V the wounded on the Normandy front June 9, 1944

.the wounded on the Normandy front
June 9, 1944

CASUALTIES ON THE SANDS OF FRANCE

In the first picture, soldiers of an American medical detachment administer first aid to a group of wounded soldiers who received their wounds during the initial attack on the Cherbourg Peninsula. In the second picture, members of a U. S. Navy beach battalion, moving "on the double" dive for the protection offered by a ditch as a Nazi plane which broke through the Allied umbrella, swoops down to strafe the shore "somewhere in Normandy." Few enemy planes got through, and those that did were not able to do much damage because of the opposition by Allied planes.

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v Nazi defenses at a low ebb

Nazi defenses at a low ebb the morning after
June 7, 1944
Ebbing tide of a French Beach reveals a long stretch of skeleton obstructions, erected by the Nazis. At high tide the water veils these structures which are a menace to ship's bottoms, even shallow-draft landing craft. In the foreground are wrecked Allied trucks and tanks—the cost of a victorious D Da
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v D DAY--France's day of liberation June 6, 1944

...D DAY--France's day of liberation
June 6, 1944

THE GERMAN ATLANTIC WALL HAS BEEN BREACHED

Early in the morning of Tuesday, June 6, thousands of American, Canadian and British soldiers, under cover of the greatest air and sea bombardment of history, broke through the "impregnable" perimeter of Germany's "European Fortress" in the first phase of the invasion and liberation of the continent. Despite underwater obstacles and beach defenses, which in some areas extended for more than 1,000 yards inland on the Normandy beachhead, the landings were made with a minimum of casualties. Most of the German coastal batteries in the invasion area were silenced by 10,000 tons of bombs and by shelling from 640 naval ships. The two naval task forces that led the invasion were commanded by Rear Admiral Sir Philip Vian, who won fame while commanding the destroyer Cossack early in the war, and Rear Admiral Alan Goodrich Kirk of the United States Navy. The two naval forces included one 16-inch gun battleship, the British Warspite; an American battleship, the Nevada, a veteran of Pearl Harbor; the U. S. cruisers Augusta and Tuscaloosa; the British cruisers, Mauritius, Belfast, Black Prince and Orion; and shoals of destroyers flying the Stars and Stripes and the White Ensign. Steaming through the English Channel, swept by 200 British minesweepers, the men o' war escorted thousands of landing craft, transports and assault craft bearing General Sir Bernard L. Montgomery's landing forces to the beaches on the Cherbourg peninsula and other points along the Normandy coast. The large air-borne forces that were dropped and landed in the night were already assembling behind the Atlantic Wall as the first troops (some of whom are seen in this picture) scrambled up the beaches. Dawn was the climax of the first phase of the invasion. Wave after wave of American bombers took up the task of flattening the German defenses and silencing guns—the battle to liberate Europe from the Nazi oppressors was on in earnest.

v D DAY--France's day of liberation June 6, 1944

...D DAY--France's day of liberation
June 6, 1944

THE GERMAN ATLANTIC WALL HAS BEEN BREACHED

Early in the morning of Tuesday, June 6, thousands of American, Canadian and British soldiers, under cover of the greatest air and sea bombardment of history, broke through the "impregnable" perimeter of Germany's "European Fortress" in the first phase of the invasion and liberation of the continent. Despite underwater obstacles and beach defenses, which in some areas extended for more than 1,000 yards inland on the Normandy beachhead, the landings were made with a minimum of casualties. Most of the German coastal batteries in the invasion area were silenced by 10,000 tons of bombs and by shelling from 640 naval ships. The two naval task forces that led the invasion were commanded by Rear Admiral Sir Philip Vian, who won fame while commanding the destroyer Cossack early in the war, and Rear Admiral Alan Goodrich Kirk of the United States Navy. The two naval forces included one 16-inch gun battleship, the British Warspite; an American battleship, the Nevada, a veteran of Pearl Harbor; the U. S. cruisers Augusta and Tuscaloosa; the British cruisers, Mauritius, Belfast, Black Prince and Orion; and shoals of destroyers flying the Stars and Stripes and the White Ensign. Steaming through the English Channel, swept by 200 British minesweepers, the men o' war escorted thousands of landing craft, transports and assault craft bearing General Sir Bernard L. Montgomery's landing forces to the beaches on the Cherbourg peninsula and other points along the Normandy coast. The large air-borne forces that were dropped and landed in the night were already assembling behind the Atlantic Wall as the first troops (some of whom are seen in this picture) scrambled up the beaches. Dawn was the climax of the first phase of the invasion. Wave after wave of American bombers took up the task of flattening the German defenses and silencing guns—the battle to liberate Europe from the Nazi oppressors was on in earnest.

