MAJOR BATTLE RAGING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 84, Issue 85, 12 April 1940, Page 5

MAJOR BATTLE RAGING

HEAVY GERMAN CASUALTIES WAY OPEN FOR ALLIED TROOPS TO ARRIVE INVADERS NOT IN CONTROL OF SOUTH-EAST I i By Telegraph- Press Association—Copyright) ! LONDON, Aprii 10. i The Norwegians are, rallying in > towns round Narvik to tight the invader, who is meeting diilicultie-* ; in the face of attacks from Hie | British Navy and Norwegian mountaineers operating m the | snow behind improvised lines. The German landing force is believed to be small and the Norwegians are withdrawing ten miles to gel out of range of the warships. Strategists point out that with Tiomr-u still in Norwegian hands the way is open for the Allies to land troops for an overland march from the south for tnc relief of Narvik. Stockholm states that Norwegian troops are reported to have suffered 200 casualties near Elverum. German casualties were heavy in the advance on Elverum. Fighting continues and other major patties are raging in tne northern mountain passes. The German ship CurnyLa (3081 tons) sent out distress signals from a position far up the Oslo Fiord after shelling by coastal batteries, indicating I hat tne Germans are not yet masters of South-eastern Norway. This indication is confirmed by the fact that the German-controlled Oslo radio station ordered coastal batteries to cease tire, an order purporting to have come from the Norwegian commander, Hamar Occupied, In Berlin authorised sources state that German forces occupied Hamar but the whereabouts of King Haakon are unknown. , It is reported that Hamai and Elverum have fallen. say o the Stockholm correspondent of the United The German High Command claims 'that Germany has occupied all important Norwegian military bases, including Narvik. "The coastal fortifications,” it is stated, 'art ready to repel any attack.” Berlin announced that uslo was occupied without incident. As the German sailors marched through the streets of Oslo they were received in silence by the inhabitants of the city. The Norwegian Embassy slated the.l the Germans made a surprise landing at Vallo in Oslo Fiord, where oil tanks are situated. The Oslo correspondent of the Biiiish United Press says that air battles between Norw egian and , German planes occurred over Fornebo airport, near Oslo, yesterday afternoon. German bombers dropped bombs, hitting six Norwegian planes on the ground. ■ Two Norwegian ana four German planes crashed in ensuing encounters. Swarms of Planes. Watchers on tiie Swedish cuast saw ! two large warships which they could not identity, sinking. It is also reported that two German transports and one destroy er w ere sunk. Swarms of planes participated in the battle, in which it is believed at least ten German warships were involved. British warships are reported to have dispersed a large fleet oi German [transports. It is also announced that ■ two German tronsports were sunk off Paternoster, Rock Island, and off Gotnenburg. The great naval and aerial battle that is oeing waged off the west and south coast of Norway seems to be [ running in Britain’s favour, says the correspondent of the Associated Press of America. In addition to a German | cruiser that is believed to have been sunk, a German destroyer was seriously damaged and has entered a Norwegian port. No confirmation has been received of the sinking of the pocket battleship Gneisenau and the Hamburg-Amerika liner Biemen, Heavy German Losses. Otliuial quarters in London later confirmed that four German cruisers were sunk and two seriously damaged. According to some estimates all the eight cruisers with which. Germany started the war are sunk or damaged. The submarine Salmon sunk a Koln class cruiser in December and one each of the Leipzig and Bluecher classes was severely damaged | To-day’s German communiques [state that the Bluecher (10,000 tons) and the Karlsruhe (uOUo tons) were I lost and one cruiser was believed sunk 'at Narvik and another believed submarined and sunk south Ox Norway. Two others were damaged by air i attack. • It is assumed that one cruiser dami aged in earlier operation* lias since I been made seaworthy. Oil south Norway last night a submarine torpedoed a German cruiser and it is thought it was sunk. A message from Stockholm reported that coastal batteries on Oslo Flora sank a German battleship, believed to be the Gneisenau. German Claims. In Berlin it is authoritatively stated that the North Sea battle is continuing. Details are not yd available. German reconnaissance planes observed British naval forces and German lighting formations are attacking the 'British at various points. The German High Command, In a 1 communique, claims that tne air force [ inflicted an “annihilating defeat” on 'British naval forces latex yesterday, and says that practically every enemy warship suffered direct hits from bombs of the heaviest calibre. Four battleships were each struck by two or three bombs, two balclc-cruiseis each by one bomb, two heavy cruisers by one and two bombs respectively, one heavy cruiser was set an lire bybombs, and two transports were hit jby one bomb each. A bunder land

flying-boat was shot down. The communique adds that the action forestalled by a narrow margin a British plan to occupy important Norwegian bases. It was a victory unparalleled in history. The British Admiralty denies the claims. An earlier German High Command communique says that the cruiser Karlsruhe was seriously damaged covering the landing at Kristiansand, and later sank. The new cruiser Bluecher was heavily damaged outside Oslo endeavouring to silence a battery of 11-inch guns. It subsequently struck several mines and was also lost. Most of the crews of both warships were saved. ’I he com- j munique added that naval operations' off Norway are continuing.