GERMANS FAIL

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 140, 14 May 1940, Page 8

GERMANS FAIL

ALLIES HOLD OFFENSIVE. HEAVY FIGHTING RAGES. LONDON, May 12. Last night and to-day air-raid alarms sounded with depressing frequency in various parts of Belgium, France and Holland. Twelve German ’planes appeared over Brussels in the evening, and the anti-aircraft guns opened fire. Amsterdam had a day of alarms, but no bombings are reported. German ’planes circled repeatedly over Doom and other parts of Holland. Germany’s triple offensive against Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg, which was followed up to-day by a 40-miles frontal attack on the Majg- . inot Line, has been checked. The invading armies have penetrated the Low Countries at' several strategic points, but to-night's reports say tlve Allies are holding them. Heavy fighting is taking place oil all fronts, particularly in Belgium, accompanied by intense bombing of troop .concentrations on both sides. Hundreds of ’planes are active * over a vast battlefront. ALLIES TO THE FORE. British and French troops are now operating in both Belgium and Holland, but the disposition of the forces is not revealed. War correspondents with the British Expeditionary I'orce say the main body must have nearly completed its advance to the battle stations, and a vast rearguard is moving fast on its heels. A serious situation developed in the Maastricht area when German columns broke through (lie Albert Canal defences, but the Belgian counter-attack relieved the pressure. The Belgian Foreign Minister (Dr. Spaak) to-night stated: “The situation lias stabilised, even on the worst part of the front. Terrific fighting is still going on, but the Allied help is proving effective.” TERRIFIC PRESSURE. It appears that the Germans crossed the Albert Canal by a bridge on the Maastricht-Tongres road, after which they debouched in the direction ol Tongres. The Belgians fell back to Tongres, but. supported by R.A.l'. ’planes, counter-attacked. The advance there is ' confirmation of the earlier report that the Germans were forced to retreat. The Germans are now* reported to be keeping up a terrific pressure. A second German force crossed the Meuse by a bridge at Argenteau, eight miles north from Liege, and struck south, but the Liege forts loosed a withering fire and inflicted heavy casualties. Stern fighting is also progressing m Southern Belgium, the Ardennes region, and north from Neuf Chateau, but no details are available. FRENCH ADVANCE. The French are reported to be making some advance in the Luxembourg sector, where the fighting died down after the Germans fell back leaving many dead. To-night’s dispatches do not present a definite picture of the Hostilities on Holland’s eastern front. The Dutch are fighting tenaciously and have halted Germany’s thrust at the Yssel and Mans water defences, although ' the Germans have made an infiltration at several points and are reported to be making some progress west of Arnhem, with the Dutch fighting back strongly. The Germans claim a considerable advance in the extreme north of Holland and say they have penetrated the Groningen Province and reached the east coast of the Zuider Zee. They also Claim to have taken prisoner five thousand Dutch border soldiers. . A message from Rome states that Signor Mussolini has ordered the strengthening of the: fortifications on the western Alpine frontier.