AIRBORNE INVASION OF SOUTHERN FRANCE

For several weeks prior to D Day, the Allies had followed the same tactics which preceded the Normandy landings. Bombers hit bridges and road junctions surrounding the landing area until it was virtually isolated, duplicating their work elsewhere to avoid giving away the exact spot for the attack. Every railroad bridge across the Rhone below Valence was knocked out. Then, just before the assault, the huge Allied armada moved close to shore points and shelled the most important defense installations. Parachutists and airborne troops were dropped and landed behind beaches to secure important road junctions and bridges. Then the landings began. Prime Minister Winston Churchill watched the operations from the bridge of a British destroyer and shortly the beaches were swarming with men, vehicles and tanks. In this picture, parachutes fill the sky over Southern France after the 12th USAAF troop carrier air division's Douglas C-47's carried men and supplies to dropping zones over the new beachhead in the vicinity of Nice.

V INFANTRYMEN MOVE UP ON NEW GUINEA

INFANTRYMEN MOVE UP ON NEW GUINEA

Filtering through the marshes and pouring on toward the Hollandia airstrip, these men of an infantry regiment have just come ashore from invasion barges. Within a few days all enemy resistance in the area ended and the retreating Japanese troops were being cut down by heavy air attack.

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V Truk Japan's "Pearl Harbor"

Bombs rain on Japan's "Pearl Harbor"
February 16, 1944

TRUK IN FLAMES

Hard on the heels of the smashing U.S. victory at Kwajalein and twenty-six months after Pearl Harbor, the United States paid the Japanese back in kind, although without the peacetime sneak element. At dawn on Wednesday, February 16, several hundred American planes, flying from carriers, swooped down on Truk—which is to Japan what Hawaii is to the United States—and rained bombs down on the enemy fleet sitting in the placid lagoon. On December 7, 1941, a few more than a hundred Tokio planes took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor; our armada that blasted Truk on this February morning must have been as much as three times as large. Escorting the carriers on the raid was a powerful naval force, including battleships, cruisers and destroyers. The attack on Truk was more than a raid; it was a challenge to the enemy fleet to come out and fight. The challenge was not accepted, and the task force assault of February 16, 17, ended the legend that the Carolinas' base was invulnerable. Some idea of the terrain of the Japanese base and the extent of its formidable installations can be gathered from this official United States Navy photograph taken during the great raid. Forty ships were sunk or damaged and 201 planes were destroyed. But still remaining were the extensive airfields, troop concentrations and installations portrayed in this picture. In the harbor a flotilla of Japanese vessels of varying sizes huddles under the rain of U.S. Navy bombs, while the largest of the ships smokes from a hit forward.

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V Namur Island

Japanese surrender on Namur Island
February 3, 1944

On February 3, the process of annihilating the enemy was proceeding on Namur Island. The remnants of the Japanese garrison had been trapped. About 36 hours after the fall of Namur, a blockhouse was found on the island still to be in the hands of the enemy. Moreover, it was soon discovered that it still contained a somewhat larger garrison than was at first suspected. It was supposed that the occupants had been waiting for a counter-attack when it is presumed they would have emerged and taken part in the renewed fighting. Their strong point was, however, blown up. The picture shows the capture of those of its occupants who remained alive after the destruction of the blockhouse. They surrendered to the United States Marines.




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V U.S. Marine raiders and their jungle trained dogs on a Bougainville

BRING ON THE JAPANESE

U.S. Marine raiders and their jungle trained dogs on a Bougainville trail, ready to go to work hunting Japanese snipers. The dogs, beside running messages, are invaluable in seeking out Japanese too well hidden for the sharp eyes of the men to locate. The sharper senses of the dogs locate the enemy who are quickly dispatched to their ancestors by the leathernecks. The dogs had been recruited in the United States and many a home carried a service star in the window for the family pet who was sharing the discomforts of the war on a front far from the family fireside, or yard, that it loved so well. The great majority of the dogs were returned to their masters safe and sound, but many a home had to substitute a gold star for the blue star which signified that the family pet had gone into action with the armed forces

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V SHRINKING THE JAPANESE HORIZON

