November 24, 1942 – News Of The World – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
November 24, 1942 – News for this day was about progress (or lack of it) in the War. Fighting was erupting throughout the desert areas of Middle-East and in Northern Africa, with Allied forces advancing through Tunisia and other fronts.
But reports reports from Algiers about the fighting in Tunis contained a note of caution; it was suggested that the Axis forces had brought across to Tunisia far greater air forces from all over Europe than had been earlier thought. Further reports indicated that the advance of General Anderson’s First Army was held up over increased counter-attacks from the air. However, the French capitulation of Dakar and French West Africa allowed more Allied troops and planes to be moved into Tunis – it was all a matter of time and speed. The British 8th Army were advancing while Italian and German troops were falling back, evacuating several towns in the process.
Meanwhile, news from the Eastern front was encouraging. Reports from Moscow said that three Red Armies encircling Stalingrad, had made new and successful advances the day before. The latest Soviet Communiqué indicated that several inhabited localities had been occupied after fierce fighting. Furthermore, the Soviet Troops inside Stalingrad itself were starting a westward advance, both from the northern factory district and the southern part of the city. This led many to assume the 300,000 German troops were trying to escape out of the trap. Dr. Goebbels, broadcasting from Berlin, reported to have tried to explain away this latest German defeat, saying that one of the basic points of German strategy in the east was to open gaps so that the Soviets would rush in and risk destruction. Despite Berlin’s explanation, Soviet reports gave a different picture, saying Russian units had gained more ground overnight, closing in on German units, with many more hundreds killed and captured, in addition to the 50,000 in casualties and prisoners announced for the first four days of the campaign,
And that’s a tiny fraction of what was going on, this November 24, 1942 as reported by NBC Radio’s News Of The World.
