1941-07-10 — Page 18

FALL

THE CHINA MAIL, JULY 10, 1941.

OF DAMOUR

Vichy Troops Now In A Desperate Situation

No Surprise In GERMANS STOP PRESS

Request For RENEW

Armistice

NO BRITISH FEELINGS OF ENMITY

Mr. A. Duff-Cooper, Minister for Informa- tion, speaking in Lon- don yesterday, said Britain had no feeling of hostility or enmity against the French- men who obeyed the orders of the Vichy Government.

"We only hope that this unfortunate hos- tility will be forgotten as possible,"

as soon

he said. Reuter,

00000000

Speeding Up Shipping

Far-reaching proposals fori transferring Table Bay harbour. Capetown, from a peacetime foot-

THE

IMPERIAL

FORCES HAVE

OC-

CUPIED DAMOUR, SOUTH OF BEIRUT AND VICHY'S MOST IMPORTANT PORT.

General Dentz's request for an armistice caused little surprise in London, in view of the imminent fall of this town, and it was pointed out that from a military viewpoint the Vichy troops are in a desperate position.

The capture of Damour is a crippling blow because elsewhere in Syria the position of the Vichy troops is equally serious.

the

The British and Imperial troops intended to bolster up the morale are also threatening the remain- of the troops and unpress ing rity of Aleppo, advancing local population. parallel to the Istanbul- Aleppo- Baghdad railway from the south- east and east.

Pending an agreement on the armistice terms, It is emphasised in London that hostilities wit continue actively.

At the вате time Allied columns are steadily advancing

Meanwhile. an admission that at Nebec and Furqlua and

the French Government cunnot threaten the vital road and rail continue the struggle in Sya is junction of Homs from south and cast.

Furthermore the Vichy troops! ing and routine to a wartime in Jezzine are now in imminent | footing, and thereby speeding up danger of being isolated as a re- the Allied push up the British shipping, will shortly be sult of put before the South African coast. Minister of Railways by a strong deputation of Capetown shipping and commercial leaders.

Armistice Talks

Authoritative quarters consider

OFFENSIVE

(Continued from Page 1) The town was captured after "attempts by Soviet troops to take up new defence positions on the Latvian froni," adds the agency.

In Estonia, says the agency, Nazi troops have captured the port of of Pernau and the town of Fellin, midway between Pernau and

Dorpat.

Hungarian Claim

A communique issued yesterday Hungarian High Com- by the

Budapest mand, according to a

10 the Vichy news despatch agency, states: "Our fast troops near the River Debrucz were en- gaged in combats with the enemy for the crossing of the river.

"Our cyclist group by a forced march and our engineers by thoir unceasing work contri- buted in no smill measure to th successes."

The Debrucz is a tributary of the Dniester, which it joins Just north of Chotih.]

Finnish Report

An advance on the eastern contained in a communiqué issued frontier to a depth of five to yesterday and reported in a 10 kilometres is claimed by the Vichy despatch to the official Ger- | Finns in a communique quoted

by Budapest radio.

mun news agency.

Authorised By Vichy

The Vichy communique says that despite all efforts the French Government was not able to send its troops in Syria the reinforce- ments they required to continue

It is proposed to institute a 24- that recent rumours of strong hour a day and a seven-day a Vichy reinforcements reaching the struggle, week service.----Reuter.

Syria are largely only propaganda

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With a desire to avoid "parti cularly painful bloodshed in struggle that is growing more painful every day," the French Government, states the com - munique, "have authorised Gen- eral Dentz to ask for the imme. diate laying down of arms."

D

A demarche to that effect was made at Beirut on Tuesday through the United States consul- general, concludes the communi- que.

It adds "Our troops occupied a frontier and repulsed the enemy. "Our uir force carried out re- connaissance activity and dropped ours."

Counter-Attacks

[SPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL"] The Swiss newspaper "Neue Zuercher Zeitung" corroborates Russian claims to have halted the German advance with terrific Counter-attacks, saying the Rus- sians are counter-attack ng "with unprecedented force."

The paper said the "systematic devastation" of towns by the Red Army whenever they have to give ground "le having the desired effect," rendering 10- called German victories barren. Meanwhile a Stockholm des- patch to the London "Daily Express" says the Red Army kill- That the American consul. ed thousands of air-borne German troops and hundreds of para- general at Beirut had acted as

the Minsk transmitting agency between the troops dropped in

zone.--International News Service. British and French in efforts to secure an armistice, was also an= |

Mr. nounced In Washington by Sumner Weljes, Under-Secretary of State.

Mr. Welles emphasised that the U.S. had confined their activities to transmitting Notes and Informa- tion. Reuter.

Main Positions Overrun

Significant Silence

news

on the

In reviewing the latest from the Russian front competent| commentators in London mark the significance of the silence part of German communiques and point out that the German drive has now lasted a fortnight against} great and apparently effective op-

position.

Experience seems to show that drivers of armoured fighting vehicles are unable to continue more than 14 days without a break and this factor, together with the strenuous Russian resistance, has

A communique issued by G H. Q. Cairo states: "Libyn-there has been renewed patrol activity in the frontier area.

Abyssinia-nothing of impor- resulted in a considerable pause in

the operations. tance to report.

our

•

The following is-the-text of a Russian communique received in

London at noon yesterday: -tank weapons, and, the enemy left

During the night of July 8 and 9 hundreds of bodies on the battle- large: scale fighting took place in field. The enemy withdrew., the Polotsk, Lepel and Novograd- Volynsk sectors.

Syria-the ndyance of columns towards Aleppo and Homs is proceeding satisfactorily. In the central sector further local gains have been made, On In the Ostrov sector our troops coastal sector Australian strengthened the positions oc- troops have overrun the main cupied by them and carried out Vichy positions and are now oper-intensified night reconnaissance. ating north of the town of Dam- our." British - Wireless.

the

In the direction. of. Novograd- Volynsk our troopa continued to wage continuoua atubborn. battles against enemy tanks and motorised units counteracting their advance to the cast, dkk In other sector of the front there were no large-scale fighting operations during the night.

Towards the end of July 8 fighting developed in the dirog tion of Sebesh, where enemy tank and infantry units on- Our air force delivered" blows deavoured to break through to against mechanised units of the The prefix "special" to telegrams the cast. Fighting continues, enemy in the. Ostrov. Lepel and used by the "Sunday - Korald" and In the Polotsic sector stubborn Novograd-Volynsit sectors and China Mail" to indicato nows which and intense fighting continues in against the aviation of the chemy In strictly copyright under the provi- the Borkovichi and Ulla districts on his aerodromes. alons of the Teipcommunications. Or in the course of which our troops dinance, 1938, and may not be reprint inflicted heavy losses on the ed under any circumstances, althor wholly or in part, without prior ar enemy by short counter blows, rangement.

German Retreat

In night operations against. enemy aerdromes and in air bat- tles during the night of the 8th to Dth our air force destroyed 62 enemy "planes in the Lepel, Bort- sov and Bobruisk sectors alono, In the direction of Lepel our losing seven of its own planes. Printed and published for the troops delivered a blow at the According to verified data our Proprietors, The Newspaper enemy and smashed two motoris air force destroyed 102 enemy Enterprise. Limited, by Gordon ed regiments, destroyed four planes during July 8, losing 19.

British Cade Bett. Windour musa heavy, and light batteries as well of its own 'planes." Hong Lon

as a considerable quantity of anti- Wireless