EIGHT MILES INLAND

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 17 August 1944, Page 5

EIGHT MILES INLAND

Allies in Southern France ALL INITIAL OBJECTIVES TAKEN (Rec. 1 1.23 a.m.) London, Aug. 16. The Allies are now firmly established on the coast of southern France between Cannes and Toulon. All initial objectives have been taken. Some penetration inland is as deep as eight miles, says an official announcement from Allied Headquarters in Italy. Airborne British and American troops have successfully blocked enemy reinforcements. Casualties are exceptionally light. Fighting continued throughout last night.

Reuter's correspondent at Advanced Mediterranean Headquarters says waves of invasion barges loaded with French and Americans before dawn to-day began pouring into beachheads captured yesterday. Thousands of Americans have reached far inland from the Riviera coast. No strong ground opposition has yet been encountered. The German radio this afternoon said Allied troops had been reported 10 miles inland on the St. Raphael-Toulon railway. The German news agency announced that the Germans had blown up harbour works at Nice, Cannes and St. Tropez. We used the first 24 hours to good effect. Beaches are busy with a steady incoming stream of material and we possess the hill range behind the beach, said the Combined British Press correspondent this afternoon in a broadcast from southern France. He added: "We made good landings everywhere and have a firm, extending bridgehead. French Partisan troops co-operating in thousands with Allied paratroops are to-day on the point of taking Marseilles from which the Germans are moving towards Toulon, says the Swiss newspaper "La Suisse." quoting French frontier reports The paper adds that the Allies have occupied Nice and Cannes and French advance guards are on their way to Ventimiglia, the Italian border town.

Reuter’s correspondent at advanced Allied Headquarters in the Mediterranean says a *Naval communique issued at noon stated that there is little in the way of definite naval news from the assault area on the south coast of France. The steady build-up of the army by the Allied navies and merchant navies is proceedings smoothly. Reinforcements with all their guns, mechanical transport, food and other miscellaneous equipment are rapidly landing in fine weather. Work continues night and day. COASTAL GUNS KNOCKED OUT At least 16 coastal defence points on the French southern coast containing guns were knocked out on Tuesday morning by fighter-bombers which operated in advance of the landing forces, reports a correspondent in Rome. It is now known that only 17 enemy aircraft were met during the day. They were MElo9’s and three were destroyed without loss. The strongest force of Marauders ever airborne in the .Mediterranean theatre blasted beach defences. One eye-witness in a Marauder watched hundreds of demolition bombs rain down from 10.000 feet on landing beaches, smashing pillboxes and barbed wire defences and exploding land miles as Allied landing craft hovered oPF shore. About 20 bursts of flak from a town a mile away was the only opposition. Another American observer described two long rows of large boats evenly spaced forming an alley in the sea. Smaller landing craft darted in and out. Marauders yesterday afternoon attacked road and rail bridges in the Rhone and upper Durance valleys and enemy supply routes to the newly established beachhead. Other Marauders bombed a railway bridge across the Durance just east of Sistieron, disrupting east to west motor traffic. French flown Marauders attacked rail and road bridges Thunderbolts and Lightnings also destroyed three: road bridges and blocked the ap- ! proaches to three others, while Bostons attacked barracks at Draguignan. north-west of Frejus. Algiers radio says it is officially announced from Mediterranean Headquarters that operations in southern France are proceeding according to plan. Allied troops in south France by 2.30 yesterday had taken five towns, including one of 3000 inhabitants five miles inland, say i the Exchange Telegraph Agency’s correspondent with the invasion forces. Prisoners are coming in in batches of 20. They are of all ages. Algiers radio announced that hundreds of Allied heavy tanks and field guns are already in action in south France. A Liberator bombaimer told war correspondents he had seen Allied troops landing\m a beach near Frejus south-west of Nice. ENEMY DEFENCES BOMBED Formations of bombers, medium bombers and light bombers in addition to. fighter-bombers yesterday attacked enemy defences and communications in south France in support of invasion forces. The targets included Nice defence troop concentrations, bridges, aerodromes and other military objectives. Fighters provided cover for the Allied Fleet and carried out patrols over the invasion area. Our bombers last night attacked Valence airfield in the Rhone Valley. Three enemy planes were destroyed and 20 of ours are missing from night operations on 14th August. MILLIONS OF LEAFLETS Planes from Britain co-operating, with planes based in Italy will scatter on an unprecedented scale millions of leaflets over the whole area south of Loire, reports Reuter’s correspondent at Allied Headquarters in f ltaly. Some of these leaflets are an invitation to the Germans and other enemy troops to come within the safety of the Allied lines, and others warn French civilians to keep off the roads. Other leaflets call on the Maquis to spring into action. Many thousand leaflets repeat General I '»• Maitland Wilson’s proclamation. United States Marauders to-day dropped nearly 2.000.000 leaflets announcing recent mass surrenders by German generals on the Western and Eastern j Fronts, also safe conduct passes on j 'he Germans in the Falaise Gap. J WIDE BRIDGEHEAD London, Aug. 15. ! Air troops have established a wide | bridgehead on the Mediterranean coast said an American broadcaster from Allied headquarters in the Mediter-1 ranean on the night of Tuesday. Hundreds of jeeps this afternoon were scuttling over the French countryside, .•cores of trucks were pounding up French roads, and thousands of soldiers were marching inland. Guns and equipment are massed on the beaches. Only occasional shells are coming over from German inland batteries. A large strip of the Riviera is ours. All signs point to the fact that the Ger-j mans knew we were coming but decided not to oppose us. They apparently have fiixed a defence line some miles inland.

