NOW BEARING FRUIT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 116, 18 May 1944, Page 5

NOW BEARING FRUIT

BRITISH ATTITUDE 10 FRANCE RUGBY, May 16. A telegram from General Juin, commander of the French forces in Italy, reporting the routing of the German regiments in the Gustav Line gives proof of the ability of France to rise again into the ranks of the great Powers. A cardinal point in" British policy always has been to promote the resurgence of France. Even in the darkest hour Mr. Churchill made the French the imaginative offer of equality of citizenship with Britain. France's leaders then failed to respond, but Britain gave all her support to the movement of General de Gaulje, which was small at first but believed by the British to represent the true France. . In spite of all difficulties, the British support has always been maintained, and the underground movement in France has been inspired and helped from London. One important aspect of this process is the care taken by the R.A.F. bombers in attacking German targets in France to inflict the minimum damage on the population. The Germans are trying by propaganda to make the population resentful of these attacks, but all the evidence shows that the French fully understand they are a necessary move for the earlier liberation of France. Moreover, Swiss reports state, for instance, that when Annecy was raided an R.A.F. plane circled over the town to give warning for 20 minutes before the bombers arrived. The deadly accuracy of the R.A.F. bombing enabled the Annecy ball-bearing works to be almost completely destroyed with negligible civilian loss. The British attitude to France is now bearing fruit in the magnificent performance of the French troops and in the readiness of the French population to co-operate against the Germans, even at terrible risk.—B.O.W.