ZEPPELINS BUSY

Marlborough Express, Volume L, Issue 83, 7 April 1916, Page 6

ZEPPELINS BUSY

A RAID ON PARIS

ENGLAND'S IXtEST VISITA-

TION

LONDON, Feb. 1

The air raid on Paris late last Saturday night has caused many people to revise very materially their views as to the incompetence or otherwise of the authorities responsible for London's aerial defences. Paris has been so entirely free from Zeppelin at+neks tor so many months that quite a large proportion of our gossip:* have accepted ths theory that tho French capital was, by. reason of its magnificently organised aerial defence immune from attack. They declared.' that the Germans dare not attempt to raid Paris because the state of the city's defences against raiders __ rendered the operation too perilous. Having jumi>ed to this conclusion they inveighed bitterly against those responsible for protecting London a 6 a parcel of nincompoops, either ivtterly incapable of putting the aerial defences of the metropolis on a mo--per footing, or wilfully neglectful ot 'their duties. Their v argument was that what had been done for Paris could be done for London, ana that for the.hub of the Empire the immunity enjoyed by Paris could and should be secured. They lost sight of the fact that the French city lies at the rear of the Franco-British lines, which are swarming with aeroplanes and anti-aircraft.guns of every calibre.. It would be impossible xo provide London with the same generous measure of protection that is ■afforded to Paris by reason of her position in relation to the western sphere of hostilities^ and <?veu if wo could the recent Paris raid proves that we should still be a long way from "immunity." The raid on Saturday proves that it is still possible for ■venturesome Zeppelins to T>aiictrate the defences of Paris, drop bombs, and make good their e>scaptj under certain atmospheric conditions.

We now see that absolute safety can hs no inovc.-«M«r.a?.£wl.'agi.ii^t

! attack by air than against anything else. Gun-fire is not likely to accomplish much against a rapidly moving vessel at a height of ll,QOOft.\ even if atmospheric conditions enabled searchlights to give the gunners a view of the enemy's craft. Tins question of altitude. and atmospheric condition is also important from another point of view. It may oe possible to arm at a particular object from a Zeppelin moving at forty mii-is: an hour or over, from a height of'll,oooft., provided the visual conditions are ideal, but the mark would hay to be a very big and very conspicuoiTs to give the aimer a ten to one chance of success. In any other than: ideal conditions the bomb dropper can only be taking "pot Inck," and when to daxlhiess fog is added, Zeppelin raids can- only mean that the Germans are out simply to kill and destroy protiiiscttonsly. The very height from which1 the bomos were dropped on Paris and the- conditions prevailing convict the German commander of deliberate murder. He did not> care what Tits bombs hit, so long as they did some sort of damage to life and property. Men, women, and children, artisans' dwellings, ducal palaces, factories or churches—all were the same to him. Last night England had another visitation from1 Zeppelins, six or seven of them carrying out an extensive raid on the east and north-east coasts and" in the Midlands. London was.not attacked, but for a couple of hours or so- we' were" all on the qva. vive, expecting every minute to hear the now familiar- thuds and bangs, and to see tho sky lit up by 'searchlight _raj rs and exploding shells. But nothing happened, except for several hours all railway traffic above ground was suspended and* the tramcars ceased to run

INVISIBLE ASSASSINS

'So far" as the Paris raid' is concerned it appears that the Germans dropped seventeen bombs—careless, of course, where they fell, so long as there was a chance of victims—and then made- off with what speed they could. According to the latest accounts they killed twenty-seven .others; and destroyed nine houses. Paris, it seems^ was warned of the «Zeppelin-s approach from a station abb/iit fifty miles , from the capita!; but the airship appears to have -flown Very • high—-at an. altitude- of eleven to twelve" thousand feet—and as the night was misty she managed to reach her destination and escape unscathed. The last occasion when a. Zeppelin managed to get through the defences, and drop a few bombs in the suburbs of Paris was last March. At the. end of August six Grerman aeroplanes made a raid, but only one- got as close as Compiegne,. and another was. brought to grouna near and the pilot and observer' were both killed. ,■ . .' A correspondent in Paris,, writing of. Saturday highfc's alarms, says :— "It was about 10 p.m. that we heave] the: prearranged signal announcing Zeppelins. In common with all Paris,. I went out to, loot for the Zeppelin, but it remained invisible. French aeroplanes, carrying lights, dashed-across the sky now and then, D'it even the searchlights, which were constantly playing, were dimly seen. It v.'as not surprising that I had vainly looked' for the Zbppelm, for, it seems the raider remained constantly at a height of about l^OGOft. above the thick mist lying over Paris. ."The. Zeppelin i^vas, actually seen onh r hf fire* aviators, and only one was able to attack th<3 pirate airship. No sooner was the alarm given than, of course, all Paris flocked into .the streets, which had been r completely darkened. Crowds gathered in the pitch black Place de la Concorde, the Ulace.de.l'JStqile, the Place de FPeers, and especialry on the' Montmartre nei-^hts, whence tlio best view was expected, but none was obtained, owing to the mist/

