Friend And Foe Alike Confirm Initial Phase Is Going Well

Northern Advocate, 7 June 1944, Page 5

Friend And Foe Alike Confirm Initial Phase Is Going Well

Deep Penetration In Caen-Asignv Sector (Received 12 Noon) LONDON, June 6. ALL REPORTS FROM FRIEND AND FOE ALIKE INDICATE n THAT THE FIRST PHASE OF THE INVASION IS GOING WELL, SAYS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. THE SECOND CRUCIAL CLIMAX CAN BE EXPECTED WITHIN A WEEK. QUICK CAPTURE OF MAJOR PORTS OF CHERBOURG AND LE HAVRE APPEARS TO BE THE ALLIES’ FIRST OBJECTIVE. WHEN THEY ARE SECURED, THE INVADERS WILL STRIKE TOWARDS PARIS. The German News Agency stated that the Allies between Caen and Asigny have penetrated several miles southward using tanks. The message added that Allied • landing-barges [penetrated the estuaries of the Orne and Vire Rivers in the rear of the Atlantic Wall. The Allies have made particularly heavy landings at St. Vaast. The News Agency said that the centre of gravity of the enemy’s intended landing apparently has developed between St. Vaast and Ouistreham, not, as earlier thought, at Le Havre. A German Transocean broadcast said that about 80 mediumsized warships are approaching Ouistreham. ' Berlin radio’s military spokesman stated that it was expected that the focal point of battle would shift to another, sector of the French coast within days, perhaps hours. Further British and American transport ships already have been observed under steam in British ports and some are under way.

MONTGOMERY PLEASED

General Montgomery, in the afternoon, told correspondents at Allied Armies Headquarters that he was pleased with the initial phase cf the landings. 'General Montgomery appeared happy. He said he had given bis officers a five-point prescription for victory shortly before the invasion signal: (1) Allied solidarity. (2) Offensive eagerness. (3) Enthusiasm. *4) Confidence. (5) An all-out effort.

General Montgomery said that the. second point was most important, as we entered the war’s final phase. He told senior officers a few days ago their watchword hnust be “Offensive, More Offensive, and Still More Offensive.” Correspondents met General Montgomery on the top of cfhill near the British coast where they also glimpsed General Eisenhower, who looked very confident.

Taking Bull By Horns

“The invasion army stationed in England is big enough to undertake large landings elsewhere.” Captain Sertorious, speaking over Berlin radio, said that the 75-mile stretch of coast between the Seine and Vire estuaries, where the attack was launched, is the nearest part of the Channel coast to Paris, for which reason it has been most thoroughly included in the German defence preparations for years. The Atlantic Wall here beats all records as ' regards strength and depth. “It thus appears that the Allies want to take the bull by the horns if the first phase of invasion is to be the centre of gravity,” he' said.

Fierce Battle &t Rouen

The German news agency stated that the invasion front has further widened. A vicious battle is raging north of Rouen, where German anti-invasion forces are engaging powerful Allied paratroop formations which landed behind the West Wall defences.

Algiers radio quoted a Berlin radio report that the Allies had made landings at Calais and Bou-

logne. Berlin radio’s military spokesman this evening said: “The Allies now hold a strip of the French coast between Viilers and Trouville, 13. miles long and a few miles deep. Allied troops on this beachhead—it is too much to call it a bridgehead—are still being fiercely opposed.” The Germans report that an enormous Allied naval squadron is cruising off Cherbourg, where the sea still is very stormy. Berlin radio said that very strong naval formations participated in the Allied landings in Jersey and Guernsey. Allied parachutists who landed on the islands engaged in bitter combat with the defenders. Sealed Off, Germans Claim The German overseas news agency claims that nearly all Allied airborne troops and paratroops which landed in France were wiped out after the first 12 hours of invasion and adds that the Allies’ beachhead between the Vire and Orne Rivers has been sealc-' cfl from all sides, despite the Allies bringing up a heavy battle fleet from. Hie vicinity of Le Havre. “The Germans are now narrowing down the beachhead loyally. Our coastal guards, in powerful counterattacks, have eliminated all other landing heads between the Vire and Orne Rivers. The Germans’ greatest success of the day was the smashing of a large Allied landing attempt at St. Vaast. The Allies here operated in the assumption that their paratroops, dropped near Barfleur and St. Vaast, would succeed in neutralising the German defences, thus clearing the way for a huge landing operation. One particularly strong formation of Allied paratroops dropped between Le Havre and Cherbourg gained a hold on both sides of the road running between Carentan and Valognes. They were strongly reinforced in the morning and afternoon. Bitter fighting is still in progress.” Liberating troops used many secret weapons for the first time, states the Ministry for Supply. R.A.F. Squadron Lands Latest news of Allied Expeditionary Force landings is that the first R.A.F. beach squadron—a squadron of highly trained officers and men whose task is to pave the way for a steady flow of R.A.F. personnel—have landed. Airborne medical' corps men with airborne field hospitals are also ashore.