Berlin radio broadcasting a late German High Command statement reported that heavy battles were being fought on the heights on both sides of the mouth of the Argens River three miles south-west of St. Raphael. The Allies were also engaged in artillery duels in the bay of St. Tropez and Cap d’Antibcs. Landing operations are in fullswing in the last-named place. The Allies are trying to reinforce the landngs at St. Raphael and Boimes by fur. her landings between them Our

troops are basing their defence on 1 Toulon fortress and the high mountain barriers north and cast. ! An / merican radio reporter broadI casting from Rome sai ' American Liberty ships were being unloaded in the |harbour of Cannes and added that as ! far as we know not a single Allied j plane was lost in. the gigantic job of in- ' vading southern France. CASE A LTIES EXCEPTION ALLY LIGHT Airborne units are moving to their predetermined objectives, states a correspondent at Rome. The Commander of the Allied Forces in Southern France to-day stated that French and American troops are streaming ashore in great numbers, fully equipped and competently led. He commented further on the spirit of the troops and the unusual aggressiveness displayed by both assault and followup units. The Commander also stated that as a result of perfect co-ordination of all arms and services the casualties were exceptionally light. The Commander of the Seventh Army which is making the Riviera landings is General A M. Patch, according to an announcement in Rome. The commander of the naval forces is Admiral H. K. Hewitt. United States Navy. The air forces are commanded by General Gordon P. Saville. who commands the Twelfth Tactical Air Force. Prior to assuming command of the Seventh Army in March, General Patch had wide experience with American forces on Guadalcanal He first commanded American forces which occupied New Caledonia, later directed American forces at Guadalcanar and also commanded the Fourteenth Corps in the Pacific. He served with the First Infantry Division in France in the first world war. 2000 PRISONERS TAKEN (Rec. 1155 a.m.) London. Aug. 16. Allied columns in the south of France have reached points 20 miles inland and ajready have taken 2000 German prisoners, according to Algiers radio. The radio added that the Allies firmly hold three beachheads between Marseilles and Nice while Cannes and the small neighbouring village of Croix des Gardes have been liberated. AIRBORNE TROOPS Reuter's correspondent at Allied headquarters reported that a second wave of airborne infantry landed from troop-carriers and gliders yesterday without opposition. Neither air nor ground resistance was encountered as the second, airborne force went in troop-carriers. now augmented by gliders, which turned back yesterday because of unfavourable landing conditions. It was the largest of many waves of reinforcements. There has never been fewer than 1000 paratroops winging the air at the same time. The correspondent of the Associated Press of Great Britain at a United States troop-carrier base in Italy says great grey fleets of troop-carriers this morning continued to shuttle supplies of reinforcements by glider and parachute into the growing beachhead in southern France Glider landing strips several miles inland in southern Franee resemble used-car dumps as hundreds of cngineless craft bearing jeeps and 75mm howitzers and countless smaller tools of war slip in almost without opposition. Thousands of parachutes abandoned where paratroops landed made it appear from the air as if the people of the French Riviera had hung out a tremendous amount of colourful washing. Throughout the night and since dawn tt day fresh loads of French and Arne rican troops and supplies have been pouring into the invasion beachheads in southern France in wave after wave of invasion barges, sav s Reuter’s correspondent at General Sir H. Maitland Wilson’s headquarters. Thousands of Allied soldiers are now marching inland. Pilots said that for once the weather favoured the Allies and continues to do so.

The correspondent says the excellent weather is also expected to help the Maquis, who already are doing what an Allied officer described as “a tremendous job.”

The German news agency to-night listed five bridgeheads which it said the i Allies hold along a 35 to 40 mile stretch of the Riviera coast. Firstly ! between Cannes and St Raphael. Secondly. west of St. Raphael, thirdly St Maxime. ten miles south-west of’ St j Raphael, fourthly Cavalaire. nine j miles south-west of St. Ropez, and i fifthly. Le Lavandou. eight miles south- , west of Cavalaire and 23 miles west of Toulon. I The news agency added that heavv , fighting continued to-day near the i mouth of the Argens river, with paratroops dropDed farther inland An American commentator with the invasion forces who witnessed the landing at St. Maxime said it was efficiently and successfully carried out. SMOOTH OPERATION Delayed dispatches from correspondents with-the invasion forces in south France are now beginning to arrive in London. The combined Americans press correspondent abroad Admiral Davidson's flagship on Tuesday says: •‘Tens of thousands of American and French troops poured across the beaches of France along a 40-mile front. They landed after desperate bands had slipped ashore six hours before H-Hour, climbed almost unscaleable cliffs, and overwhelmed and slit the throats of the crews of formidable coastal batteries so that troop carriers could approach the jumping-off point with the minimum danger. Most of the beaches had some kind of underwater obstacle, but except in a few cases landing-craft apparently were able *c work the beaches without much dif-

