AIR ACTIVITY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 September 1939, Page 6

AIR ACTIVITY

ON WESTERN FRONT

ENEMY FIGHTER PLANES BROUGHT DOWN.

EXTENDED RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS.

By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. (Received This Day, 11.0 a.m.) PARIS, September 28. A communique says: — “The night generally was quiet. An enemy attack failed west of Saarbrucken. ’ Commercial -navigation is again functioning regularly, thanks to the organisation of convoys, naval and air patrols. Our Air Force, co-operating with the British Air Force,, brought down several enemy fighter planes on the afternoon on September 27. There was activity by our reconnaissance planes last night.” . Actual fighting on the West Front appears to have slowed to a standstill, but French planes, flying deep into German territory, are bringing back information regarding troop movements. Some heavy artillery firing was heard north-east of Perl in the afternoon. Herr von Papen’s castle, near Saarlouis, was under fire. NAZI COUNTERSTROKE REPELLED DECISIVELY ' BY FRENCH. IMPORTANT LOCAL ACTION. (Received This Day. 11 a.m.) LONDON. September 28. . The Associated Press of America's Paris correspondent reports that German attacks east of Wissembourg were blocked by a French counter-attack last night, which enveloped the Germans on three sides, and threw them back on Lauter Creek. Although tne numbers engaged were reported to be comparatively small, this represents an an important German setback. The Germans earlier, supported by heavy artillery fire, succeeded in forcing their way through the French advance positions, gaining control of an important railway junction. Had the French not succeeded in repelling them, the Germans would have been able to control a network of highways behind Wissembourg. SIEGFRIED LINE DESCRIBED BY NEUTRAL JOURNALISTS. JOURNEY ALONG 200 MILES OF FRONT. LONDON, September 28. A British United Press corres- ( pondent from a neutral country, who was one of a party of neutral journalists invited to visit the . Siegfried Line, says: “The French are within iduu yards of Saar-: brucken, which, like Zweibrucken, is completely desierted by civilians. There is little military activity. No bridges or factories behind these towns have been injured, and the countryside is peaceful. “Thereafter, I motored 200 miles along the Siegfried Line. Everything is camouflaged. There appear to be a million Germans on the West Front, half of whom are facing the Belgian and Luxembourg borders. I saw nearly a hundred emplacements in vineyards. Near Treves petrol stations have been converted into machine-gun nests, with massive walls of steel and concrete six to 12 feet thick. A special correspondent of the Associated Press of America accompanied the party says: “Neither Saarbrucken nor Zweibrucken was hit during our visit. A German guide stated that 200 goods wagons filled with materials and machinery leave Saarbrucken daily without interference from the French. German artillery from heights commanding the French positions five miles away returned a desultory fire.”