50,000 MEN LOST

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21227, 25 September 1940, Page 7

50,000 MEN LOST

DISASTER TO HITLER INVASION PLAN UPSET VICTIMS OF STORMS i United Press Asn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) LONDON, Sept. 24 Hitler lost between 50,0u0 and GO,OOO picked troops in a disaster i wnich scattered his invasion fleet on < September 16—they ’-were the vie- 1 tims of the Channel storms which 1 raged that week-end, and of the merciless Royal Air Force bombard- 1 ment, says a correspondent of the j Daily Mail on the Franco-Spanish i frontier. The German High Command had i previously decided to make new dis- ; positions because the troops had already suffered heavily from British i bombing. The invasion fleet, con- ■ sisting of thousands of barges, was ■ taken out of the ports and moored along the lonely Flanders coast. The , fleet was ready to cross the Channel on Sunday, September 15, but be- | cause of the terrific losses of German aeroplanes that day, when lfc>7 ; were shot down in the mass raids, the orders to sail were delayed: A south-west gale swept the Channel that night. Tugs desperately tried to tow the barges to safety, but many of them were overturned, drowning thousands of men. Flat-bottomed motor-boats and heavily-laden transport ships drove helplessly before the wind. The Germans are still organising. It is significant that since the disaster only the crews remain permanently on board the vessels being prepared for the invasion. Attacks B.v British British bombers last night resumed their battering of the invasion ports. German anti-aircraft guns tried to beat off wave after wave of bombers, but the fury of the methodical raid did not abate. l The weather is fine in the Straits of Dover, and the sea is calm. There is a gentle westerly wind, with a slight mist. The Germans have greatly strengthened their defences at the invasion ports, and gunfire followed the British bombers for two miles out to sea. Fires lit up the whole coast from Calais to Flushing like carnival illuminations. Bombs which fell on a big ammunition dump at Ostend caused a terrific explosion. Bombs also fell on the railway station and the main docks, and the railway to Le Havre was extensively damaged. Docks and ships were set on fire. Many tons of high-explosive bombs and hundreds of incendiaries fell over the harbour. One ship blew up sky-high. It was the same story at other ports. A raider blew up nine barges drawn up on the beach, five miles from Ostend. Awaiting German Attempt Discussing the German preparations, states a British official wireless message, Air-Marshal Sir Philip Joubert, broadcasting to the United States, said: “For the Germans to use successfully the weapon they have forged, they must have air superiority over the south-east of England. With this power in their hands, it would be possible for the Germans to seize a harbour with air-borne troops, and after establishing such a bridgehead, to use small steamships to bring over reinforcements and thus develop a powerful offensive on land. “We are prepared for this. I do not believe the Germans will be able to obtain air superiority, and our land and sea defences are strong. I think most of us fieel we would like the matter put to the test, and we are awaiting with impatience the Germans’ decision to make their gambler’s throw.”