Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-08-23
British Heavy Guns
Duel With Germans
Over Dover Straits
Suburbs of London
Are Hard Hit in
Nozi Bombing
Pictures OF Big Bertha" and
Channel Shelling on Page A-6J
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, Aug. 23.-Britain dis
closed today that heavy guns on
both sides of the Channel have
joined the battle of Britain as Ger
man air raiders, stepping up their
pace again, hit hard three thickly
populated London suburbs in early
morning attacks.
Military sources said British guns
had fired "a few rounds" at German
cannon bombarding the important
Channel port of Dover from the
French Coast.
They minimized the possibilities of
long-range Smelling, however. declar-
Ing the German guns could have
some nuisance value" but could
have no military significance.
Although vans began moving the
belongings of Dover's populace from
what now has become a front-line
city, military sources declared the
Nazi guns-which they figured might
be mobile "l2-inchers" mounted on
railroad cars-could not make the
British give up Dover as a war base.
Casualties are Few.
Homes and public buildings were
blasted by Nazi explosives in the
raid on London and a delayed-action
bomb burst in one roped-off area
several hours later, but casualties
were comparatively few.
Apparently signaling a resump-
ton of their wholesale daylight at
tacks, Nazi planes struck also at
scattered areas in the southeast and
northeast, damaging buildings and
killing at least two children.
Those areas also were raided by
night and an official announcement
acknowledged there had been "a
number of fatal injuries" The night
raids, staged largely by lone bombers
or small groups, covered a wide area
and as many as so planes were
sighted.
On the other hand, the British re-
ported nine German warplanes shot
down against four British, from two
OF which the flyers returned safely.
Cross-Channel Smelling.
The attack on London, the first
pre-dawn air raid on the capital,
followed by only few hours a spec
tacular night cross Channel artillery
Smelling of the important Dover
coastal region.
About 80 bombs were dropped
during the night on one southwest
town by relays of single aircraft A
German bomber crashed in a field
in Southeast England this morning.
A gamekeeper captured the crew OF
four
Shortly before noon single planes
raided the Midlands, one dropping
some mediums sized bombs which
smashed cottage Another raider
dropped three bombs on another
Midlands town, but all fell on open
land.
Six bombs fell on thickly popu-
lated district of a third Midlands
town. One casualty was reported.
Early this afternoon a single
bomber dived out of the clouds and
dropped six high explosive bombs
along the sea front of a southwest
town. All hit the beach.
A spokesman for the Ministry Of
Home Security said there will
be no published list of the dead
and injured in London raids. The
August total of civilian air raid
casualties for all of Britain will be-
issued the first week in September.
Two waves of German air attacks
today in Southwestern England were
regarded by the British as aimed at
destroying crops. Officials said there
was little damage, although about
200 bombs fell
One farmer said most hits on his
land were near meadows and or
chards and another said a hail of
incendiary bombs lit up the coun-
tryside, but fell harmlessly on pas
ture land.
These rapid developments led some
Britons to believe Germany might
be ready for a resumption of the
large-scale massed raids which
(See LONDON, Page A-5)