SHRINKING THE JAPANESE HORIZON

After nearly two years of warfare, American strength begins to make itself felt. While the shaded area of this map indicates the vast area still under Japanese control, the American flag is flying in many new places. The gains in New Guinea are particularly important. One year ago the Japanese were threatening Port Moresby and were barely stopped in the Owen Stanley mountains by American and Australian forces. At this date the danger to Port Moresby has been definitely removed and the Japanese have lost their two important bases of Lae and Salamaua. The Allies are moving northeast along the coast and are now within bombing range of Rabaul, the Japanese bastion on New Britain. In the Solomons the Americans have progressed from their hard won beachheads on Guadalcanal and Tulagi to Bougainville in the north. In the Gilbert Islands American fighting men have done something more than recapture enemy invaded territory. The Gilbert Islands had been strongly fortified by the Japanese who regarded it as one of the outer defenses of Truk, their most important base in the south Pacific. Its seizure by the Americans was a most important move in any plan of strategy that included either the taking or the neutralization of Truk. Chiefly responsible for American successes in the Pacific was a greatly strengthened navy. By November, 1943, the United States fleet had completely recovered from the Pearl Harbor disaster. Those battleships which had been resting on the mud of the harbor had been raised and modernized, and were now operating in both the Atlantic and Pacific. In addition new ships of all types were now going into action as the navy's prodigious building program began to show results.

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IV ALLIED INVASION OF SICILY

ALLIED INVASION OF SICILY

At 10 o'clock on Friday night, July 9, gliders packed with Allied troops dropped behind the enemy lines in Sicily, and the invasion of the island had begun. The gliders were quickly followed by paratroops, and through the next two days American and British landing forces made contact with the air borne units, breached the coastal defenses, and established bridgeheads at many selected points. Protected by a great fleet of Allied warships, and by the Allied Air Forces, which had secured air supremacy, mighty reinforcements of men, tanks, guns, equipment, and supplies were successfully landed. Enemy coastal batteries were put out of action by the guns of the Fleet. By July 11 the first immediate objectives had been taken, and three Sicilian airfields were in Allied hands. One of these was at Pachino, captured by British and Canadian assault troops. American forces occupied two airfields at Gela, where the enemy, supported by tanks, made a counter-attack, which was successfully beaten off. Axis forces opposing the invasion were estimated at 400,000, including 100,000 Italians. The German radio admitted that the first phase of the attack had been successful at several points, and an Italian commentator boasted that the Allies would "bite their teeth out" on the strong Italian fortifications. The picture shows one of the many Sicilian landings.

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IV READY TO ADVANCE ON ENEMY SHORES

READY TO ADVANCE ON ENEMY SHORES

Lined up along the docks of a North African port, a flotilla of LST's (landing ship-tanks) ingest a mammoth menu of vehicles, supplies and men, which they will disgorge on enemy shores. These LST's, a new departure in amphibious operations, played a prominent role in the invasion of North Africa and were to play an even greater part in the campaign in Italy.

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IV ALLIES GAIN FOOTHOLD IN SOUTHERN EUROPE

ALLIES GAIN FOOTHOLD IN SOUTHERN EUROPE




After the Tunisian campaign came to an end and the Axis armies had been finally driven out of the African continent, the victorious Allies were soon in a position to make their next move in the Mediterranean war zone. The capture of the small, but strategically important, island of Pantelleria gave the British and U.S. air forces valuable advanced airfields to complement those of Malta and those along the North African shores. For any amphibious military operations against the Mediterranean coastline of Europe powerful support by fighter cover, or "air umbrella," was absolutely necessary. Indeed, as experience in this war had already shown, no landings on an enemy-occupied coast, however skillfully planned and boldly carried out, could hope to be successful without such fighter cover. The map on the right shows the approximate operational range of fighter aircraft based along the southern shores of the Mediterranean, including the islands of Malta and Pantelleria. It reveals quite clearly, therefore, why Sicily (although it was known to be the most strongly defended of all the chief Italian islands) was selected for the initial attack on the "under belly" of Europe, instead of Sardinia or Corsica. As the map shows, Sicily lay well within operational range of Allied fighter aircraft, whereas, Sardinia was only partly within their range and Corsica was right outside it. It follows, therefore, that while fighters could have accompanied military landings on Sardinia, they could not have covered such landings in anything approaching sufficient strength. Over Sicily, on the other hand, strong fighter protection could be provided quite easily. Another important factor which the Allied commanders must have undoubtedly had in mind when the decision to attack Sicily was made was its possession of a large number of first-class airfields which would prove of the greatest value for the next step in the Mediterranean campaign, the attack on the Italian mainland.










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IV Allied armored forces rout German panzers

Allied armored forces rout German panzers
March 6, 1943
....In the Tunisian fighting the armored divisions of both sides played a considerable part, and their support was indispensable to secure the full exploitation of any break through of opposing forces. On March 6, the enemy made a heavy assault on British positions in Southern Tunisia with infantry and tanks. It failed signally. The enemy forces were compelled to withdraw towards the hills to the north of Medenine, and in one day's fighting thirty-three Axis tanks were destroyed without a single British tank being lost. Two days later enemy tanks captured by the British totalled fifty. At the end of February the important Kasserine Pass, which had seen much bitter fighting when it had been taken from the Allies by a very heavy Panzer attack a week earlier, was successfully cleared of the enemy and was once again in Allied hands. American and British infantry, supported by tanks, forced this enemy withdrawal. Among the prisoners who surrendered were many Italians. As the Eighth Army advanced and the number of enemy prisoners increased, the ratio of captured Italians to Germans was, on many occasions, found to be six to one, showing that the Germans had no compunction in deserting the soldiers of Italy, then their ally. The pictures on these pages show some incidents during this stage of the fighting in Tunisia: first, British tank crews mounting before an advance against enemy positions; second, hundreds of war-weary Italian soldiers surrendering to the Eighth Army.

