Description

Spearhead

Issue No. 189 — 2nd Infantry Division, Belgium — Tuesday, January 23, 1945

2 pages scanned

“Huge Gains on Hun Capitals” — Stalin signed 5 Orders of the Day for troops sweeping through 450 places.

Names

• Cherniakovsky (Marshal — 3rd White Russian Army; smashed thru heavily fortified Insterburg)
• Dobbs, Gil (distance runner — left track circles for good; boarding train to Los Angeles to begin studies for Ministry)
• Fife, Earl D. (Pvt — rifleman, Gonzales, La.; grabbed mess kit when shell landed in open-air kitchen; found spaghetti blown into it; only one who ate spaghetti that night)
• Imbody, Percy H. (1st Sgt — Parkiomenville, Pa.; ham-sized right fist saved himself and another doughboy; mashed fist on over-eager German’s snoot)
• Koniev (Marshal — 1st Ukrainian Army in German Silesia; bitter fighting inside retreating Hun’s destroyed factories; within 10 miles of Oder)
• Mangrum, Ray (golfer — set new competitive course record of 64 at Tucson Arizona Open Championship; finished 2nd with 268)
• Nelson, Byron (golfer — muffed chance to tie for top money by driving out of bounds on last hole; total of 269 good enough for undisputed 2nd money)
• Rokossovsky (Marshal — 2nd White Russian Army outflanking all Prussia; captured Allenstein and Osterode; lead elements 60 miles from Danzig)
• Rundstedt (Field Marshal — forces pulled a boner in the Ardennes; rolling stock of 3 Div. spotted by Piper Cub)
• Siebert, Earl (Detroit Red Wings — crack defenseman; received ugly gash over eye requiring 8 stitches in Montreal-Detroit game)
• Skaggs, Joseph L. (Capt — La Crosse, Wis.; told incident details about Nazis infiltrating lines; Imbody story source)
• Stalin (Marshal — signed name to 5 Orders of the Day announcing Soviet troops swept thru 450 places on German soil)
• Weissman (cartoonist — signed eye-chart/V-mail illustration)
• Zhukov (Marshal — 1st White Russian Army gained 50 miles in one day; captured strongholds screening Bydgoszcz; outflanked Bydgoszcz 166 miles from Berlin)

