Great Onslaught Resumed

Manawatu Times, Volume 70, Issue 45, 22 February 1945, Page 5

Great Onslaught Resumed

Day and Night Blasting Of German Centres (By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.) Received Wednesday, 10.25 p.m. LONDON, Feb. 21. R.A.F. Bomber Command sent out more than 1200 aircraft last night with Dortmund as the iriain objective. Mosquitoes, many carrying 4000-lb. bombs attacked Berlin twice during the night. Dortmund is one of the chief communications centres in the Ruhr and is a priority target requirihg frequent attention. Returning pilots could see the glow of huge fires 100 miles awaj'. This great air blow followed a few hours after the American attack on the Bavarian city of Nurembtirg which had its heaviest raid of the war when 900 Flying Fortresses and Liberators dropped 300,000 incendiaries and 11,000 high explosive bombs on the area. The bombers were accompanied by 700 Mustangs and Thunderbolts. Large marshalling yards jambed to near capacity with several thousand railroad cars were among the objectives at Nuremberg. The Fortresses, attacking in two waves of 450 each shortly after noon, crashed their bombs down on the marshalling yards, the main passenger station and extensive loco, motive repair shops. Shipyards at Trieste and oil refineries near Vienna were among widespread targets for Italy-based heavy bombers which were operating for the eighth consecutive day, this equalling tho record for a sustained effort established in November. The Air Ministry states that R.A.F. Bomber Command on Monday attacked a Synthetic oil plant at Bohlen, near Leipzig. Earlier in the night attacks were made on the communication and industrial centre of Erfurt in Saxony and objectives at Hanover, Bremen and Brunswick. Night lighters and intruders supported the bombers and also attacked airfields, R.AF. Fighter Command made another attack on Wesel. From all these operations two aircraft of Bomber Command are missing. The Allied heavy bomber and tactical air forces have now begun a “master plan” to isolate the great industrial and strategic centres of the Ruhr and the Rhineland from the rest of the Reich, says Reuter’s correspondent at Second Tactical Air Force Headquarters. The sealing off Of the Ruhr is going according to plan despite prolonged periods of bad weather which are keeping the tactical air forces from operating on the expected scale over the German Command’s assembly area east of the Rhine. Operations now in progress show the development of “right hook” tactics by the R.A.F. Tactical Air Force planes, which are sweeping south after skirting the northern fringe of the Ruhr, are playing havoc with German communications. The Germans have no hope of respite because the appalling weather has not prevented heavy bombers from (Britain from operating in strength over Germany.