Germans Attack On West Front

Northern Advocate, 13 May 1940, Page 5

Germans Attack On West Front

(Received 1.30 p.m.) PARIS, May 12. The Germans launched a massed attack between Forbach and the Vosges Mountains as part of a triple offensive against the west. They began with a terrific bombardment at 3.30 a.m. over a 40mile sector. The battle is continuing. l The Germans, simultaneously striking at two points on the Belgian frontier, forced the Belgians to withdraw to second-line positions. “German artillery opened violent and continuous fire in the region of the Saar, west of the Vosges, where fighting has begun,”- says a Paris communique. Reports regarding . the position in Luxemburg suggest that the first real battle of the Western Front is in progress between the German and advance units of the Allied forces along both banks of the Moselle. The Germans attacked the French front east of the Moselle on Friday evening with forces estimated at one division, says a report from Paris. Defenders Withdraw to Plan. The only result was a withdrawal of the defenders from their advanced posts,- according to a pre-arranged plan. Heavy fighting was reported yesterday around Sierk, north-east of Metz. A Paris communique issued last night stated: “We quickly drove off lively local attacks westward of the Moselle.” German parachute troops landed north of Rheims and .north of Verdun to attack the Maginot Line from the rear.