RAIDS ON THE NAZIS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 303, 30 September 1940, Page 5

RAIDS ON THE NAZIS.

AN ADMISSION BY GOEBBELS.

ACTIVITIES PARALYSED.

LONDON, September 29

The people of Berlin had another night "in their shelters last night. There is no official news yet, beyond an Air Ministry announcement that the British raiders arrived over Berlin in spite of bad weather. Agency messages from Berlin, however, say that there were two warnings, one lasting two hours and the other shorter. The German radio claims that the bombers were driven off and were unable to drop bombs; but the truth will be known when the Air Ministry issues its account of the raid. The German report that the Royal Air Force ' also visited the Ruhr and the Rhineland is probably correct. An admission that Royal Air Force raids had paralysed the Nazi youth movement in many towns in Germany was made by the Nazi Propaganda Minister (Dr. Gocbbels) in an address. He said that danger from the air in a number of districts often made it impossible to carry on the work of the Hitler youth. Last night, too, hundreds of bombs were seen bursting in an almost continuous' line along the northern coast of France. The Germans seemed to be •putting up a strong barrage over their invasion bases, but without deterring the British aircraft from finding their targets. The Rome radio states that the Royal Air Force raids on Berlin have killed 1753 people and wounded 2049. Describing Friday night’s Royal Air Force raids, the Air Ministry states: “We carried out large-scale attacks on enemy invasion ports. Other aeroplanes attacked communications in western Germany. We wrecked dock buildings and set fire to warehouses and a timber yard during an intense bombardment of Lorient, where bombs caused fires which were visible for 70 miles.

“The raid on Lorient was aided D.v good risibility and a cloudless sky. It lasted three and a half hours. High explosives and incendiaries fell at the rate of five a minute for more than an hour. Fires spread rapidly among the dockside warehouses.

“A huge blaze engulfed Vuildings near the harbour power station, lighting up the docks and the river. Sticks of high explosives straddled shipping lying in the basins and at river anchorages. The first bomb from on's of the remainder burst in a line ending on the west dock. “Other night raiders bombed the railway yards at Mannheim and Hamm and a munitions factory at Dusseldorf.”

Thursday night's targets on the Continent covered a wide area, but the main attack was centred on Lc Havre, which was bombed for two and a hali hours. A big fire was started at the eastern end of the railway yard. The docks were reduced to a mass 1 ' of fires and wreckage.

Kiel was bombed from 11 p.m. to midnight under clear conditions, which enabled targets to be easily identified. Early bombs fell near 'the quayside, starting a huge fire. The Dortmund-Ems canal was again attacked, and bombs were seen to straddle the new acqueduct and were seen to fall beside lock gates. Hoads, aerodromes and gun positions wei e also bombed. One British bomber was lost.