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_-- _ TOP LEYTE JAP NN Top-ranking Jap officer on Leyte : Island in the Philippines is Lt.- Gen, Sosaki Suzuki, above, com- eander of the 35th Japanese Army. Suzuki's headquarters at Valencia and his troops were outflanked by the U. 8. 77th Division's drive north of Ormoc. STYMIED as Cer Trying his hand at a cross-word puzzle as he waits transfer to a prisoner of war camp is Lieutenant Leiderman, who commanded a German engineer platoon when he was captured by the Allies at Ft. Driant, Metz, France. MAY*RULE GREECE Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens, above, is reported to have accepted an offer to become regent of Greece, following settlement of civil strife there. DOUBLE FEATURE CEPR, i 8 sit 5 ? up over the snowy wastes of no-man's-land. James Thrasher's editori men. | . vr = BY JAMES THRASHER, - NEA Staff Writer : They had plenty of snow for a white Christmas in Krinkelter -- snow that stung your face as the North Sea swept it across- the Belgian lowlands; snow that made walking slow and heavy; snow in gray clouds that pinned air support to the ground and left things pretty much up-to the infantry; snow that made you a sitting-duck target in your OD uniform; snow that melted and soaked and froze if you fell in it, 4 ~ A WHITE CHRISTMAS IN KRINKELTER® FITTING TRIBUTE to the men who fight on far-off fronts this Christmas is this striking photograph of "Allied infantrymen movii, eRe al expresses our deep appreciation for the selfless service of our fighting - £4] A white Christmas, and back home some luckier guys were having a hot turkey dinner, and a cigar afterwards, and dry clothes and a fire. But up Rgre the Krauts had forgotten to take time off for the holiday. thes were hell-bent on going places and somebody had to stop them, Christmas or no Christmas. So they walked across the fields outside of Krinkelter on Christ- Jul, with guns slung over their shoulders and cold feet in their oots, _ And some of them thought, "Well, maybe next year." 2 ait DREGS OF GERMAN MANPOWER While Germany apparently was massing its "crack" troops behind the lines for the current counter-offensive, the Volkssturm -- Ger- man People's Army comprising old men and boys -- was dispatched to defend the Siegfried Line. But the above members didn't stay in the fight for long -- they were captured by Allied Army Forces. 82... AND STILL SWINGING Y s& rr fig nik 3) oe Pushing joyously from jail in the Alsatian border town of Hague- nau, where they had been imprisoned by the Nazis for political of- fenses, the French women above were some of 800 freed when the Nazis left town as the Allies moved in. Many had been in jail two years. Ww . ' : 3 Canada's Eighth and British Columbia's Fifth winner of the coveted Victoria Cross is Pte. Ernest Alvia (Smoky) Smith, 30, the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, "Smoky", The one man Army as he is - known, showed outstanding courage and determination'in establishing a bridgehead over the Savio River which led to the capture of 'the Town of Cesena. At point black range, he destroyed two German tanks, and shot it out with the tank borne infantry. Eighth Canadian in this war to win the highest award for valour in the British Empire, Pte, Smith 1s the first Canadian V.C, of the pre- gent war below the rank of corhimis- sioned officer. He hails from the same town, New Westminster, B.C, as Major John Mahony, who was awarded the V.C, in July, . Twice Wounded Twice wounded before the bril- liatn action which - won him the Victoria Cross, Smith had been in action with the Seaforth High- lander throughout -their long and tough campaign in Sicily and Italy, with the exception of two months spent in hospital in North Africa. He'was first wounded in- Sicily on August 4, 1943, and was shipped to North Africa for hospitalization, He was wounded again in February 1944, when the Seaforths crossed the shell-torn Moro river, blocking the road to Ortona, : Pte. Smith was barn at New Westminister on May 3, 1914, and lived there until he enlisted in the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada on March 5, 1940, He has been over- ' "seas since July 18, 1940, "Smoky" and his two brothers are serving in the Canadian Active Army, Jack, aged 25, is with the Canadian Scottish "somewhere in Europe," and Burton, father, of "three children is with the Saint John Fusiliers, wd Text of Citatio Following is the complete citation covering the award of the Victoria Cross to Pte. Smith: "In Italy on the night of 21-22 'October, 1944, a Canadian infantry ; j D ON POLISH FRONT Black Sea i! : It's a trick and it's NOT done with : mirrors. The shapely "reflection" of screen newcomer Lois Barnes of Flint, Mich, is really her twin sister, Lucille. They'll do a "double take" in a forthcoming movie, Connie Mack celebrates 82nd birthday in Los Angeles, where he is enjoying one of his rare vacations, The only manager the Philadel- phia Athletics ever had gives signs behind a catcher's mitt just as he did 60 years ago, an indication, no doubt, that he will still run the works, at Shibe Park in 1045, The nearer the Russians drive to B_..in, the tougher they fi lines have thus been shortened and, by the same. token, the Reds! all the way back to the Urals, have been lengthened, as shown on m land, where freezing weather comes several weeks JATGTTmsn@iane: whole factories nearer the front; rebtilding railroads to reach up to ! ! [i : sthe going because a) the German supply supply routes, son port to bog down, as in inset picture. In order to shorten ™ Vai of which run mudd téarain ipaSaas brigade was ordered to establish a bridgehead across the Savio river. The Seaforth Highlanders of Can- ada were selected as the spearhead of the attack and in weather most unfavorable to the operation they crossed the river and captured their objective, in spite of strong opposi- tion from the enemy. "Torrential rain had caused the Savio river to rise six feet in five hours and as the soft vertical banks made it impossible to bridge the river no tanks or anti-tank guns could be taken across the raging stream to the support of the rifle companies. : ; _ "As-the right forward company was consolidating its objective it was suddenly counter-attacked by a troop of three Mark Five Pan- ther tanks supported by two self- propelled guns and about thirty in- fantry. The situation appeared al-- mgst hopeless, : . Inspiring Leadership "Under heavy fire from the ap- proaching enemy tanks, Pte. Smith . showing great initiative and inspir- 'ing leadership led his Piat group: of two men across an open field to a position from which the Piat could best be employed, Leaving one man on the weapon, Pte, Smith crossed the road with a fompanion and ob- tained another Piat, Almost im- mediately an enemy tank came down the road firing its machine- | guns along 'the line of the ditches. Pte. Smith's comrade was wounded, " At a range of 30 feet and having to expose himself to the full view of the enemy, Pte. Smiith fired the Piat and hit the tank, putting it "out of action, Ten German infantry immediately jumped off -the back of the tank and charged him with schmeissers and grenales, Without' hesitation = Pte. Smith moved out onto the road and at point blank range with his tommy gun killed four Germans and drove the re- mainder back, Almost immediately another tank opened fire and more enemy infantry closed in on Smith's postion, Obtaining. some aban- doned tommy gun magazines from a ditch, he steadfastly held his posi- tions protecting his comrade and fighting the enemy with his tommy gun until they finally gave up and withdrew in disorder, 1 "One tank and both self-propel- led guns had been destroyed by this time but another' tank swept the area with fire from a longer range. Pte. Smith still showing utter con- tempt for enemy fire helped his wounded comrade to cover and ob- tained medical aid for him behind a nearby building, He then refurn- ed to his position beside the road to await the possibility of a further enemy attack, eh Bridgehead Held "No further immediate attack de= veloped and as a result the battal- ion: was able to consolidate the bridgehead postion so vital to "ie success of the "whole "which led to the eventual capture "of an Lorgio Cosene and a further . advance to the Ronco river. op ne 4 dope ontstig superb dier, ha d determination operation - §