February 5, 1942 – News Of The World – NBC Blue Network – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
February 5, 1942 – depending on what part of the world you were in, your view of the War was varying differently, and the scale from optimism to downright pessimism was fluctuating wildly.
In Asia, the Japanese advances on Singapore and eventually Hong Kong were taking their toll. From the Dutch East Indies; in Batavia, the Netherlands Indie High Command announced that Japanese forces were occupying Samarinda, some 60 miles north of Balikpapan on the east coast of Borneo. Japanese planes also attacked a number of towns in East Java as well as Southeast Borneo and the east coast of Sumatra. Fourteen civilians were killed in Singapore and 104 were injured in air raids taking place the day before. It brings the three day toll to 77 killed and 332 wounded.
On the Eastern front – sources in Russia reported a steady advance on all sectors in spite of the bringing up of German reinforcements. On the Central Front – the Russians were continuing to force their way north and the south towards Vyazma and the Vyazma/Smolensk railway. The Russians recaptured five more strongly defended villages in a battle which cost the Germans 5,200 killed. Russian Cavalry, operating in the Kalinin sector destroyed a number of German aircraft; 150 trucks with war supplies and wiped out 800 officers and men.
And from The Mediterranean/Middle East: Italian radio reported that Axis forces in Libya have advanced within 60 miles of Tobruk. The Fascist communiqué went on to claim troops were pushing British forces steadily backwards and were occupying the town of Timimi on the Mediterranean coast, about 140 miles from the Egyptian border.
And that’s just a little of what went on, this February 6th in 1942 as crammed into a half-hour broadcast of News Of The World from the NBC Blue Network.