IV CHINA ON THE OFFENSIVE

CHINA ON THE OFFENSIVE


March 15 the Chinese High Command announced a great victory on the Yangtse River front to the west of Hankow. A few days earlier more than 20,000 Japanese troops crossed the river in eight columns ready to launch an offensive towards Hankow. On March 13, however, a general Chinese counter-offensive was begun, and after less than two days fighting the enemy was flung back in disorder and full retreat. Several places of strategic importance were recaptured in the province of Hupeh. This splendid victory showed that even after six years of brutal warfare the spirit of China's fighting forces was still high despite their isolation from the Allies, their serious lack of equipment and widespread famine among the civilian population. Nevertheless, in the spring of 1943 Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek had some 5,000,000 fighting men under his command and another 15,000,000 men standing in reserve, trained and awaiting equipment. Nearly another 20,000,000 had received preliminary militia training. The great bulk of these Chinese armies was recruited from the peasant classes. This, in fact, was a source of their strength. For, being bred in the countryside, every man was well acquainted with the terrain in which he had to fight and was tough enough to cover the distances involved in the campaigns against the enemy. Since the Japanese began what they called the China "incident" the Chinese had made rapid strides with the development of their own war industries. As the "incident" approached its seventh year there were nearly 2,000 arms factories in parts of the country remote from enemy attack with thousands of trained women to work in them. Picture shows supply barges on the Yangtse.





The Japanese attack early in May, south of the Yangtze River, failed. Two strongly reinforced Japanese divisions were routed with heavy losses and Chinese troops captured an important pass leading to Chungking. At the end of May the Chinese launched an offensive near the Hupeh-Honan border, trapping five enemy divisions. First, Chinese troops move up to the front; second, long lines of Chinese on the march; and third, camouflaged Chinese soldiers in the firing line.





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IV BRITISH REGAIN GROUND IN THE NORTH

BRITISH REGAIN GROUND IN THE NORTH

On February 26, while the enemy was hastily withdrawing from the Kasserine Pass, a heavy attack was launched against the British First Army in the north. No fewer than six separate attacks were made with 5,000 troops, including parachutists, with strong tank support. All of them, however, were repulsed and the enemy suffered a major defeat. More than 400 German prisoners were taken and many of their tanks and heavy guns knocked out. Nevertheless, the enemy continued to attack on an eighty-mile front from Cape Serrat to Jebel Mansour, south-east of Bou Arada. Again he was thrown back at every point with heavy losses in men and material. In particular, the Churchill tanks inflicted serious punishment on the enemy's armored columns. By March 2 the British forces had regained all the important points and the enemy, having suffered such grave casualties, reduced the momentum of his attacks. The picture shows British troops crossing a ford.

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IV VICTORY ON GUADALCANAL

VICTORY ON GUADALCANAL






February 10 it was announced from Washington that the whole of Guadalcanal island was under American control. For six months it had been the scene of heavy fighting between U.S. forces and the Japanese. The loss of this vital Pacific base was a severe defeat for the enemy. The Henderson airfield, which the Japanese had almost completed when U.S. marines landed on Guadalcanal in August, 1942, was intended as an air base for the invasion of Australia. The campaign cost the enemy 75,000 men, 800 aircraft and 166 warships and transports. During the final offensive, which began on January 15, U.S. troops killed more than 6,000 of the enemy, captured 130 prisoners and vast quantities of material. The pictures show: above, an American landing barge at Guadalcanal and, below, troops bathing on the island.















