TOWN TAKEN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 24009, 5 July 1941, Page 12

TOWN TAKEN

SYRIAN CAMPAIGN FALL OF PALMYRA DISAFFECTION IN BEIRUT LONDON, July 4 Palmyra, in the north of Syria, surrendered on Thursday afternoon. The Vichy communique admitting the fall of (he town asserts that it was vanquished after a powerful attack led by armoured forces. Vichy also reports that two additional British columns are invading Syria from Irak. It said that one column was attacking Telkotchek, in north-eastern Syria, on the IstanbulBagdad railway, and the other was threatening Jebel Simdjar, further to the south.

The communique added that British motorised forces advanced south-east of Deir-ez-Zor, where fighting was # proceeding. British ships again shelled the coast, and Beirut was heavily bombed 011 Wednesday night. General Dentz's home was again hit. A French submarine was sunk off the Syrian coast. It is reported from Cairo that numbers of captured Vichv troops have enlisted with the Free French. A student of the American college in Beirut, who has reached Alexandretta, stated that General Dentz and his staff were most unpopular, because they decided to defend the town to the last. The entire population is pro-British, and indignant that the French, who did not defend Paris, should expose Beirut to the horrors of a siege. A number of leading officers have been arrested for de Gaulle sympathies, and many who are continuing to obey orders are strongly sympathetic to the Free French. Information which has fallen into British hands reveals that the original Vichy plan for the defence of Syria provided for the holding of five strong points, only one of which now remains in Vichy's hands. BOMBERS ACTIVE MANY RAIDS OVER SYRIA MUCH DAMAGE AT BEIRUT LONDON, July 3 A communique from Royal Air Force Headquarters in tho Middle East on Thursday states tint aircraft of the Koyal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force continued attacks on military objectives in Syria. Vichy shipping in Beirut harbour was again bombed on Wednesday night, explosions being caused on the central quays. During an attack on the previous night, hits were made on shipping alongside the mole. The oil works at Beirut have been destroyed and the port is heavily damaged. Bombing attacks were also made at Squeida, where direct hits were obtained on the fort and military barracks. A Vichy aerodrome at Nasrullah was bombed and machine-gunned, and bombs were dropped on the coast road near Horns, causing numerous craters and destroying Vichy transport vehicles. The Australian Air Force machinegunned and severely damaged a number of flying-boats in the harbour at Tripoli, and also attacked motor transport vehicles near Beirut. An enemy aircraft which approached Haifa on Wednesday night was shot down. VICHY TROOPS IN GREECE LONDON. July 4 Vichy troops are concentrated at Salonika, in Greece, and may attempt to reach Syria by sea, reports a British United Press correspondent. He says he obtained this information from a good authority in Cairo. ITALIANS SURRENDER FORCES AT DEBRA TABOR LONDON, July 3 The Italian commander of the troops at Debra Tabor, Abyssinia, has agreed to surrender on the same terms as those imposed on the Duke of Aosta, says a Cairo communique. Prisoners to the number of approximately -'WOO Italians and 1200 African troops were taken. Koyal Air Force bombers attacked several targets in Cyrenaica and Tripolitania on Tuesday, night. At Tripoli direct hits were made on merchant vessels, which appeared to catch on fire, and on the mole, where a number of fires broke out. At Benghazi fires were started on the mole, while at Gazala foilr fires started by a successful attack coalesced into a large blaze, visible 70 miles away, and accompanied by violent explosions. An unidentified enemy aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire at Tobruk. From these operations one aircraft is missing. RATIONING OF COAL LIMIT OF ONE TON MONTHLY LONDON, July 3 The immediate restriction of coal purchases was announced yesterday when the Secretary for Mines, Air. D. !>. Grenfell. stated that in order to meet the needs rising from war production non-industrial premises would only be allowed one ton of coal each month, savs a British official wireless message. Rigid economy in the use of electricity was also enjoined.