Acuity. Invasion experts described the ' operation as one of the smoothest and most successful of its kind ever planned. “It is hard to believe that several days ago thousands of ships of the invasion fleet congregated i a variety of harbours. It seemed certain that the Luftwaffe would spend some of its resources on such targets, but the ships left untouched. The ships had been manoeuvring cfT the coast at will well within sight of the coastal hills. WARM WELCOME Reuter’s correspondent says hundreds of Tricolours with the Cross of Lorraine are flying on the Riviera coast today hoisted by French forces on beachheads and on Cap Negre. also hills behind the beachheads. Napoleon when he landed in these parts on his return from Elba could not have received a warmer welcome than that given the French troops. The inhabitants embraced the French soldier:, and cried over them. • UNQUALIFIED SUCCESS’ “Unqualified success” is the term which may justifiably be used on the basis of official and semi-official information available so far to describe the great Allied assault against southern France, says Reuter's correspondent at advanced Allied Headquarters in Italy. Atfierican and French troops after landing east of Toulon and west of Nice had established themselves firmly on a 30-mile front within the first 12 hours. All day yesterday returning convoys brought troops and supplies. Planes flying over the assault area could detect here and there American jeeps running about the once fashionable Riviera through towns and villages once famous as summer and winter resorts. The British United Press Stockholm correspondent states that to-day’s Berlin reports discussing the suitability of the Riviera coast for tank battles ar« already implying the success of the first Allied landings. Fighting is in progress at a number of points along the Gulf of St. Tropez, reports Berlin radio. The Allies succeeded in landing tanks and made I some slight progress. The radio claims that landing attempts at two points— Etang de Berre and St. Raphael—were frustrated and Allied troops pushed back into the sea. The Germans as a reprisal for an attack on a German convoy burnt to the ground two villages on the upper Loire, states authoritative French circles in'London. Reuter’s correspondent on the FrancoSpanish frontier says the Maquis today began an attack in the direction of Pau. They are using artillery taken from the Germans at Mauleon, which they recaptured after losing it to the Germans a month ago The garrison of Pau is estimated at between 2500 and 3000. It attempted to evacuate to the norlh a few days ago. but was compelled to turn back. The British United Press Berne correspondent states that the Maquis started a general uprising against the Germans in Haute-Savoie early to-day. They attacked garrisons near the Swiss frontier and continuous gunfire was heard in Switzerland, indicating that fighting is in progress. The Maquis employed strong forces, including artillery captured from the Germans and four hours, after the assault started they captured St. Julitn. near the Swiss border, also Cruseillcs. GERMAN COMMANDER (Rcc. 10.50 a.m.) London. Aug. 16. Berlin radio named Marshal von Blaskowitz as the German commander in the south of France EXCITEMENT IN PARIS NEWS OF LANDINGS London. Aug. 16. Paris grew red hot with excitement as the news spread like wild fire that the Allies had invaded southern France. The populace rushed into the streets singing the “Marseillaise.” German police patrols were powerless ‘o check them, says the “Daily Mail’s” Madrid correspondent. According to reports from the frontier the sky over Paris at night time is red with fires as Allied bombers attack the retreating enemy and the Germans blow up their own arms dumps in the path of the Allies’ advance. The Maquis at the moment have suspended reprisal attacks on German military garrisons to avoid involving Parisians in any massacre which Germany might try to initiate Germans on the other hand are no longer interfering with French Forces of the Interior, allowing them to fight out their differences with Darnad’s militia, which is rapidly dissolving as a result of the militiamen being either shot or going over l.> the Maquis Great bonfires blaze all day in Paris courtyards as the Wehrmacht's archives and Vichy Ministries’ files are burned to keep them from the Allies. Leading pro-Germans among i the French have already aone into hiding. FIVE POINTS FOR FRENCH FURTHER APPEAL BY GENERAL WILSON Rugby, August 15. The Allied Supreme Commander. Mediterranean; General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, issued a second apnea I to-day to the French population, giving the following five points of ins'ruction: — “First, the population must avoid the roads and in no circumstances let themselves be driven by the Germans to crowd the main roads. “Secondly they are requested to avoid crossing the lines where fighting is going on. but must stay where the.V are. “Thirdly they are requested to observe German troop movements and units in their own districts and to give any useful information to the Allied armies. “Fourthly they are to take orders only from their superiors if they belong to the resistance movement. If they do not belong to the movement, they should consult reliable friends. The time of individual action is over and a united nation alongside the Allied troops will bring the final victory near- “ Fifthly, Frenchmen are asked to follow only official instructions and to listen to an official Allied radio station.”