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IV Eighth army outflanks the enemy

The Eighth army outflanks the enemy at Wadi Matratin
December 16-18, 1942
On December 16 the Eighth Army cut the retreating Afrika Korps in two by a brilliant outflanking movement at a place called Wadi Matratin, about sixty miles beyond El Agheila. This operation, which completely surprised the enemy, was actually planned by General Montgomery before the Battle of El Agheila, after British Intelligence officers had discovered a forgotten desert track running to the south and striking north, to the coast road again along the Wadi Matratin. It was carried out by New Zealand troops under the command of General Freyberg, V.C. For three days the infantry advanced more than 100 miles over the desolate sand dunes and rocky wadis, supported by a strong force of artillery, tanks and armored cars. The trapped Axis rearguard, which was entirely composed of German troops, fought desperately in its attempt to break through the British armored ring. But although a few enemy troops and tanks managed to escape and join their main forces farther west, heavy punishment was inflicted by the New Zealanders. The enemy lost at least twenty tanks, thirty guns and several hundred motor vehicles. Five hundred Germans were taken prisoner. One of the most important results emerging from this action, according to a Cairo dispatch, was the capture or destruction of a very considerable amount of Rommel's motor transport and also appreciable numbers of his rearguard. On December 18 the Eighth Army after mopping-up operations, continued its advance from Wadi Matratin and came to within thirty miles of Sirte, almost half-way between Benghazi and Tripoli. This remarkable action picture shows a small forward party of Australian infantry with bayonets and fire-arms advancing in the desert through a protective smoke screen after being detailed to capture a German strong point on the way towards Tripoli.

Continuing to advance through Tripolitania, the Eighth Army chased the dwindling Afrika Korps along the coast road. The retreating enemy columns suffered continuous bombing from the air by the powerful Western Desert air force. On December 25, British troops occupied Sirte without opposition, but to the west of this town air operations were curtailed for a time owing to the bad weather conditions and violent sandstorms. Beyond the Wadi Bei-el-Kebir the Eighth Army's sappers were busily engaged for several days clearing away mines and booby traps which the Germans had strewn over the roads in great numbers in order to delay the advance. On January 5 our forces entered Buerat-el-Hsun, about sixty miles west of Sirte where the coast road turns north along the salt marshes towards Misurata and Tripoli. After crossing the Wadi Zemzem on January 14, Eighth Army-troops encountered enemy rearguards at a point seventy miles from Misurata, but Rommel soon abandoned all his defensive positions in this area. Four days later Misurata was occupied without any opposition, and by January 20 the Eighth Army had progressed along the coast beyond Misurata to the important defensive positions of Homs and Tahuna, and on the following day advanced British columns had entered the suburbs of Tripoli, whose capture was announced less than forty-eight hours afterwards. Meanwhile heavy day and night blows were delivered against Tripoli harbor and the great Axis airfield at Castel Benito on the outskirts of the city. The picture shows British infantry advancing behind tanks in Tripolitania.







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IV Red army stands firm in the Caucasus November, 1942

Red army stands firm in the Caucasus
November, 1942

FIGHTING IN THE CAUCASUS

Ever since August, 1942, the Germans had fought desperately to reach the oilfields of the Caucasus. After crossing the Kerch Straits from the Crimea they reached the Black Sea port of Anapa, twenty miles northwest of Novorossisk, on September 1. Another enemy force had already penetrated the mountains protecting Novorssisk from the north. On September 11, following a week of violent battles, the great naval base was evacuated by the Russians. Soviet Marines, co-operating with the Red Army and supported by the Black Sea Fleet, held the enemy's drive along the coastal road towards Tuapse. The Germans were unable to put the Russian Fleet out of action, despite its loss of important bases. Consequently, they were prevented from landing large invasion forces on this front. Meanwhile, the German armies advancing south to Tuapse through the mountains from Maikop made little progress. The most serious enemy advance was along the northern mountain slopes of the Caucasus towards the Grozny oilfield. This came within the Germans' grasp until, on September 8-12, they were halted on the Terek River by the Red Army. The Germans then brought up large Alpine troop reinforcements to attempt an out-flanking movement through Nalchik towards Ordzhonikidze at the end of the Georgian military highway. Little progress was made, and everywhere enemy attacks were repulsed with heavy losses. By October 30, the Red Army had to withdraw near Nalchik owing to the pressure of numerically superior enemy forces and the town was evacuated on November 2. But the Russian positions on the Terek River held firm. It appeared that the Germans were trying to break through at Ordzhonikidze and gain control of the outlets to the Georgian and Ossetian military highways. By November 5 the advance beyond Nalchik was checked and the approaches to Ordzhonidikze held. The pictures show a Red Army patrol in the mountains.

