“Somewhere In France”

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20051, 25 September 1939, Page 7

“Somewhere In France”

STREAM OF BRITISH TROOPS French Repulse Attacks By Germans MARKED ACTIVITY ON WESTERN FRONT Opening Of Sluices In Netherlands Defences (Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Heed. Sept. 25, 11.30 a.m.) LONDON, Sept. 24. The British Official Wireless Service states that according to an account by “Eye-witness,” passed by .the held censor and made available by the Minister of Information the British Expeditionary Force in France is still in the stage of moving up to positions and concentrating its forces preparatory to going into action. Along .the roads between the coast and an area “somewhere in France” where the force is situated, army traffic moves along in a procession that is practically continuous. “Eye-witness” reports the most cordial relations between the British troops and the French people. “ You English do not come as strangers as in 1914 hut like old friends,” said one landlady. The new battle dress of the British Army is an object of curious interest. The Ministry of Information states that transports arc daily reaching France with British troops , all of whom are equipped with lifebelts during the crossing. The British soldiers are fraternising with the French and directing traffic at crossroads. A Paris communique states that numerous local attacks on the French advanced positions in the region of the Saar north of Wissembourg were repulsed during the night,. Paris yesterday reported that the French had repulsed an attack by a German battalion on a wood in three waves. It was reported that the presence of the German Commander-in-Chief, General Von Brauchitsch, coincided with a marked renewal of local activity through the whole of the Western Front, including patrol engagements and heavy bombardment of the French lines. German prisoners complain of insanitary conditions in parts of the Siegfried Line, where cold and damp have affected the occupants. They also complain that the concrete blockhouses are badly ventilated. Berlin Reports Artillery Action. A Berlin message says that the German High Command records artillery action at isolated points on the Western front. It adds that anti-aircraft fire forced down a French plane at Saarbrucken and a German plane was shot down in an air fight. The Paris correspondent of the New York Times says that the British and French forces have made full preparations to meet the German menace on their left flank. The menace is indefinite yet, but it is significant that Holland, as a precautionary measure, has opened the sluices and an area around Utrecht is reported to be flooded. Belgium similarly is pouring water from the Albert Canal into the country between Liege and Antwerp. Residents of Luxemburg are abandoning the German frontier and are taking refuge in the interior. The continued German .troop concentrations in the Aachen zone are sufficient to warrant precautions by neutral nations. It was from Aachen that General Von Kluck’s First Army and General Von Buelow’s Second Army marched simultaneously in the Great War. The Third Army and Fourth Army started from Malmcdy and the Fifth Army from Trier. The frontier fortifications of the Netherlands, which are not permanent, are being strengthened feverishly along* three successive lines.