NORMANDY TRAP

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

NORMANDY TRAP

RAIN INTERFERES

CLEVER ENEMY TACTICS

(By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyriaht.) Rec. 2 p.m. LONDON, August 15. The Canadians, bursting through the last gun screen north of Falaise to within one mile of the town tonight, reduced the escape gap for yon Kluge's trapped forces, which are now estimated at ■ 50,000, to eight miles, states Reuters correspondent with the Canadians. Torrential rain began to fall over the gap, after the worst thunderstorm experienced for years in this part of Normandy/ . The rain threatens to clog the escape routes and make the" roads impassable for tanks, just as the battle | of the gap is nearing its climax. The reason why the Germans were able to get out roughly half their forces is their undeniable cleverness at concealment, states an Exchange Telegraph correspondent. They have been getting out more by night than by day, and are dodging the main roads,and exploiting the network of lanes.The Allied air forces attacking the. trapped Germans are believed, .at a conservative estimate, to have destroyed over 1000 tanks and vehicles in 48 hours, says Reuters correspondent on the American front. German suicide rearguards are now lining the three sides of the dwindling pocket. Correspondents ti London morning papers emphasise that. the Germans^ eastward move continues. The Daily' Express" correspondent, reporting from the Falaise road, says the Germans have not lost control of the situation. Panic may break out locally but the withdrawal as a whole is orderly. ; ■ . .