LITTLE ENEMY OPPOSITION

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24366, 19 September 1944, Page 5

LITTLE ENEMY OPPOSITION

"GERMANS CAUGHT FLAT-FOOTED " LANDINGS DESCRIBED LONDON, Sept. 17. "Paratroopers and glider-borne infantrymen of the Ist Allied Air-borne Army surprised the German defenders and landed with negligible opposition in Holland to-day in the first employ-, ment of this mighty combined weapon since its formation, little more than a month- ago," says the correspondent of the Associated Press with the Airborne Army over Holland to-day. "Thousands of parachutists dropped from hundreds of transport aeroplanes, and the multi-coloured parachutes glittered gaily in the bright noonday [sun as they fluttered to earth with i men, arms, and supplies. I "Tight, low formations Of these skytrains slipped over the coast of Holland from the North Sea and reached the drop area before the Nazis, who were caught flat-footed, had manned their anti-aircraft guns. By the time the second and third formations began dropping, light flak was shooting up into the sky fleets, but we saw no single German fighter. Hundreds of our fighters circled round our long sky-train, which-extended for miles in straight lines. "The paratroopers dropped into fields flanking a Dutch town, and judging from the ease with which wc took them in. they should be able to assemble quickly and carry our ground objectives.' Earlier plans for the operation had been scrapped because the ground troops advanced too quickly or the weather closed in. "The parachuted supplies fell neatly and closely together. The Germans began to send up flak and the lift of the aeroplane from the burst under us sent us homeward. We had already seen enough to know that the Germans would soon have to battle with another army on the Siegfried Line. The only sign of Germans we saw was a column of Red Cross trucks. "The paratroopers on Saturday night were in high spirits at the carrier bases where they were bivouacked. They were all eager for the jump, believing that it will shorten the war. A private from Michigan, who had previously jumped in Sicily, Salerno, and France, said: 'But I want to make my last jump over Berlin."' The correspondent of the British United Press at Bth *Air Force Headquarters said that the fighter pilots in trie vanguard of the. air-Borne invasion had a grandstand view of the actual dropping of the paratroopers. One of them said: "The paratroops dropped from their aeroplanes as if shot from guns. I frequently could see upwards of 400"in the air. I could not see anyone on the roads near the drop area, except a few civilians watching and waving." Another fighter .pilot described the landing of the gliders. "The gliders crowded up the fields almost wing-tip to wing-tip." he said. "I watched one coming in for a landing head for a small open space between two others. There was so little room that I was sure he would not make it safely, but the glider pilot just set down his machine with about six inches clearance , on either side." The fighters swarmed down on 'enemy gun emplacements. They carried fragmentation bombs and extra ammunition, and they frequently ope- ! rated at roof-top height. ' AMERICANS RAZE | GERMAN TOWN FIRING AFTER FLYING OF WHITE FLAG Rec 7 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 17. The Americans razed Wallendorf, a small German town, in retaliation for being fired on after white flags and many Allied flags had been flown. The American radio in Europe announced this on Sunday night when an account was given of "the Allies' determination to stamp out war crimes and criminals." „ ~ M _ - The American radio said: "Every building in Wallehdorf displayed a white flag when the Americans entered. Then shots were fired and several soldiers fell, their bodies riddled with bullets. "Sharp orders given by the commanding officer were rapidly carried out. Not a single house was spared. The whole town was. burnt to the ground." _.