DETERMINED RAIDERS

Evening Star, Issue 24282, 25 August 1942, Page 3

DETERMINED RAIDERS

THE DIEPPE LANDING TRIBUTE FROM GERMAN SOURCE LONDON, August 23. A German eye-witness of the Dieppe raid, speaking over the Paris radio, expressed surprise that the Allied forces used tanks. “ Tho beach fortifications wore powerful.” he said, “ and there was not a single road from tho beach to the town accessible to tanks, but some British tanks attempted tho seemingly impossible. These tanks advanced a little, but, finding tho position hopeless, turned 'back ami ran into tho full blast of tho German anti-tank guns.” The eye-witness added that the raiders fought with amazing stubbornness and stuqk to their posts until the last cartridge was spent or until they drew their last breath. Mr John Gordon,, writing in the ‘ Sunday Express,’ said; “ Dieppe proved that no wall Hitler has built round Europe will keep us out when wo decide to go in. Dieppe was probably the strongest point of all the coastal defences. Dieppe brought Hitler’s fighters up in clouds, with the 'result that we destroyed about one-third of the German air strength in the west. If we could force a week or a fortnight of air fighting on suoli a scale as Dieppe we might deal the Luftwaffe its death blow, and the moment Germany loses her air strength she is done, wherever her land forces are. Slowly, but with inevitable certainty, those who have been forecasting the supremo domination of air power are seeing the vision become a fact. Hitler can never again see equality with the R.A.F., far less hold overwhelming superiority. The Luftwaffe can no longer face turn campaigns at once—it cannot bomb Britain nmf support the army in Russia at the same time.”

CANADIAN CASUALTIES

OTTAWA, August 24. The Government to-day released the fifth army casualty list since the battle of Dieppe, bringing the total casualties to 418, including 79 killed, 313 wounded, and 26 missing. Further lists are expected twice daily until all the Dieppe casualties have been reported.

NAZIS CLAIM PRISONERS

LONDON, August 23

The Gorman news agency states that tho Canadian, Brigadier William Southam, two colonels, .and 14 staff officers are among the 105 officers who were made prisoners at Dieppe.

HEROIC RESCUE LAUNCHES

NOTABLE PART IN OPERATIONS (British Official Wireless.) (Rec. 10.25 a.m.) RUGBY, August 24. Rescue launches and aircraft engaged on the same task played a notable part in the Dieppe combined operations. The launches were out before dawn, and were (placed in three lines stretching into mid-channel. Over them patrolled aircraft—Lysanders, Defiants, and Walruses. The launches worked for 16 hours throughout the whole operation, and reserve planes Jiew more than 4,000 miles during the day. They flew beneath a Spitfire umbrella, and although some had exciting experiences none was shot down.

One Canadian pilot, rescued at sea, watched the air battle for some hours from a launch and, commending the bravery of the rescue launches, said he would rather meet a Fooke-Wulf 190 head on from a Spitfire than be in a rescue launch when an enemy plane was diving on if.

NAZI POST MORTEM

CONFERENCE IN BERLIN (Rec. 1.55 p.m.) LONDON, Aug. 24. . The air commander of the Nazi occupying forces in France and General von Rundstedt were summoned to Berlin, where they conferred with Hitler on the commando raid at _ Dieppe. Himmler and the German fortifications expert, Spehr, were also present.

QUIET IN EGYPT

AIR FORCE SUCCESSES (British Official Wireless.) (Rec. 9.45 a .m.) RUGBY, Aug. 24. A Cairo communique states: Our patrol activity was continued on the night of August 22. Yesterday there was nothing to report from our land forces.

Our fighter-bombers continued to attack enemy transports, and some indecisive air combats developed. Our heavy bombers carried out a successful dusk attack on Tobruk harbour installations. An enemy transport aircraft was shot down by our long-range fighters near Dcrna. At least ono enemy bomber was destroyed by our night fighters when a small raid was attempted over our base landing grounds last night. The transport plane referred to in the communique was, according to a later Cairo message, a three-engined Italian machine laden with troops. Within seconds of the moment when it began slithering towards the sea, men started to pour from it, and when our fighters left the scene, the survivors were swimming in the water round the sinking aircraft.

NINTH ARMY

HOT IN PERSIA-IRAQ COMMAND

(British Official Wireless.)

(Rec. 9.45 a.m.) RUGBY, Aug. 24. ■ The (British Ninth Army in Palestine and Syria, which was hitherto commanded by General Sir H. Maitland Wilson, does not como within the newly-created Persia-]raq command to which he has just been appointed. The appointment of a now commander for the Ninth Army, winch remains in the Middle East command under General Alexander, is expected shortly.

BELGIAN JEWS

CONSCRIPTED FOR PRODUCTIVE WORK

(British Official Wireless.)

(Rec. 10.25 a.m.) RUGBY. Aug. 24. All Jews of foreign nationality in Belgium arc to bo conscripted for “ productive work ” in Germany, according to a communique issued in Brussels. Of 42,000 persons registered as Jews, 38,000 arc stated to bo of foreign nationality.