LITTLE HEADWAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 112, 13 May 1940, Page 9

LITTLE HEADWAY

GERMAN INVADERS

FIGHTING VERY HEAVY *

(By Telegraph—Presa Association. —Copyright.)

LONDON, May 12,

Against fierce resistance, the German land forces have made little headway in their western invasion. The Belgian defences and Allied forces have halted the German advance from Luxemburg into the liilly country of <6outh-eastern Belgium. Further north the Germans are still attempting to capture Liege, which they reached yesterday. The Germans are reported to have gained a footing in the outer Belgian defences along the Albert Canal. Fighting is very heavy. About 15 miles inside the Dutch frontier the invaders crossed the Yssel, the forward defensive line, at one point. The German parachute troops in the Low Countries, after almost complete failure, were yesterday reinforced in south-western Holland, and sharp fighting continues. /Allied troops, pouring east and north through Belgium, have engaged German forces at a 'number of points and have crossed the border into Holland.

A Paris message states that German parachute troops landed north oi\Rheims and north of Verdun to attack the Maginot Line from the rear.

Paris reports that German planes yesterday machine-gunned the evacuation centre at Damvillers, killing two civilians and wounding four. The raiders cut out their engines and glided down noiselessly. Raiders dropped 30 bombs without casualty at Montmedy, v/hich is of no military importance. Forty people were killed and 50 wounded in one Marne village. Ten are dead and 10 were wounded, at Valenciennes, and it is feared more are buried under ruins. Incendiary bombs caused much damage. THE BRITISH ADVANCE. Newspaper correspondents contribute stirring accounts of the advance into Belgium of the British Expeditionary Force and of the enthusiastic welcome accorded them. The guns were decorated with flowers by the inhabitants, who entertained the troops with hurried' refreshments as they passed. Brussels reports that raiders bombed Brussels and Liege. The Belgian airraid casualties before noon yesterday had already surpassed Friday's total. A Rotterdam message states that the city is without drinking water because 'of fires, many of which are biazing fiercely. Fighting continues at certain points in the city. The Dutch Army headquarters broadcast that Germans living in The Hague tried to march from a house on the outskirts towards the centre of the city, but the Dutch drove them back to the house. A Dutch tank riddled the house with gunfire, after which the Germans remaining alive were captured. At least 20 people were killed when four bombs fell in the heart of Amsterdam. GERMAN UNDERESTIMATE. Amsterdam had a terrifying night, ending in a savage bombing attack directed at the city's airport and surrounding buildings. A terrific explosion in the south-eastern district proved to have been caused by a German aeroplane exploding after it was shot down. I The nutch High Command stated that instructions found in the possession of German parachutists indicate that the German High Command vastly under-estimated the resistance to be expected. The Germans reckoned that their, parachutists would seize the vital -strategic points on the first day, of the invasion. Parachutists had the names of German citizens living in the regions where they landed.

LONDON, May 11

British military circles report that German forces in Belgium also crossed the Albert Canal at Maastricht and are making a strong drive towards Roermond. Their main advance appears to

be north from the Rhine towards Almelo, Hengel, towards Arnhem where fighting is proceeding. The Germans are reported to have penetrated as far as Groningen.

During the advance our troops were bombed yesterday but without any very serious results. The Allied Air Forces retaliated by bombing German troop concentrations and columns on the move. BLITZKRIEG FRUSTRATED. The essential feature of the operations is that^the air war and fighting: on land do not appear to be developing on the scale expected. It may be that the German blitzkrieg tactics have been frustrated by the swift Dutch action in destroying all except one of the bridges over the river Maas. The Germans again launched mass attacks by parachute troops all over Holland this afternoon, concentrating on the western seaports and airports, from which they had been driven out this morning. They concentrated on Rotterdam. \The Amsterdam radio announced that six planes dropped parachutists from 600 feet above Rotterdam. Three others disgorged soldiers near the Rotterdam shipyards, and others landed troops in the suburbs of Rotterdam and also at Waalhaven, Dordrecht, Hoogewaluwe, Schoonhoven, The Hague, and Wassenaar. Tonight the Dutch Observation Corps continued to report fresh landings Njf parachutists. Official circles describe the British air attack on the German-occupied air port of Waalhaven as the heaviest aerial bombardment since the * outbreak of the war. Military sources in- Paris declare ithat German troops crossed the Maas River and captured Maastricht. Arnhem is also reported to be occupied. "COBBER" KAIN AGAIN. A message from Brussels states that German air activity over Belgium diminished at 1 a.m., but was renewed at dawn. The Belgian Army still holds the "line of destruction," which is considerably in advance of the main lines of defence. The Allied air forces shot down 36 planes over Belgium and France. One of our pursuit planes alone shot down 11 enemy planes yesterday and five today. It is estimated that the Germans have lost more than 200 planes since the invasion. It is understood in London that the Wellington ace, Flying-Officer "Cobber" Kain, shot down at least five German* planes in yesterday's air battles above Belgium and France. OUSTED FROM AERODROMES. The Dutch Foreign Minister, Dr. Van' Kleffens, in a statement, claimed that the Germans do not now hold a single Dutch aerodrome. "We recaptured Rotterdam aerodrome-"at 10 a.m. today after bombing by the R.A.F., bdt this was accomplished only with heavy loss of life," he said. The Dutch probably have also recaptured the bridge at Rotterdam, as the German forces were surrounded, Dordrecht is now in Dutch hands at the cost of 1000 men killed. The Dutch High Command announced this afternoon: "French and [British military forces have come to our assistance, and are now working with the Dutch forces to defend our country. Our frontier troops have offered courageous resistance to the Germans, and were yesterday withdrawn slightly, after having accomplished the necessary work of destruction. GERMAN ARMOURED TRAIN DESTROYED. "The little town of Mil, near the frontier, which yesterday was occupied by the Germans, was recaptured today by our men. As a result of a Dutch counter-attack, the whole of a German armoured train, together with i its contents and occupants, was destroyed. In this train were found pamphlets printed in Dutch, and also Dutch uniforms. ,

"Our troops occupying Pannerden fort, on the River Waal, are holding out against the attackers. The Germans have crossed the river Yssel below, Arnhem."

-It is reported from The Hague that a Qerman transport aeroplane carrying 19 Dutch-uniformed German soldiers crashed on the roof of a house after being shot down.

Thirty people were killed near Antwerp as a result of a German bomber crashing. The Germans are reported to have bombed Renaix, Louvain, and Verviers. Military objectives were not hit, but civilian casualties were numerous. German parachuters landed at Vilvorde, near the Evere aerodrome. Several were shot and others were rounded up.

Brussels reports that rationing has been introduced for bread, coffee, potatoes, and soap. Refugees from . the frontier regions are pouring into Brussels, where normal life continues.

One of the German wireless stations brings to the microphone every halfhour an alleged Belgian war prisoner, probably sometimes a Flemish Nationalist, who urges Belgian .listeners not to resist.