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IV Allied invasion of French North Africa

The Allied invasion of French North Africa
November 7-8, 1942






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Early on November 8, a few hours after the first parties of the American Expeditionary Force had been put ashore at many points on the coasts of Algeria and Morocco, the world heard the news of the greatest combined military operation in history. In the statement issued from Allied headquarters it was revealed that the entire operations were under the supreme command of Lieutenant-General Dwight D. Eisenhower of the United States Army and were supported by powerful units of the Royal Navy and Allied Air Forces. Steps were taken immediately to inform the French people, by radio and leaflets, of the landings and to assure them that the Allies sought no territory and had no intention of interfering with the French authorities in Africa. The landings were designed to forestall the occupation by the Axis powers of any part of North or West Africa, and to deny to the enemy a starting point from which a possible attack might be launched against the Atlantic seaboard of the Americas and the British West Indies. They also provided an effective second front for relieving the great pressure on the Russians and, moreover, were the first bold step towards the liberation of France and her Empire. Another important factor was the timing of the landings in French North Africa to coincide with the Eighth Army's offensive against Rommel in the Western desert. The outstanding initial success was due, not only to the perfect co-operation between the Allied forces, but also to the great secrecy which had been maintained. Winston Churchill, in a speech to the House of Commons on November 11 revealed that orders for the expedition to French North Africa had been issued at the end of July, 1942. A vast convoy of ships had to be assembled to carry tens of thousands of troops and their fighting equipment to the landing grounds. This armada included more than 500 transports with about 350 protecting naval vessels. Powerful air cover was provided for the convoy all the time it was at sea and, despite the very great hazards of the route across the Atlantic and through the Western Mediterranean, all the ships arrived safely. The troops disembarked under cover of darkness and were convoyed from the transports to the beaches in auxiliary landing craft. The picture shows part of the huge convoy heading for Africa.






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IV FAMINE VICTIMS IN CHINA

FAMINE VICTIMS IN CHINA

During October, 1942, a famine occurred in the province of Northern Honan which threatened about 20,000,000 people with starvation. This was brought about by nearly two years of severe drought and a plague of locusts, unparalleled for centuries, which ruined the grain and rice fields. The blighted area extended over more than 20,000 square miles, and the districts which suffered most acutely were along the Yellow River in the neighborhood of Cheng Chow, a town which lay only a dozen miles from the Japanese lines. While millions of people were able to leave the province for other parts of China, those who remained had to live on grass, straw, weeds and even the bark of trees. The disaster was greatly aggravated by Japanese troops who had for a long period been systematically burning fields, crops and villages in an attempt to put an end to the activities of the Chinese guerrilla bands. These gallant bands, in spite of many handicaps, had for long been a worry to the Japanese invaders. China was now in the sixth year of her war against Japan, and though she had lost much territory and had sacrificed countless lives, her armies still stood firm in the path of the aggressor. The spirit of the country was still a glorious example for the world. So this additional disaster of famine was borne as bravely as were all her other sufferings. China's plight, however, was a serious one, especially as the loss of the Burma Road supply route made it extremely difficult for America, Britain and other Allies to come to her aid. The picture shows one of the many thousands of poor victims of what was probably the worst famine in the recorded history of China.
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IV enroute to the front September, 1942

enroute to the front
September, 1942

MOVING UP IN THE JUNGLE

A detachment of U.S. Marines pauses in a jungle clearing for a brief rest enroute to the front on Guadalcanal Island. The marine in the right foreground has attached to his helmet netting for use in camouflaging himself in the dense undergrowth. Shortly after this photograph was taken these leathernecks drove an enemy band far into the hills. Commenting on the campaign in the Solomons, Admiral Ernest J. King, commander in chief of the United States fleet on October 18, 1943, said: "Because the Japanese through the subsequent weeks and months were determined that Guadalcanal, with its Henderson field, should not be lost to them, the whole story of what the United States Marines did there is one which is too big, too involved, and too valiant to be reported in a summary as brief as this. But as the world knows by now the marines, in their victory at Guadalcanal, completed an ageless epic for American history."

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IV SINKING of U.S. aircraft-carrier Wasp

SINKING OF THE WASP

On September 15, the 14,700-ton U.S. aircraft-carrier Wasp was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine in the Coral Sea, although its loss was not announced officially until October 28. At the time the ship was escorting a large supply convoy bound for Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands which, however, reached port safely. Soon after the aircraft-carrier had been hit by three of the enemy torpedoes, she went down in an inferno of flame and smoke. Ninety per cent of the ship's crew managed to get away in time, and were later picked up by escort vessels of the U.S. Navy. This remarkable picture, taken from the deck of one of the ships in the convoy, shows dense clouds of smoke billowing from the abandoned aircraft-carrier just before she went down. The Wasp, which was launched in 1939, had a proud record of war service. She earned much renown earlier in the year for her ferrying of reinforcements to Malta, making many voyages through the hazardous part of the Mediterranean.

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IV New Guinea September, 1942

Yankee surprise for the Japanese on New Guinea
September, 1942
A view of a paratroop landing back of the foe's lines on New Guinea. Below and to the right of the leading plane may be seen several parachutes in various stages of opening, swinging men at extreme angles and very close to the ground. The paratroopers, with their surprise tactics, played an important part in the retaking of New Guinea soil from the Japanese invaders.



