FRENCH ASSAULT

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25179, 17 April 1945, Page 5

FRENCH ASSAULT

GIRONDE ESTUARY

TWO FORTRESSES OCCUPIED (Reed. 11.10 p.m.) LONDON, April 16 The Allied land, sea and air assault against the Germans in the Gironde area, on the French Atlantic coast, is going well. French armoured forces have entered Royan on the northern side of the Gironde Estuary at the approaches to Bordeaux and occupied the fortresses of Belmont and St. Georges. More than 1300 American heavy bombers yesterday dropped nearly •500,000 gallons of liquid fire and thousands of incendiaries on the German positions, while French warship.* shelled the target. The offensive against the Bordeaux pocket is designed to wipe out the 17,000 Germans besieged in the fortresses of Royan and Point de Grave, which have blocked the entrance to the port of Bordeaux, says the British United Press correspondent. The Combined Press correspondent on board Admiral Rue's flagship says: "The revired French Fleet set a 12-mile stretch of the German-held French coast ablaze in support of land and air attacks against German batteries covering the mouth of the Gironde. Our big guns in the first half-hour knocked out three German batteries. The enemy was able to put up only desultory and ineffective counter-fire during the sevenhour bombardment."

General de Larminat's French Forces of the Interior, who besieged the Germans for more than seven months, are now reinforced with strong regular French Army formations, supported by powerful American artillery. General de Larminat, in a message to his troops, said that the elimination of the Royan and Point de Grave pockets would enable badly needed foodstuffs to be brought to France through Bordeaux. HITLER'S BIRTHDAY LONDON. April 15 The Rerlin correspondent of the Stockholm newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. says there will be no official celebrations in Germany on Friday on the occasion of Hitler's birthday "owing to the present situation." BERLIN AGAIN BOMBED (Reed. 11.10 p.m.) LONDON, April lfi A fast striking force of R.A.F. Mosquitoes last night made another attack on Berlin. MOLOTOV'S VISIT (Reed. 11.40 p.m.) LONDON, April lfi The .Moscow radio announced that M. Molotov would visit President. Truman on his way to the San Franrisen Conference.