NOT A MAN LOST

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 April 1940, Page 5

NOT A MAN LOST

IN TRANSPORT OF TROOPS TO NORWAY BRITISH OFFICIAL REPORT. TWO GERMAN TROOPSHIPS TORPEDOED. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. LONDON, April 20. The War Office announced : “The operations in Norway are proceeding according to plan. Allied troops occupied certain points of vantage yesterday.” It was added that the transport of troops to Norway was completed without the loss of a single man. A further communique issued in London states: “Our submarines attacked an enemy convoy, and two transports were hit by torpedoes. Three German pianos were shot down during attacks on our naval units and transports, but the enemy did not register a hit. Royal Air Force aeroplanes made a successful raid on an aerodrome* in Denmark, and it is believed that considerable damage was done. This is the first raid on Denmark since its invasion by Germany. The attack was a blow mined at the German air transport to Norway. The aerodrome is at the northern tip of Denmark, and is within 200 miles of Stavanger, and its surface is suitable for heavy machines. An official Norwegian communique states that the Norwegian troops have taken up new positions and that their advanced troops have maintained contact with the enemy. British troops are taking part in operations in northeastern Norway. >

GERMANS HELD UP It is stated officially that 50 German parachute tioops were taken prisoner midway between Hamar and Trondheim. The Germans admit that the advance from Oslo has been, held up by blasted roads and bridges.' Swedish observers think that the Germans at Trondheim are threatened by the Allied troops. At Narvik, they say, the Germans appear to be isolated between Allied troops in the coastal area and the Norwegians inland. Messages from Sweden state that two British divisions and one French division are reported to have landed at Molde (120 miles south-west of Trondheim). Laerdal and Namsos. The British force which landed at Molde includes Canadians. They are now in positions for major operations in Norway. The correspondent of the British United Press at Lulea (Sweden) states that heavy German bombers and transport planes have been bringing food and munitions, including mountain artillery, to Narvik in the last two days, with which the German landing party is trying to consolidate its position before the British and Norwegian forces strike. The Norwegians are organising' around Elverum and believe they can withstand the German advance there long enough to enable British and Norwegian forces to form up for a major drive toward Oslo. The Germans claim to have captured Hamar, and the Norwegians claim to hold virtually all of the Bergen region except the town and its immediate neighbourhood. PARACHUTE LANDINGS Swedish reports state that British and Norwegian forces control the railway from Namsos to Stenkjaer, 70 miles north-west of Trondheim. The engagements in this area apparently are the result of German troops being landed by parachute. The Germans are experiencing difficulty in this method of troop transportation owing to mountainous country and the havoc the British have wrought to aerodromes. Reinforcement by rail is eliminated owing to the destruction of bridges. It is considered in London that there is some degree of probability in Swedish reports that operations may be expected in the area between Trondheim and Namsos, which is a railhead on the coast north of Trondheim. Trondheim Fiord for many reasons is an important centre. It is one of the centres of communication. and has a definite patriotic

'association, for the Kings of Norway are crowned there and it is on the edge cf Norway's historical battleground. North of Trondheim is a comparatively Hat area which gives better scope for military operations than the rest of northern and western Norway. DIRECT DENIAL UNTRUE GERMAN REPORT. NO BRITISH TRANSPORT SUNK OR DAMAGED. LONDON, April 21. According to Berlin radio the German official news agency claims that two British transports and one cruiser were directly hit during an air-raid. The report says that the attacks occurred as the transports were preparing to disembark troops, many of whom jumped into the water and tried to swim ashore. The British Admiralty and War Office declare that a Berlin radio report that a transport was sunk or damaged off the Norwegian coast is untrue. The Berlin radio on Friday claimed that German planes attacked British troop transports, and made a direct hit on one just before it reached the Norwegian coast. AT IT AGAIN NEW VERSION OF INVENTED REPORT. By Telegraph—press Association—Copyright. LONDON, April 21. The German news agency claim's that German planes, while repelling British attempts to land at Romsdal Fiord, near Molde, sank a British cruiser and set on Are and sank a 15,000-ton troopship and also successfully 'bombed British troops which landed at Andenes, off Narvik. This may be a new version of last night’s claim, which the Allies officially denied.