FORMIDABLE DEFENCES

Evening Star, Issue 24281, 24 August 1942, Page 3

FORMIDABLE DEFENCES

PROSPECTS FOR INVASION NEW YORK, Aug. 21. Mr William Stoneman, in a copyright message from London, says: “ The Allied service chiefs are studying the results of the Dieppe raid to determine what went right, what went wrong—and why. Bystanders already have a few opinions, and it can be said immediately that the German defences are very formidable. There is nothing to suggest that an Allied invasion of Western Europe would be any easier than has been thought. Except on the flanks, where the commandos smashed isolated gunposts, the opposition was heavy throughout the raid, and ships lying off shore were under heavy shellfire until the end. In other words, much opposition was never overcome. This indicates _ that the British, ndth the massed might of the R.A.F., just did not have the weapons. “ Proponents of the dive bomber inevitably argue that pillboxes and artillery emplacements could have been knocked out if dive bombers had been available. It is admitted that they, were not knocked out either by the cannon fighters or the bombers. As for the big guns further to the fear, the immediate suggestion is that airborne troops could, have been used, as in Crete, to overcome heavily-defended positions behind the coast. It now seems more evident than ever that the United Nations can hope to_ over-run the German defences only if heavily supplied with dive bombers, parachute troops, and troop carriers. Whether something is being done about this will probably be known only when invasion is attempted. The outstanding success was the performance of the R.A.P. and the Allied fighter pilots.”