Locations

• Allenstein, East Prussia — Rokossovsky captured Allenstein and Osterode; cutting main rail link to Berlin running thru Bydgoszcz and Poznan
• Baltic Sea — Cherniakovsky’s right flank swept to Baltic Sea; shown on map
• Berlin, Germany — Bydgoszcz capture 166 miles from Berlin; Gniezno capture 175 miles from Berlin; Poznan 150 miles from Berlin
• Breslau, Germany — Koniev’s forces battered way 30 miles from Breslau standing on east bank of Oder; shown on map
• Brno, Czechoslovakia — shown on Eastern Front map
• Bydgoszcz, Poland — Zhukov captured 4 strongholds screening Bydgoszcz including Inowroclaw and Gniezno; severed main Prussian rail link in 2 more places; another flying column outflanked Bydgoszcz 166 miles from Berlin
• Capas, Philippines — 6th Army took Capas on main road to Manila; 11 miles from Clark Field; 50 miles north of Manila
• Chungking, China — Ledo Road to Chungking now open as Chinese troops cleared Japs from their last grip on the road
• Clark Field, Philippines — 6th Army troops 11 miles from Clark Field, biggest Philippine airbase
• Colmar, France — French 1st Army push on 30-mile front gained up to 6 miles on Colmar
• Danzig, Poland — Rokossovsky’s lead elements bare 60 miles from Danzig; shown on map
• Deutsch-Eylau, East Prussia — capture of border town put Rokossovsky’s lead elements 60 miles from Danzig
• Dietkirch, Luxembourg — Piper Cub spotted 3 Div’s rolling stock at Dietkirch crawling east bumper to bumper
• Dresden, Germany — shown on Eastern Front map
• Duisberg, Germany — RAF raided synthetic oil plant at Duisberg last night
• Frankfort, Germany — shown on Eastern Front map
• Gniezno, Poland — Zhukov captured Gniezno, 28 miles from Poznan and 175 miles from Berlin; opens flanking move on Poznan
• Heinsberg, Germany — British 2nd Army drive in Germany making progress; Tommies drove within 2 miles of Heinsberg
• Inowroclaw, Poland — among strongholds screening Bydgoszcz captured by Zhukov
• Insterburg, East Prussia — Cherniakovsky’s army smashed thru heavily fortified Insterburg, hub of 7 railroads; rolled on 25 miles short of Koenigsburg
• Koenigsburg, East Prussia — Cherniakovsky rolled on 25 miles short of Koenigsburg (pop. 365,433); shown on map
• Kolo, Poland — shown on Eastern Front map
• Kosice, Czechoslovakia — shown on Eastern Front map
• Ledo Road, Burma/China — now open as Chinese troops cleared Japs from their last grip
• Lodz, Poland — shown on Eastern Front map
• Luzon, Philippines — 6th Army took Capas on main road to Manila; 11 miles from Clark Field
• Manila, Philippines — Capas 50 miles north of Manila on main road
• Oder River, Germany — Koniev holds places under 10 miles from Oder; battered way to 30 miles from Breslau on east bank of Oder where Germans expected to put up main defenses
• Oppeln, Germany — Koniev drove to 20 miles from Oppeln, capitol of upper Silesia
• Osterode, East Prussia — Rokossovsky captured Osterode along with Allenstein
• Pilsen, Czechoslovakia — shown on Eastern Front map
• Plonsk, Poland — shown on Eastern Front map
• Poznan, Poland — Zhukov’s Gniezno capture opens flanking move on Poznan (pop. 268,800); standing 45 miles from Germany; 150 miles from Berlin
• Prague, Czechoslovakia — shown on Eastern Front map
• Prasov, Czechoslovakia — shown on Eastern Front map
• Prum, Germany — 8th and 9th USAAF planes got out; destroyed over 1,500, damaged 1,200 plus over 1,000 rail cars
• Silesia, Germany — Koniev up against bitter fighting inside German Silesia; within 10 miles of Oder
• Vith, Belgium — 1st Army troops took Born; have St. Vith hemmed in from 3 sides with lead troops under 2 miles away
• Tucson, Arizona (referenced as pre-war) — site of Arizona Open Championship where Mangrum set course record
• Vistula River, Poland — another tank-infantry spearhead heading west for Vistula bend reported nearing Bydgoszcz
• Warsaw, Poland — shown on Eastern Front map

Units

• 1st Army (U.S.) — took Born; St. Vith hemmed in from 3 sides; lead troops under 2 miles away
• 1st Ukrainian Army (Soviet) — Marshal Koniev; bitter fighting in German Silesia; within 10 miles of Oder
• 1st White Russian Army (Soviet) — Marshal Zhukov; gained 50 miles in one day; outflanked Bydgoszcz
• 2nd Infantry Division (U.S.) — publishing unit; operating in Belgium
• 2nd White Russian Army (Soviet) — Marshal Rokossovsky; outflanking all Prussia; captured Allenstein and Osterode
• 3rd Army (U.S.) — gained up to 5 miles on 20-mile front against disorganized resistance
• 3rd White Russian Army (Soviet) — Marshal Cherniakovsky; smashed thru Insterburg; rolled on 25 miles short of Koenigsburg
• 6th Army (U.S.) — took Capas; 11 miles from Clark Field
• 8th USAAF (U.S.) — planes destroyed over 1,500, damaged 1,200 plus over 1,000 rail cars
• 9th USAAF (U.S.) — planes got out with 8th; combined Ardennes destruction
• British 2nd Army — drive in Germany making progress; Tommies within 2 miles of Heinsberg
• French 1st Army — push on 30-mile front; gained up to 6 miles on Colmar
• A.F. — raided synthetic oil plant at Duisberg last night