CALL FOR SUPREME EFFORT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 15 August 1944, Page 5

CALL FOR SUPREME EFFORT

EISENHOWER S ORDER OF THE DAY Chance of Major Allied Victory London, Aug. 14. General Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, has issued the following order of the day: “Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen.—Through your combined skill, valour and fortitude you have created in France a fleeting but definite opportunity for a major Allied victory which will mean notable progress towards the final downfall of our enemy. “In the past I, in moments of unusual significance, have made special appeals to the Allied forces it has been my honour to command. The response without exception has been unstinted and the result beyond my expectations. “Because the victory we can now achieve is infinitely greater than any it so far has been possible to accomplish in the west, and because this opportunity may be grasped only through the utmost in zeal, determination and speedy action, 1 make an appeal to you more urgent than ever before. “I request every airman to make it his direct responsibility that the enemy be blasted unceasingly by day and by night and denied safety either in fight or flight. “I request every sailor to make sure that no part of the hostile forces can either escape or be reii»froced by sea, and that our comrades on land want for nothing that guns, ships and ships’ companies can bring them. “I request every soldier to go forward to his assigned objective with the determination that the enemy can survive only through surrender. Let no foot of ground once gained be relinquished nor a single German escape through a line once established. “With all of us resolutely performing our special tasks we can make this week a momentous one in the history of this war—a brilliant and fruitful week for us and a fateful one for the ambitions of tbe Nazi tyrants.”

The coming week w ; ll be one of the most momentous in the history of this, war says the National Broadcasting Company correspondent at General Eisenhower’s advanced post. • General Eisenhower was so concerned that his present appeal reach all the troops as rapidly as possible that he discarded the army fornality of working through channels and the message was put through direct to London for immediate broadcast to all the forces in' France. General Eisenhower in the past three days has been almost in constant touch' with the battle commanders. He is ! working at pressure reminiset nt of the ( closing days of the Tunisian and Sicilian campaigns. These are the closing days of the 1 campaign in north-western France, and| the next few stages thereafter are i campaigns in north-eastern and south-, ern France. If the present move succeeds Paris is a plum for the taking' with little effort. Beyond Paris are the: "losing stages of the war in Europe. j FURTHER PROGRESS MADE "Further progress was made east of the Orne River where Allied troops en- ■ tcred Clairtizon and Donnay,” states a SHAEF communique to-day. "The advance continued south of St. Pierre la: Vielle along high ground on each side to Conde. We gained ground south- i east of ViTe in heavy fighting. Further ! south towards Mortain our forces fol-! lowing up the German withdrawal en- | countered mines and long-range artillery fire. In Brittany the Allied attack against Dinard continues to meet strong : resistance. Remnants of the German garrisons at St. Malo still hold out in \ the citadel. Our units made slight ad- : vances in the vicinity of Brest. There is no change in the situation at ' Lorient.*’ 113,000 GERMAN PRISONERS A senior staff officer at General Montgomery’s headquarters told a Reuter correspondent that the Allies so far have contacted 10 enemy divisions in France and taken prisoner 113,000 Germans. AIR OFFENSIVE A SHAEF communique states: "Heavy bombers and medium bombers attacked highways and road junctions on both sides of the Seine from Paris to the sea and westwards to Lisieux and Rugles. Medium bombers also attacked rail bridges at Peronne, Beautor, Doullens and Cherisy. rail facilities at Corbeil. and enemy gun positions in the Falaise area. Heavy bombers also attacked a railway bridge over the Seine at Le Manorr, U-boat shelters at Brest, an oil storage depot for U-boats at Bordeaux, and gun positions at St. Malo. Fourteen heavy bombers and two medium bombers are missing from these operations. Fighters, fighterbombers and rocket-firing fighters provided cover for ground forces and bombed and strafed tanks, motor transport. strong points and troop concentra tions in the battle zone. Fighters also ranged over north-eastern and central France, attacking locomotives, railway cars, motor transport and canal barges. Other fighters provided escort for bqmbing mission*;. Light bombers last night continued attacks against transport targets behind enemy lines.” Reuter’s Normandy correspondent reports that the R.A.F. Second T.A.F. on 13th August destroyed or damaged 44 German tanks and 283 transport vehicles in the Falaise-Argentan gap. The correspondent adds that the Germans are packing men and material into Red Cross transport and are also putting Red Crosses on other vehicles.