ENCOURAGING FACTOR

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 122, 24 May 1940, Page 7

ENCOURAGING FACTOR

ALLIES AT AMIENS

THREAT TO ENEMY ON THE COAST

SERIOUS FIGHTING

ISSUE FURTHER NORTH

LONDON, May 23

The penetration of the French forces to Amiens is the most encouraging factor of tonight's French communique, as Amiens is on the direct route by which the German forces reached Abbeville. If the French can re-establish themselves at Amiens, the Germans on the coast at Abbeville will be cut off, but the most serious righting and that on which most depends is further north.

The gap between the French army in the south and the Allied forces in the northern part of France and Belgium still remains. German forces which have got through this gap are cruising about cutting telephone communications where they can and trying to destroy important points. Large numbers of refugees are trying to leave these districts and are making it even more difficult for our forces to tackle the German detachments. It is impossible to give any exact picture of the points reached by German mechanised forces. It is rather their practice to dash into a place, announce it has fallen into their hands, and get out of it again. Their operations are assisted by the German air force, which has certainly been bombing the Channel ports heavily. It is stated in London that the ports have not been made unusable and are still being used at certain times. Apart from the situation on the coast, the position in the other sectors is interpreted by earlier British and French communiques. Today s British communique issued at noon stated that the Germans had attacked the Escaut position at many places without success, except near Audenarde, where they had forced a crossing. In the Arras sector there had been fierce fighting and the British successfully maintained their positions on the gap between Arras and Bapaume. Through this gap the enemy had sent armoured elements followed by motorised units which had succeeded in reaching the neighbourhood of the coast. Steps were being taken to guard vital points against these detachments.

The Escaut position is the same as the Schelde position, and represents roughly a line held by the Allied forces in Belgium. The Germans have succeeded in crossing it at only one point near Audenarde. British troops are still firmly holding their positions around Arras in the northern flank of the gap. The British launched a counter-attack yesterday between Arras and Douai. which had some degree of success, in that 400 German prisoners were taken and 300 Germans killed.

Today the official German news agency, in a commentary on the war, warned the German people that the battle of the Channel ports was no easy task and that no comparison should be made with the Polish war. The agency said that before the French coast could be occupied the Germans would have to take the whole of northern France and western Belgium, and these were still held by the Allies. "We may have to fight a big battle because of the extraordinarily strong enemy forces in this area," the agency said.