THRUSTS ACROSS PENINSULA

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 224, 19 June 1944, Page 5

THRUSTS ACROSS PENINSULA

Advance Units On West Coast AMERICAN THREAT TO CHERBOURG

(By Telegraph.—Press Assn.— Copyright.* (Received June 18, 11.40 p.m.) LONDON, June 18. American force, have pushed on across the n.wk of he Ch ’ hours Peninsula. The advance is now well beyond the little mX to™ of St. Sauveur on the main western h, s hway, and „ about six miles from the sea. c linrpme HeadThat is the official news today from the Supreme neaa St. Sauveur. . , It is pointed out at the headquarters that these troop, would he advance mobile units. This represents .fine it may take some time to consolidate on the ninsula is a serious threat to the Germans further up the and it means that their secondary routes down the coast a danger of becoming untenable if they have not already been c • Military circles, according to the New or «ne: spondent in Washington, consider that the vestment of Cherbourg is imminent. The Nazis apparently are reconciled to this and will attempt to resist only long enough to force a real de y in the Allied invasion programme. tj C, Pr man It is suggested that Cherbourg, where considerable German

by sea. The Germans have launched no co-or-dinated counter-attack against the Americans, and if they do they will be hampered by the inundations which they themselves caused and which now protect the Americans’ left flank. ‘American spearheads speeding across the Cherbourg Peninsula seized St. Jacnues de Nehou, six miles north-west f £ Sauveur, and also high ground overlooking the sea on the west side of the peninsula,” said Reuters correspondent with the American forces in an earlv report. “The Germans, accordm a to reconnaissance reports, have begun to evacuate the area south of St. Sauveui because of the closing of the peninsulas bottleneck. . . . "The Americans have continued to slash their way down the road fromi bt. Sauveur toward Surville, which is situated at the head of the coastal inlet nine miles south-east of St. Sauveur on the main road to Carteret. . The Ameri cans at one point have driven to positions less than six miles from the west coast beaches. Artillery is heavily shelling the road, particularly the sector where it crosses the coastal route to Cherbourg, which is the last escape route for the Germans.” , Another correspondent says tne troops crossed the main west highway after 3b hours of non-stop fighting. “Everyone, from private soldier to commanding general is on the move here,” he writes. ‘‘We never stay two nights in the same place. The troops are pushing forward on a broad front.”

Waiting for Weather. LONDON, June 17. It is learned at S.H.A.E.F. that no substantial Allied advance can be expected till the weather improves. Great as has been the Air Forces’ assistance, their full potential value has not yet been secured. There have been 10 days of the worst weather that June could have yielded, and in the circumstances the Allied position today is regarded as highly satisfactory. , . All the Germans can claim is uncertain equilibrium. Both sides are putting in reserves, but whereas the Allies reservoir of reserves is practically inexhaustible the Germans are draining theirs rapidly. In spite of the Americans good work west of Pont l’Abbe quick progress cannot be expected to the western coastal road, which branches off the main road at La Haye. The Allied forces have pushed deeper into Normandy, states the Allied High Command. “Villakes east and west of Tilly have been freed of the enemy. Advancing two miles south of Isigny our troops reached the Vire et Taute canal. On the Cherbourg peninsula, St. Saveur le Vicomte has been liberated.” On the central sector of the Normandy front the British troops have been engaged in straightening their line, reports a correspondent. Several small bulges west and east of Tilly have had to be punched out. The British had to fight for every yard, but they were not heavily counter-attacked as the enemy troops had suffered very heavy losses and were very tired and also appeared to be feeling the effects of the British barrage. West of Tillys our troops made an advance Last night of nearly two miles in thickly-wooded country where enemy snipers were able to cover all paths and lanes. GENERAL’S SURVEY American Troop Losses (Received June 18. 7 p.m.) LONDON, June 17. The commander of the American troops in Normandy, Lieutenant-General Bradley, announced that the United States Army casualties in France up to midnight last night totalled 328 A killed and 12,600 wounded. He added that the casualties on the mainland beaches were higher than expected, but those on the peninsula were lower than _expected. He also announced that 8500 prisoners had been evacuated from the American beach-head, which was now absolutely ♦ecure. The Germans at present had 60 to 62 divisions potentially usable against the Allied bridgehead. The first British regiment whose presence in‘ Normandy has been announced is the Royal Warwickshires, General Montgomery’s old regiment. They were among the first units ashore, and they took the coastal batteries west of Ouistreham by 10.30 a.m. on D-day., The “New York Times” correspondent in Washington says the Allied casualties are regarded as light considering the number of men engaged and their accomplishments. Air operations over Normandy today were sharply curtailed from dawn to midday, when bad weather obscured much of the battle area. Nevertheless, fighterbombers and rocket-firing fighters attacked railway yards, motor convoys and bridges leading to the Cherbourg Peninsula. A convoy of horse-drawn vehicles was destroyed at La Traverserie, and enemy machinegun nests at Fologny were strafed. INSIDE BEACH-HEAD (Received June 18. 0.25 p.m.) LONDON. June 18. The last German stronghold inside the Allied beach-head was captured yesterday afternoon by British commandos, tanks and engineers, says Reuter's correspondent in Normandy. More than 200 prisoners were taken, but the British casualties were negligible; The Germans, after holding out for .12 days, streamed out from their underground positions with their hands up when the first real assault was launched against them. Another correspondent says that the stronghold, consisting of heavy pillboxes and deep shelters, was an example of what the Germans had hoped to construct all along the coast. Early in the invasion our artillery had failed to smash the positions, and bombers then tried, also without success. In the ground attack yesterday heavy tanks shelled the positions while comma up and lodged charges of explosive against the pill-boxes, which smashed them open and quickly brought the garrison out with their hands up.