Prevented

Northern Advocate, 7 October 1941, Page 6

Prevented

Hampered By French Militarists

(Received 1 p.m.) RUGBY. October 6. IN THE FAMOUS PAMPHLET “BATTLE OF BRITAIN” THE STORY OF TEE FIGHTER COMMAND AND THE DEFEAT OF THE LUFTWAFFE WAS VIVIDLY DESCRIBED. In “Bomber Command’’ issued today by the Air Ministry the no less brilliant story of the activity of Royal Air Force bombers is told. The account covers every aspect oi tlie work of the Bomber Command from the moment when, an hour after war was declared, a Blenheim took off to see what the German fleet was doing’, to Ju*. v of this year. In the section relating to the battle of France the booklet reveals the tragic differences of opinion between the British and French authorities.

Stopped By Gamelin At the outset the Comite de Guerre ruled that, because casualties might be caused to civilian populations, bombing attacks on enemy concentrations in Germany were not to be made unless the Germans launched them on the Allies. The Germans attacked in force on May 10. The Allied Commander-in-Chief still refused to allow objectives in Germany or German troops on the move in their own country to be bombed and it was not until the afternoon of May 10 that the advance air striking force bombed the German columns advancing through Luxemburg and not until next day that attacks were made on enemy troops and lines of communication by Royal Air Force medium and heavy bombing forces. It was under these circumstances that the Royal Air Force bombers so heroically attacked to prevent and harass the enemy’s advance. Their boldness was shown by the sacrifices of 35 bombers out of 67 in one engagement. Further difficulties which they faced were also emphasised, namely the living screen of refugees which shielded the enemy’s advance. “Operation Dynamo’’ The part the Bomber Command played in the evacuation of Dunkirk or “operation dynamo,” to give it the code name, is described. Night after night the bombers laboured to put dowix a curtain of bombs round the port, and their efforts were particularly vigorous towards the end, when the French northern army was being taken off. Both the Advanced Air Striking Force and the Bomber Command threw themselves into the attack regardless of losses, and dropped bombs on enemy objectives. Over 1000 tons were dropped on railways in France and Northern Germany alone. On May 10 the Advanced Air Striking Force had 135 bombers. During the next five days they lost 75 of them. Irrespective of Losses From May 10 to June 20 the Bomber Command lost 40 per cent, of its first line. On the other hand, by June 4 it was estimated that the enemy had lost 2847 aircraft destroyed in the air and on the ground, including about 400 troop-carriers. Another extraordinary misunderstanding with the French characterised the first attack by bombers on Italy. When her entry into the war seemed inevitable, a force was to be on the Salon aerodrome, not far from Marseilles. On June 10 orders for a raid on Milan were received by the commander of the force of Wellingtons stationed there. The commander of the French Zone des Operations Ari'ens des Alpes forbade the execution of the orders received from British air headquarters, maintaining that tney were contrary to the desires of the French Government.

Lastly, specific accounts are given of the bombing of vital enemy objectives. The main targets were aluminium plants, aircraft factories, oil plants, communications of all kinds, and forests. The damage is not easily assessed. Checking Results A combination of feati res sometimes enables a fairly complete picture to be drawn. The booklet contains a fascinating selection of photographs dealing with various phases of the Bomber Command’s activities. Assessment of damage is drawn from photographs, reports of all kinds, statements from enemy and neutral newspapers and radio reports, and also from travellers. Every now and then in the long and continuous proceses of checking reports, details come to light which reveal something unexpected and unsuspected. So, it became known that we scored a direct hit on The HagueBerlin night express. An impressive list of serious damage inflicted during raids on all the principal German Industrial and shipbuilding towns is given. Substance is given to the statement by the Prime Minister last June that “we shall bomb Germany by day _as well as by night, in ever increasing measure.”

Blocked by French The British officer commanding, in view of the very definite nature of his instructions, disregarded the protests from the French authorities and continued to make preparations to carry out the raid. About half-an-hcur after midnight the Wellingtons were taxiing into position for the take-off when a number of French military lorries were suddenly driven on to the aerodrome and sc disposed as to make any take-off impossible. The French officer in charge of them informed the British commander that he had been instructed at all costs to prevent the British bombers from taking the air. To avoid an open clash the raid was cancelled. But Italy was to have her raids all the same, and some of the results are set out in the booklet for the first time. Gun Crews Sheltered When Turin was attacked the population rushed for the scanty ill-con-structed shelters only to find them packed with the crews of anti-air-craft guns and searchlights appointed to provide defence. A number of their officers were subsequently shot for cowardice. By the end of August there was real panic in Genoa. The same signs of panic were observed during the first raid on Naples. One of the greatest achievements of the Bomber Command was helping to prevent the invasion of Britain. In due course no less than 3000 self-propelled barges of a carrying capacity of 1,000,000 tons, with another 4,000,000 tons of shipping, were assembled at the invasion ports, which sustained over 500 attacks. Invasion Nipped in Bud How many men were killed and drowned, how many boats were wrecked, cannot be calculated, but the fact remains that no invasion took place. In the Battle of the Atlantic the duty of the Bomber Command has been to harass the enemy and hamper attacks by German aircraft. Their work has contributed in no small degree to the present favourable position.