1940-05-13 — Page 2

THE CHINA MAIL, MAY 13, 1940

B.E.F. Takes Up Pre-Arranged Positions

NAZI THRUSTS

PARRIED

BRUSSELS, TO-DAY.

GENERALLY SPEAKING, IT CAN BE SAID THAT THE MILITARY SITUATION, WHICH WAS GRAVE ON SATURDAY NIGHT, HAS NOW BEEN STABI- LISED AT THE WORST POINTS AND THE GER- MAN BREAK-THROUGH HELD.

It is believed the stabilisation is due in some de-

gree to the work of the R.A.F.

GERMAN

'KULTUR'

London, To-day.

ex-

AMERICAN

HUSH-HUSH PLANES

FOR FRANCE

·

Paris, To-day.

The radio announces news has Just been received from Wash- ton that, a considerable number of American planes destined for France are being delivered, In- cluding fighters of a speed known to German military avia- tionReuter.

German airmen appear to The Govern-be carrying out a campaign

of frightfulness at the pense of Belgian civilians, says Reuter's special corres- pondent with the B.E.F. in Belgium.

"Two examples of this were given ALLIES SEND

ment have no intention of leaving Brussels. According to information received yesterday morn- ing, the Germans succeeded in crossing the railway bridge over the Meuse, some miles north of Liege, at the same place where they crossed in 1914, and also the bridge on the Maastog-Tongres road to the Lower Albert- Canal, which is guarded by Ebeneymael for-flew just over the housetops of a large

tress.

M. Paul Spaak, the Foreign Minis- ter, said to pressmen yesterday morn- ing: "The situation is serious as we are faced by a great army. A terri- ble battle is only to be expected.

"The army are fighting with cour. age and Allied aid is most effective. "The Government are certainly not leaving Brussels; that is out of question."

German Object

the

the

Reports of enemy successes in Limberg "appendix" and the : Maas- tricht areas, indicate the German ob- ject is to dislocate the co-ordination between the Dutch and Belgian *fence systems, states Reuter's mili-

tary correspondent, in London.

de-

R.A.F. BITES

BEFORE

BREAKFAST

(From Reuter's Special Correspondent With the R.A.F.)

Somewhere in France,

To-day.

Seven German bombers be- fore breakfast and three The correspondent adds the fron- tiers here have always been regard-enemy fighters in the after- ed as indefensible from eastern at noon, is the record of one tacks, though no strategic surprise British squadron of Hurri-

has been achieved.

A thrust towards the sea between the Dutch and Belgian defences would, however, expose the German flank to

attack from the south, where the Bri- tish Expeditionary Force has now taken up its prearranged positions.

The Suicide Squads In regard to the parachute invasion, Reuter's military correspondent says it is a form of invasion which, even if carried out on the scale reported at Rotterdam, can only be really effective if the land forces with which it is in co-operation can make speedy pro- gress.-Reuter,

French Counter-Attack

Brussels, To-day,

A Belgian army communique says: Lively encounters took place along the majority of the positions occupied who succeeded in by our troops, standing their ground despite the ac- tion of enemy armoured. units sup- ported by aircraft.

A French counter-attack against onemy motorised units was succes8- ful, a great number of enemy tanks being destroyed.

canes

manned by former Auxiliary pilots sometimes called "week-end” airmen.

The squadron only recently reached

France but within 30 minutes of its arrival it shot down a raiding Hein- kel.

- Seven bombers were destroyed before breakfast yesterday, con- sisting of three Dorniers and four Heinkels.

One pilot alone damaged four enemy aircraft.

Three twin-engined Messerschmidt 110 fighters were destroyed in the afternoon and other machines SO riddled with bullets that their safe return to Germany is considered ex- tremely doubtful-Reuter.

MACAO FACTORY EXPLOSION

Macao, To-day.

An explosion occurred in the Lim Yuen Fire-cracker Factory, on the island opposite Macao, at 4 p.m. on

An enemy attempt to cross the Al-Saturday. bert Canal by boats failed.

Numerous aerial bombardments were carried out on the rear of our troops.. Many planes were brought down in Belgium during the day. Reuter.

REFUGEE TRAINS REPORTED BOMBED

London, To-day, According to a broadcast from the Dutch radio station at ́ Hilversum · the Germans bombed two trains "fuil of women and children bound from Liege to Brussels-Router.

Nine men and four women em- ployees were injured and admitted to hospitals in Macao.

The cause of the explosion-has not been ascertained. Our Own Corres- pondent:

HOLLAND TO JOIN": ALLIED WAR COUNCIL

London, Yesterday. The Netherlands Foreign Minister states that it is now probable that the Supreme War Council will be enlarged by Dutch representatives.- British Wireless.

me to-day by an eye-witness who can

be regarded as an unimpeachable REINFORCEMENTS

source," he cables.

In the first case German aircraft

|Belgian town and went up and down over one of the principal streets firing their machine-guns.

Attack On Cars

a

The second case happened on country road where three private motorcars, obviously not military vehi- cles, were travelling filled with re- fugees, including women and children. Two German warplanes dived down and dropped a bomb which uprooted a tree which crashed across the road. The cars were forced to pull up and the German planes dived down and riddled the

cars with machine-gun

bullets. Reuter.

TO NARVIK

un.

(SPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL")

Stockholm, To-day. Considerable Allied reinforcements have arrived at Narvik in the region of Tromsoe, according to a radio nouncement.

an-

The Allies are apparently making extensive preparations for a final push against the German occupied harbour, the Norwegian communique adds.- Havas..

EVENTUALITY NO. 1 FINDS ALLIES

PREPARED

WELL

London, To-day. After eight months of waiting, the most likely form of Ger- man offensive of all those we have been considering and generally discussing has been launched, comments Captain Cyril Falls, Military Correspondent of “The Times."

The Low Countries have as big a significance to-day as at any time in military history, and it is against them that Germany has moved.

The Allied command was as ready as one can ever hope to

be, and so were Holland and Belgium.

Captain Falls thinks that a large air, and their hands are free to make number of defence schemes had been any alternations in their plans they drawn up in view of various alterna- desire. tives, so that possibly they could act at once on receipt of a code-word, and he thought it quite likely that the present situation lies under the heading of "Eventuality No. 1."

Both the Allies and their Intand- ed victims must have given thought to the use of parachute troops, and seize troop planes, designed to positions behind the main defences

80, while all this looks like the orials-especially

France hae been. bombed heavily and the Allies have been bombing military .ob- Jectives in Germany even now, things might take an unexpected form.

If the Germans do go all out, the most likely form seems to be a through southern Holland,

of

and to generally create confusion, the main water defences, to gė

and also to the bombing of com- munications and nerve centres. So far, these have constituted the main feature of the war, but the news so far does not suggest that there have been any of the mass, infantry assaults of the last war. The inten- tion of the German command seemed to be to weaken the framework of the defence to the greatest possible extent: first...

No Tremendous Effort The Germans have not yet put forth any, tremendous efforts except in the

sea.

This would cut Holland off from Al- would lied help, and the Germans then try to overrun the country and against establish air bases for use Britain.

We have not under-estimated this capture aerodromes danger, but to and to establish these as air bases are very different matters.

The parachute attacks so far do not seem to have been as successful as might have been expected. They are less suitable in thickly-populated countries than they were in Norway. -Reuter.