GERMAN CLAIMS

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 13138, 12 September 1940, Page 5

GERMAN CLAIMS

London, September 10

A Zurich message says the “Easier Naehrichten” Beylin c orrespondent says v military circles in Berlin are emphatic in declaring that the air offensive is a prelude to invasion before the end of September. He added that the of the south of England is the first essential.

The Berlin morning papers say that the London raids are justified by inonths of reckless and planless British bombing, which killed 78 German children and wounded 51. The “Voelkischer • Beobachter” says: “It is a mistake to call the present action the battle of Britain. The Germans regard it ■ modestly as the battle of London from which willdevelop the battle of Britain.” “The Times” German frontier correspondent says that almost threequarters of the space in the German newspapei r is taken up by reports of descriptions of the air battle over England. Some proclaim this constitutes the beginning of a decisive fight against England, Others declare that the mightiest w;ar machine of all ages is now running at top speed, but the official Gorman spokesman, as usual, asserts ttyat only a small part of Germany’s war potential has been in action, while an immense reserve is scattered all over the Reich, also along the Channel coasts, ready for use at a moment’s notice.

The blitzkrieg, on London, said a Daventry commentator, combined with the shelling of the English Channel coast, is regarded as an attempt by Hitler to prepare the way for an invasion of Britain, but his plans have been thrown out of gear by intense British bombing, of the ports on the French and Belgian coast . and attacks on • Norwegian ports, from which an invading force could be launched. At all the Channel ports the enemy had concentrated large numbers of fiat-bottomed boats, on which very heavy damage has been inflicted in the past few days.