Evening star., 1940-04-28
The Fighting Fronts

~sSS
In Norway are three fronts and each
saw action all week long. Far in the
north is Narvik, the port for Swedish
ore, held by force of 500 Germans
almost surrounded on the land by
French, British and Norwegians and
bombarded from Narvik Fjord by British
warships.
In the center is Trondheim, important
port, held by the Germans by three de-
stroyers in the ford along Trondheim's
main street and by soldiers in the CITY,
From the south the British and the
French approach Trondheim from two
landing bases, Molde and Andalsnes, and
they have reached Storen, 20 miles by
rail from Trondheim. From the north
the British approa h
Steinkjer Trondheim from the land
D.L.-I, ing base of Namsos. They
reached Steinkjer, so miles
by rail from Trondheim. but there the
Germans threw back their ill-equipped
advance guard. a sorry story given in
great detail through The Star by Leland
Stowe. At Myra. by Steinkjer, British
troops, reinforced since the debacle by
French poilus. are dug in.
The Germans in Trondheim arrive by
air transport, 80 soldiers in each plane.
From the south two main columns of
German forces are striving to reach
their Trondheim comrades. The routes
taken by these columns, along the two
rail lines connecting Oslo, the Norwegian
capital, provide the setting for the third
Norwegian battle area. The Germans
hold Oslo and all of Norway southeast
of Oslo, to the Swedish border, as well
as most of Norway to the southwest of
Oslo reaching to the Skaggerack and the
Atlantic Ocean. To halt the German
advance along the rail lines north from
Oslo the British, the French and the
NorWegians have sent relatively large
bodies of troops. The German advance
was steady. Along the eastern rail line,
reaching through the Osterdal Valley,
the Germans have penetrated to Roros,
IS miles south of Storen. Along the
western rail line, reaching through the
Gudbrandsdal Valley, they have arrived
at Ringebu $50 miles from Storen.
Since the German advance is aimed
toward union with Germans in Trond-
helm, the great battle
Bottle for long expected to center
Trondhe;m around Trondheim is
still in prospect. For the
most part, however engagements on the
Norwegian rough terrain are necessarily
limited to small bodies of troops The
valleys are narrow and do not permit the
use of great forces.
Eastward from Trondheim rail line
runs SO miles to the Swedish borders and
then beyond to Storlien. Above this
railroad Norway is but long finger,
where mountains push against noun
tains. Trondheim commands the fat,
rich stomach of Norway.
Last Monday the British rushed north
ward toward this cross Norway railroad
from their landing base of Andalsnes.
1t was then they reached Storen They
came southwark toward the railroad
from Namsos. At first they got to Ver-
dalsora, 35 miles north of Trondheim, on
the railroad from Namsos and on the
highway to Sweden The Germans have
not bothered the British at Storen But
they made it hot for the troops from
Namsos
From Namsos and Andalsnes the Brit
ish were trying to take Trondhein in
the same sort of pincers movement
which ultimately brought Warsaw to the
Germans during the Polish phase of the
European war.
But the Germans have air strength
which the Polish lacked. On Monday
they bombed Andalsnes and Namsos,
where nIre British were
Cermon landing. According to
Air Roids the British, they suffered
no damage in the Nam
SOS attack. According to the Germans,
the British were panicked. A Nazi
bomb over Namsos sank the British
trawler Rutlandshire, London admitted,
but the crew was saved.
On Tuesday the principal northern
British force reached the town of
Fjord, from Namsos, and a stronger
force from Andalsnes reached Storen
Beyond Steinkjer, the British sent an
advance guard 20 miles to Sticklestad.
There was fierce fighting, and, as Leland
Stowe let us know, an advance guard of
the British was defeated. One battalion
Of the Kings Own Royal Light Infantry,
$500 men, the Light Brigade" of 1910,
carried the burden of the British battle.
Here are few of the Stowe words, part
of the immortal story he dug from the
SHOWS of frozen Norway:
"IIl-equipped they (the British troops
were thrown into the SHOWS and mud of
63 degrees latitude north to fight crack
German regulars - most of
Stoves them veterans of the Polish
Story invasion-and to face the most
destructive of modern weap-
ons. The great majority of these young
brltlshers averaged but one year Of mill
tafy service. They have already paid
heaVy price for major military blum
oer' Which was not committed by their
immediate command but in London"
he referred to the failure to arm
tnese troops with heavy weapons and to
cover their progress with anti-aircraft