BEACH-HEAD WIDER

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 40, 16 August 1944, Page 6

BEACH-HEAD WIDER

BY NIGHT FALL

--' (By Tolograph—Press Association —CopyrinUt.)

■Efec. 2 p.m. ■: ' • • LONDON, August 15. " The beach-head in southern Prance has been extended and widened and substantial numbers of Allied troops with guns, munitions, and supplies had been landed by dark this evening, said a special announcement from Allied Headquarters in the Mediterranean. The enemy opposition remains sporadic, and ijo enemy air attacks have yet been reported.

Some of the high ground behind the beaches is now.in Allied hands. The islands of Port Cros and Levant and the mainland peninsula of Cap Negre, which is about four miles east of Bonnes, ■were captured before dawn this morning by French and American troops landed from the ships of the American and Canadian navies.

During the operation two small enemy ships ■were sunk and prisoners were taken. ' ■'

On beaches on the mainland, where landings were successful against light opposition, operations are proceeding1 satisfactorily. Naval gunfire is reported to be very effective, and the Navy is continuing- to land troops and stores without interruption.

Allied convoys arc already leaving on the return voyage from the assault area and' new convoys.-are arriving. The islands of Portcros and Levant literally bristled with concrete gun emplacements and anti-aircraft batteries, says the Associated Press correspondent with the Allied air forces. Bsfore the landing could hope to be successful they had lo be neutralised, otherwise a large percentage of the .invasion. flotilla might have been blasted from the water. "An American army numbering .many thousands is well into southern France this afternoon and .going fast, virtually without opposition, said a representative of the combined 'American Press in southern France. An amazingly small number of casualties has been suffered. "The 'Germans were caught completely by surprise. What^ew Germans there, were waiting for us have been gcattred or captured. Men, tanks, artillery, and all kinds of material which have been pouring''in at three separate beaches since 8 a.m., today have by now built up such! strength that it seems almost, certain we have come not only to st3y, but also to push on. "This ought to be-the decisive blow for France. Everybody is astounded ■ that it went off so easily. "Three hours of hell preceded the landing. Bombs, naval gunfire, and rockets flamed and roared into the beaches from .daylight. Before the smoke lifted troops were swarming up ■the beaches, hardly believing their •luck as the engineers blasted their way through cement' walls and tanks drove in with hardly a shot from the Germans. ' AMERICAN OPERATIONS. "The Americans can be' proud that this was their venture, from its incep'ition to its successful outcome. Perhaps ' it is our greatest single contribution ito the war in . Europe. Meanwhile there is jubilation at the almost bloodless success. ..,,.,■■ "The units on our flank did not have . it quite so easy, but they are well inland and moving fast. , « "What 1 wanted to know was why, the Germans did not put up a fight. They had ample coastal defences, gun emplacements, and wonderful hill positions behind the beaches. So I went to the prisoners' cage to discover what was wrong. One master sergeant said he knew the army in northern France had been broken for three months. He realised that the war was lost and added: "There is no ■ reason to fight. For whom should we fight?" "You mean you are not fighting- for Hitler any more?'"! asked. The sergeant replied: "That's it. Anyway, we have nothing with which to fight." TROOPS TOUR INLAND. "Our troops have established a wide bridgehead on the Mediterranean coast," said an American broadcaster from Allied'headquarters in the Mediterranean tonight. "Hundreds 6f jeeps this afternoon were scuttling-over the French countryside. Scores of- trucks were pounding up the French roads. Thousands of soldiers were marching inland. * "Guns and equipment were massed ■ on the beaches. Only occasional shells ■were coming over from the German inland batteries. ' . "A large strip of the Riviera is ours. All signs point to the fact that the ■ Germans knew we were coming, but decided not to oppose us: They apparently "have a fixed - defence line some miles inland."'. - Berlin radio, broadcasting a German High Command.statement issued late tonight, reported that-heavy battles we're being fought online heights on both sides of the mouth- of the Argens River, three miles south-west of Saint Raphael and also artillery duels in the Bay of Saint" Tropez and at Cap d'Antibes. Landing operations were in full swing at the last named place, the Allies trying to reinforce their landing at Saint Raphael and Bonnes ■fay further landings between them. ' The German troops were basing their defence on the Toulon fortress and the high mountain barriers to the north and east. , An American radio reporter broadcasting from Rome said that American Liberty ships were being unloaded in the harbour at Cannes and added: "As far as we know not a single Allied plane was lost in the gigantic job of invading southern France." NAZIS FIND A BATTLE. The German overseas news agency said tonight: "Allied, naval fire now ■ extends over the whole length of coast from San Remo to Toulon. German coastal batteries arc replying to the Allied landings which now extend approximately from the area of Cannes to w°st of Toulon." The German-controlled Paris radio ■ tonight reported heavy fighting between Cannes and Nice and between , ■" Saint Raphael and; Cap Camarat. ;: An American broadcast from Italy said" that the Allies tonight were several miles inland from the Mediterranean Frcncn coast. There are excellent beaches on the stretch between Cannes and Toulon. Thsv a re smostly backed by mountains which though in places rugged and ,' fairly high are not continuous and by - no means impassable. ;• The new theatre though much • nearer the Italian front—about 170 : miles from Leghorn—than the north-. - crn French theatre, is probably more " doselv connected, with.the latter, than ": the former, because ihe Alps interpose extremely formidable barriers not only between France and Italy but also between Italy and Germany.