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IV Yanks and the Aussies advance in New Guinea

Yanks and the Aussies advance in New Guinea
September, 1942
After the failure of the Japanese landing at Milne Bay, Papua, on August 27, the enemy made an unsuccessful thrust for Port Moresby on September 10. The Australians began their advance into the Owen Stanley mountains on September 28, and recaptured Myola and Kagi without opposition on October 4. While Allied troops penetrated the Kokoda Gap on the Buna side before making contact with the enemy, their progress was hampered by the often impassable jungle and torrential rains. Above, Australian and American soldiers are shown building a road through the deep jungle.

New Guinea jungle conquered by Yanks and Aussies
September, 1942

,,CROSSING NEW GUINEA JUNGLE

Behind the news of the Allied progress through the dense and almost trackless jungle of New Guinea lay the splendid work of Australian and U.S. engineers. They performed remarkable feats of road and bridge building under the most difficult conditions. These pictures show: first, Australian engineers building a suspension bridge over a wild jungle stream; second, bridging operations near Kokoda in the Owen Stanley range; third, American soldiers wading through a swollen river.

Natives aid the Allies in New Guinea jungles
September, 1942

On the world's toughest battlefront, Australian and American Forces maintained progress in the New Guinea jungle throughout September and October. By October 28, the Australians had overcome determined Japanese resistance in the Alola area, just south of Kokoda. After five weeks fighting, Kokoda was retaken on November 2. Thus the enemy lost their last foothold on the Buna side of the Owen Stanley Mountains. The Australians proved superb jungle fighters in a country of almost trackless bush, where natives acted as carriers for supplies. Natives are seen crossing a jungle torrent

III The jeep comes to the South Pacific August, 1942

The jeep comes to the South Pacific
August, 1942
Jeeps, crowded with marines, push through the jungle on the Guadalcanal front
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III the jungles of New Guinea August, 1942

the jungles of New Guinea
August, 1942
A group of American soldiers starts down a New Guinea road in single file to open a flanking movement against the Japanese. In the face of strong enemy resistance, American and Australian troops continued their ever forward movement over mud-covered jungle roads to force the invaders back to the sea. A campaign that finally met with success despite the hardships involved.



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III BATTLE OF THE SOLOMON islands

   

BATTLE OF THE SOLOMONS

This is the famous Tulagi Island (center foreground), stronghold of the Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands. Fires can be seen burning (right center) after American carrier-based dive bombers paid their first visit with bombs. In addition to fortifications, anti-aircraft batteries and radio station the Japanese had a small golf course on the island, but the unexpected arrival of U.S. Navy bombers gave them no time to yell "FORE" to Tokio. The operation in the Solomons inaugurated a series of offensive moves in the Pacific which continued for several months. The enemy occupation of the Islands permitted him the use of advance air and naval bases from which to attack the allies long Pacific supply line and the north coast of Australia. On August 7, 1942, therefore, United States Navy and Marine forces seized beachheads on Guadalcanal and Florida Island and occupied Tulagi. The highly prized Henderson airfield on Guadalcanal was held by the Marines against a long series of heavy air, sea and ground assaults by the enemy. The resolute defense of these marines under Major General (now Lieutenant General) Alexander A. Vandegrift and the desperate gallantry of our naval task forces marked the turning point in the Pacific.

ENEMY STRONGHOLD BLASTED

Guns and planes of the Pacific fleet blast tiny Tanambogo Island, enemy stronghold in the Solomons, just prior to its capture by the Marines, on August 7. In the foreground is the famous causeway connecting with Gavut Island, which marines crossed under heavy machine gun fire. In the meantime, at Guadalcanal, the American transports engaged in unloading stores and equipment were attacked about midday by enemy planes, and shortly after midnight an enemy naval force, never clearly identified, appeared on the scene and managed to get between the outer defense task force, stationed near Savo Island and an inner guard lying closer to the transports. Flares were dropped by enemy planes on the south side of the Allied ships outlining these to the enemy, who promptly opened fire. In this sudden close-range exchange of fire the Australian cruiser Canberra was sunk, and also the American cruisers Quincy, Astoria and Vincennes. Loss to the enemy remains unknown, but he had failed to destroy or drive away the American transports and the marines were landed, and as shown in the picture above, proceeded to mop up the islands. His uniform and equipment painted to blend with the thick foliage, this Marine raider has just thrown a hand grenade and advances with a rush and a Reisling gun to clean up the machine gun nest before the enemy recovers from the shock.

