NO SURRENDER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 31 May 1940, Page 5

NO SURRENDER

DENIAL OF GERMAN CLAIMS ALLIES FIGHTING ' DESPERATELY FORTIFICATION OF DUNKIRK. WARSHIPS SHELLING GERMANS. By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright. LONDON, May 30. Though German sources earlier claimed that the Allied armies in Flanders are hemmed in and must surrender or die, the latest dispatches show that remnants are fighting desperately. A fierce rearguard action has been fought round Lille, and the city now either has fallen or is on the point of falling to the Germans as the Allied

troops slowly withdraw. The French military spokesman said that a French force commanded by General Prioux is furiously trying to cut its way through the Germans barring it access to the coast at Cassel and Mont Kemmell—hills dominating the Flanders plains—where the main German attack is concentrated. British and French naval engineers have fortified Dunkirk, and the admiral commanding these operations reported that he is satisfied with the situation. Marines are entrenched in the town and ships are bringing in a steadystream of food and war supplies.

Strong forces of warships of all classes are raining shells relentlessly on the Germans to cover the retreating army, and the British and French Air Forces are co-operating in keeping the com--munications open round Dunkirk. The latest French communique states that the retirement of the Allied forces toward Dunkirk continues. There is violent fighting along the River Yser and at Cassel. (The River Yser runs parallel with the coast and is about 20 miles from Dunkirk, and Cassel is situated on the Yser and is about 20 miles due south of Dunkirk.) In spite of ceaseless attacks the British and French.troops are disputing every inch of ground stubbornly and courageously, the communique adds. The battle now being fought is regarded as the greatest rearguard action in history.

PROGRESS OF WITHDRAWAL STATEMENT BY AUSTRALIAN MINISTER. SYDNEY, May 30. The Minister of External Affairs, Mr McEwen, told the House of Representatives that a considerable portion of the British Expeditionary Force had reembarked successfully from Flanders. GERMAN REPORT (Received This Day, 9 a.m.) BERLIN, May 30. The High Command claims that three allied warships and 1G troopships were sunk by bombs in the Dunkirk area, also that a cruiser was sunk and 31 more ships seriously damaged. .Sev-enty-eight Allied planes were brought down. German planes operated in the coastal area hnd by the sea between Dunkirk and Ostend attacked British warships and troopships attempting to embark the remnants of the B.E.F. The Dunkirk sluice gates were destroyed, and the harbour docks emptied of water. It is alleged that several air raids in west Germany last night were directed against unimportant non-military objectives. ALL-IN EFFORT MADE BY THE ENEMY. FORTY DIVISIONS & MECHANISED FORCES. (Recevied This Day. 9 a.m.) PARIS, May 30. A military spokesman says the Germans in violent northern fighting yesterday threw in the full weight of 40 divisions, supported by the bulk o£ their mechanised forces. The Germans 'captured Mount Cassel, two miles from Cassell. There the French are bitterly contesting the furious German drive to the channel.