BALKAN KEY POINTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25514, 19 April 1944, Page 5

BALKAN KEY POINTS

AIR ONSLAUGHT CONTINUES HEAVY RAID ON PLOVDIV (Rec. 11.30 p.m.) LONDON, Apl. 18. The Mediterranean air force last night kept up theyoffensive against keypoints in the German Balkan defence system by bombing Plovdiv, the second largest town in Bulgaria. A large force of Liberators and Wellingtons made a heavy attack on the railway yards and left huge fires raging. Germany was also raided last night, squadrons of Mosquitoes concentrating on the much-battered town of Cologne, which, besides being an important centre of war industries, is also a vital communications centre. One bomber is missing. Photographs of Sunday's daylight attacks on Sofia and Belgrade show that considerable damage was done to the railway yards at Sofia and to aircraft factories in the Jugoslav capital. A two-way bombing offensive is developing in the Balkans. A few hours after heavy forces of Allied bombers from Italy raided targets in Rumania,

little more than 100 miles from the eastern front, Russian bombers attacked Galatz. Galatz is an important railway centre of Rumania on the River Danube. A Russian communique states that Russian long-range bombers without loss made a mass raid on the Rumanian railway junction and river port of Galatz. after which explosions and many fires were observed. The flames were seen.to spread over the greater part of the railway junction, where trains . and dumps were ablaze. Violent explosions occurred in two ships in port.