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III heavy British bomber scourge the Reich

heavy British bomber  scourge the Reich
July, 1942

BOMBS FOR GERMAN CITIES

During July the R.A.F. kept up its attacks on centres of German war production whenever weather permitted. Bremen, Wilhelmshaven, Danzig, Flensburg, Dusseldorf, Duisburg, Luebeck, Vegesack and Hamburg were visited, some of them more than once, and great material damage was done. Of these raids perhaps the most outstanding were the daylight raid on Danzig on the 11th and the night raid on Hamburg on the 26th. The former involved a flight of 1,750 miles—the longest daylight operational flight yet attempted. In the Hamburg raid 175,000 incendiary bombs were rained on the city within fifty minutes—far surpassing the number dropped on London in the fire raid of December 29, 1940. Some idea of the weight of the British offensive may be gathered from the fact that during June and July, 1942, 13,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Germany as against 8,500 tons in the same months of 1941, and 3,500 in June and July, 1940. The Stirling bomber, seen above, is being loaded with incendiary bombs.

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III GERMAN COUNTER-ATTACKS REPELLED

GERMAN COUNTER-ATTACKS REPELLED

On July 16 German forces attempted to recapture the positions they had lost on Ruweisat Ridge, and a big tank battle developed in which twenty-five enemy tanks were destroyed. In the north, where enemy counter-attacks had regained part of the ground lost on Tel el Eisa, Imperial forces drove the enemy out of most of the lost positions. On the 21st General Auchinleck launched a general offensive all along the front, and fierce fighting raged throughout the night and the following day. In this action South African troops drove the enemy from the whole of Tel el Eisa Ridge, while in the centre New Zealand infantry made considerable progress along Ruweisat Ridge. By the 25th fighting had died down, and the enemy began to "dig in." The pictures show: first, some of the Axis prisoners taken by the New Zealanders on Ruweisat Ridge, and second, loading up a General Grant tank ready for action. The maps show, third, the German advance (indicated by black arrows), and fourth, the main battle area

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III Germans cross the Don river

Germans cross the Don river and open a new offensive
July 1-10, 1942

On June 28 the Germans began a new offensive in the Kursk sector, 120 miles north of Kharkov, the object of which was to capture the important rail junction of Voronezh, on the Moscow-Rostov railway, 130 miles east of Kharkov. This would have given the Germans a strong defensive bastion on the flank of their attack farther south. By early July fighting on a tremendous scale had also developed in the Byelgorod and Volchansk areas (between Kursk and Kharkov), where thousands of tanks, closely followed by infantry and supported by masses of dive bombers, battered at the Russian positions. In face of tremendous pressure the Russian armies slowly withdrew in good order, taking terrible toll of the enemy as they retired. On July 7 the Germans succeeded in establishing bridgeheads on the east bank of the Don opposite Voronezh across which they managed to throw an infantry division and 100 tanks. The crossings, however, were under continual fire from Russian artillery and aerial bombardment by Stormovik dive bombers, and the Russians launched repeated counter-attacks with strong forces of tanks and infantry. According to Russian reports the Don was flowing red with the blood of dead Germans. Meanwhile, farther south, the enemy was pushing eastwards in an attempt to gain control of the middle reaches of the Don. On the 8th the Russians evacuated Stary Oskol, and two days later they abandoned Rossosh after severe battles in which as many as 8,000 tanks were locked in combat on a front 110 miles long. The picture shows the ruins of a bridge across the Don blown up by the Russians in an attempt to slow up the smashing tactics of the well armed and fast-moving Nazi invaders in this new drive for territory. German troops can be seen threading their way past smashed trucks and cars, which litter the ground for miles around.
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III BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA

BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA

On May 8, while U.S. aircraft were still in action against the Japanese fleet in the Coral Sea the enemy launched a counter-attack and scored several hits with bombs and torpedoes on the 33,000 ton U.S. Aircraft Carrier Lexington. Several hours after the battle, while steaming at 20 knots, the Lexington was rocked by a terrific internal explosion, probably caused by the ignition of gasoline vapors from leaks in the gasoline lines. As the flames grew the captain ordered the crew to abandon ship. Ninety-two percent of the ship's company were rescued and reached port safely. The last man off the ship was her commanding officer, Captain Sherman, and, as he slid down a line into the water, a torpedo in the warhead locker exploded, and the Lexington sank soon afterwards. The picture shows the crew abandoning ship shortly after the explosion. A U.S. destroyer, which had come alongside to render assistance, can be seen through the smoke which envelops the carrier's superstructure. The U.S. attacks on Salamaua and Lae, and the Battle of the Coral Sea, besides foiling the enemy's invasion plans, cost him the aircraft carrier Ryukaku, three heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, two destroyers, and several transports sunk, a cruiser and a destroyer probably sunk, and damage to a second aircraft carrier, the Syokaku, which was hit on May 8 and left ablaze. American losses were the Lexington, the destroyer Sims, and the 25,000-ton tanker Neosho.

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