishment. T'he time for fines has passed.” Each man was sentenced to two months’ hard labour. Of the other men arrested those with previous convictions, and those who did not appear were fined £5 in default 10 days’ imprisonment, while first offenders in Court were fined £3 in default seven days’ imprisonment. ENGINEERING UNIONS AUCKLAND, March 23. As a result of a conference in Auckland extending over several days delegates representing engineering and related trades unions have decided that in future there is to be one union only, to be known as the New Zealand Engineering, Coachbuilding, Aircraft and Related Trades Union. In making this announcement at the conclusion of the conference to-day the newly-elected President Mr. G. Thurston, of Christchurch, said the conference had discussed every phase of the position. He explained that for the last eight years there had been two unions representing engineering trades, one in the northern industrial district and the other representing all other parts of Ney/ Zealand. The two unions had now merged, and rules had been approved. “As we have a membership of approximately 17,000 we can claim that the new union is one of the largest industrial organisations in the Dominion,” said Mr. Thurston.