NAZIS HARRIED

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21218, 14 September 1940, Page 7

NAZIS HARRIED

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

VITAL SPOTS RAIDED if*. INVASION PLAN UPSET (Official Wireless) (Received Sept. 14, 11 a.m.) RUGBY, Sept. 13 In spite of adverse weather, which is described succinctly by the pilots themselves as “ generally.foul,” Royal Air Force bombers on Thursday night continued to harry the German invasion plans. They struck in particular at the network of vital railway junctions j and goods yards in Western Germany. | A communique issued this evening shows that aircraft of the Coastal j and Bomber Commands engaged in | night operations, from which all rej turned safely. j The Air Ministry news service • points out that these junctions and i goods yards, which include some of j the largest and most elaborate in Europe, must play an important part in any attempted invasion of Britain. , Troops, reserves, equipment and sup- ! plies moving westwards to the Chani nal ports from Germany must pass j through one or other of these key transport centres. It was before ten o’clock that in thick cloud and drizzling rain the first raider dropped heavy bombs and incendiaries on the Hamm yards. At the Ehrang yards, near the Luxembourg frontier, north of Trier, heavy bombs burst along a line of trucks, causing several explosions and fires, which burned with a vivid glare. At Osnabruck, too, bombers flew through dense cloud. One scraped a balloon cable with the wing-tip. Large Fires Started Attacking from various heights, the raiders started ten large fires in ' the yards. Some of the aircraft which attacked the Essen yards were badly iced up. Heavy bombs were dropped on railway sidings. The Schwerte marshalling yards were also attacked in face of an intense barrage from light anti-air-craft batteries. Another raider bombed sidings at Emmerich, on the Rhine, near the Dutch border. The Germans have recently been routing much of their military traffic through the Brussels yards. These have been attacked several times by the Royal Air Force in the past week. They were bombed again last night, and after bursts had been seen on the target a U-shaped fire threequarters of a mile long was seen on the north of the yard. There was a series of green coloured explosions. Then another fire 200 yards long was seen in the middle of the siding. Emden Docks Bombed Meanwhile another section of raiders visited Emden and bombed dock and petroleum sheds. The attack went on for an hour. Squadrons operating over Holland bombed docks at Flushing and Detfziji, at the mouth of the Ems, opposite Emden, and the Norderney ; seaplane base and the base at De j Kooy, near Den Helder. ! The first raider to reach Flushing | found a semi-circle of anti-aircraft ' ships round the harbour entrance. They immediately opened an intense . barrage and the light and heavy shore batteries joined in. | Tracer bullets flared past the | bombers at a high angle. Machineguns added their quota. Through this barrage one of the raiders flew at 600 feet. A German oil tanker was bombed by Blenheims of the Coastal Command near Le Harve. A supply ship was also hit.

CASUALTIES AT DOVER

SHELLING AND BOMBING BABY AMONGST VICTIMS (United Press Asn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) LONDON, Sept. 12 It is believed that fewer than a dozen people were killed at Dover during yesterday’s bombing and shelling. Rescue squads are still digging in the debris. Those killed include a three-months-old baby, a sentry and an aircraftsman, who was pinned under the wreckage for hours. The latter repeatedly assured the rescuers, “I am all right,” but died when he was freed.