The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-05-28

they had taken upon themselves to- gether with the Belglans May i4.
 You know what the position Is in the south. The French armies arc holding successfully the lines of the Somme and Aisne and the Maginot line.
 Tn the north, the Belgian army, the British Expeditionary Force and some of our troops have been en- gagged in the defense of Belgium"
 Emphasizing that Leopold had acted against the wishes of his people his army and his govern ment Reynaud cried:
 Not Belgian Wishes
 T am told the Belgian govern ment that the kings decision was taken against the wish of Belgians and that the government intends to go on fighting and form Q new army which will stand beside the French.
 Continuing, Reynaud said that King Leopold had acted without thought for the French and Eng. fish allies"
 "T'his is without precedent fir history" he asserted.
 "Our faith in victory is intact, he said. We shall hold on to the Somme and Aisne, and as we hold on we shall conquer"
 Only last night Premier Hubert Pierlot of Belgium, in broadcast speech to the French and Belgian nations from Paris, had said that Belgium would continue to fight side by side with the Allies until a common victory had been attained regardless of what might come.
 He appealed to all Belgians to maintain confidence.
 The French war cabinet had held an 80-minute meeting ending just before midnight and had heard 6 report from Ben. Maxine Wey- gand, allied generallssimo.
 It had been believed, ironically, that this meeting had been based on continued Belgian resistance and that Reynaud in his speech this morning would emphasize above all that Belgium fought on.
 Reynauds news came at the mo- ment when the Germans had thrown into the battle of Flanders tens of thousands of shock infantry, in ad- dition to their tanks and Stuka dive bombing planes, in a win or lose attempt to Isolate and break up the Allied army of the north, whose left wing tnorthern) anchor was the Bel gian army.
 Reports from the front said that the Germans were attacking utter obllvious to losses of the most fright ful extent.
 The Belgians, at the moment oi Leopold's surrender, had been bearing the brunt Of the fighting on the river Lys line.
 French sources had admitted that even with the Belgians, the Allied northern army had been holding It's lines only with the greatest diiaculty
 Gamble with Mems Lives
 There had been no such supreme gamble with the lives of men since the battle of Verdun in 1916.
 The Belgians had been forced across the river Lys to the west bank their backs to the English channel
 Entire German units were wiped out, 1t was asserted, in furious blind frontal attacks on the Belgian and other Allied positions. As one unit was moved down, another, even more powerful, took It's place.
 Tn attacking both the left (Bel- gian) and right Hanks of the army of the north, the Germans had put such tremendous pressure on the Al- lies that they had forced the north- ern army to retreat to new and stronger positions, in orderly and de- liberate manner.
 BeIgians Had Withdrawn
 The Belgians had withdrawn in the Courtrai-Menin sector on the French Belgian frontier. Fren h troops had withdrawn near Valen- ciennes.
 Driving in on the Lille-R -Roubaix- Turcoing area and the Lens-La Bassee- -Bethuns area to the south- west. the Germans were trying tc pinch off a big part of the Allied army and at the same time isolate the main part. to the west, from 1t, coastal bases. Ever since Sunday the Germans had been attacking ir waves. ceaselessly. ever in more pow. erfui number and equipment. It wal now revealed that they had driver across the Lys on a 2S-mile from under cover of terrific lombard ment which indicated that at las their big guns had reached a sup port position for the massed infan try which the Germans like to use.