"In the working- district, where nine houses were more or less demolished, involving the death of or injury to nearly sixty poor workers, the alarm during ttio fen r minutes of the bombardmejrt was naturally considerable; Beyond that Paris is absolutely unmoved-

:tragic? episodes

''The bpmb'ai'dment lasted only a few :^n^|es,/ Ib'Xit.>this.sufficed i for the di^t:^T^pp!fiaac}itoe?s M> \ doi, consjd^rable Mlamaereip^*i®* febflaib^buiist ■ througß 'a tuiinei,* and^-th left the station, a moraenl;;* before, had a lucky' escape. ;Sjeyeral workmen's dwellings were shattered. One still" preserved its frontage, but when one entered the courtyard all the back part seenied to be in ruins. The bomb literally sliced off all the jback part of the house, leaving the facade. Here the. casualties' were severe.

"In another workman's dwellinghouse one. family had a wondei-f ul escape. Though giving on the top floor, they are safe and sound, whereas the family on the ground floor were killed. "'ln.one^ lodging soven persons, the grandfather, daughter, son-in-law, two grandsons, on© grand-daughter , s and the children's aunt, were sitting round the supper table when a bomb destroyed the house. Several bodies were found in the wreckage. Six were lifeless. Only one of the boys was ttill breathing but with a broken leg and wounds in the head. Another lodging-house of five storeys was completely destroyed, and a family of. five persons all, killed. Next morning a woman of sixty-two was recovered from the wreckage, and is perfectly well, without even a scratch."

. -SCENES', , Another correspondent writes:— "As it was Saturday evening, there were more people about than usual when the Zeppelins paid their visit, and they poured out of the cafes and restaurants, asking questions and gazing .up at the sky when the fire brigade rushed along the streets sounding their trumpets and crying 'Garde a vous' at each crossing and square. Most of them thought it a false alarm, but at last came a heavy and sinister boom, repeated several times,' and. Paris knew that this time the attack was at her doors.

"Everyone was asking where the raider \va», and all eyes wore turned to the slcv, which was being swept by the searchlights. The buza of-aero-planes came faintly to listeners on the boulevards, teiling them that the aerial guard was on the alert. ''Traffic was entirely disorganised. It was impossible.to'get a taxi. They all seemed'to vanish from the streets in a few minutes. The crowd on1 tho boluovards whispered i>nd listened anxiously to the detonations, which now cnine one after another. argued as to whero the bombs had dropped, and then spread in all directions, according io their ideas. The city was black as pitch.. All lights were out, the cafes were closed, and •the police knocked at the doors of indiscreet tenants raid warned them to lower their lights and draw their curtains.

"Paris wandered up and down aimlessly, seeing and Hearing ■'■no.tlitn.tr,' until, about 'midnight, it went to bed.

It fell asleep towards.one-in the morning. It stared' later at; the sound, of the fire brigade engines rushing past and sounding their trumpets, but sank back again comforted, for instead of the 'Garde a vous' tM& time the call was a lively 'Bveloqiuey" signify ing; tliat all danger was past." But, as events pi'oved, all. danger was not nast, for on Sunday evenang. .another Zeppelin appeared over Paris just .after 1 p.m.. and dropped1 sevei'al bombs, -which, however, failed to do any material damage to life- &v property.