Evening star., 1940-05-06
Germans Begin 200-Mi|e Trek
Up Rocky Coast to Aid Norvik;
British Drive to Tighten Siege
English Are North
Of Mo, Nozis'
Starting Point
BY LOUIS p. LOCHNER,
Associated Press Foreign Corresnander

To-Day dlSpatched Alpine troops on a
difficult 200-mile trek through al
most impossible mountains in an
attempt to aid the besieged Nazis at
Narvik. which has become known in
Germany as Norways "Alcazar."
The Fuehrer's trusted mountain
troops began their march from the
neighborhood of the little Norweg-
Ian town of Mo, about 100 miles
north of Namsos. and the terminal
both Of railway and normal automo-
bile highways. Between Mo and
Narvik there is only a narrow coun-
try road, sometimes only mere
path.
North of the Alpine detachment
on the road to Narvik German
scouts were reported to have spot
ted British units cut off from the
main expeditionary force when the
allies abandoned the Norwegian
port of Namsos last week.
The British were seen in the re-
gion between Mo and Bodoe, small
Norwegian coast town about IS
miles north of Mo. 1t was believed
that they were attempting forced
march to join the pressure on Mar
Vik.
Aim to Mop Up Unit.
The first objective of German troops
on their way to Narvik would be to
mop up these detachments. After
accomplishing this task, Bodoe it
self looms next as an important OBJ
jective. authorized sources said.
The German air force seemed in
tent upon breaking up consolidation
of the British forces from the
Trondheim front with those besieg-
Ing Narvik. At Bodoe German forces
were expected to lose no tinle in
building an airport from which the
dreaded "Stukas" 4German power
diving planes can operate.
Some military experts are opti-
mistic enough to believe the
''Stukas" are able to polish off the
allied troops in the Narvik region
sufficiently to make unnecessary
the continuance of the arduous Ger
man march across tough mountain
territory.
Meanwhile. the German high COM
mand reported that British artillery
forces in the Narvik region had been
strengthened but that no more in
tense fighting had occurred in the
sector.
Claim Battleship Hit.
Reporting further blows against
the British Navy, the high COM
mand said that lone enemy battle
ship" was hit by a heavy bomb of
Narvik and that two German air
planes had captured British sub
marine which was damaged by a
mine April Is in the Kattegat.
The reported bomb hit on a
British battleship followed upon
Britain's official denial of Germany's S
claim Saturday that Nazi bombers
had sunk 30,000-ton British battle
ship and heavy cruiser off Namsos
on Friday.
The German airmen blasting at
the last allied foothold in Norway
were reported to have blown up a
munitions dump as we'll as hit
another battleship.
The Nazi report said that heavy
smoke arising from the warship
showed the effect of the bomb.
Evidently the battleship formed
part of the naval Gordon facing
Narvik.
Theories Are Upset.
Hitler's orders to relieve the Mar
Vik detachments, which have been
under siege since shortly after the
Germans went into Norway on April
Q, upset all theories thus far aired
In informed circles.
The Narvik Nazi forces have been
estimated in British and French re-
ports at between 5000 and 1000 men.
For weeks the German press in
dealing with Narvik wrote of it as
unimportant in the Norwegian de-
velopments.
In private talks sources usually
well informed intimated that Hitler
would soon give orders to the bot
tled-up Germans in the ore port
and its vicinity to retreat strategi-
cally to the Swedish border if neces-
sary and let themselves be interned
in Sweden.
Germany's lack of control of the
airport which commands Narvik
was given as one reason why the
withdrawal would ensue as stra-
tegic necessity.
Even those persons in official cir
cles who believed the Germans
could hold out at Narvik seem to
have had no inkling of Hitler's
plans to send re-enforcements by
land. They counted on the efficacy
of the German air force to drive
British ships away with the coming
of better weather, thus permitting
re-enforcements to be sent by water.
Narvik Nazi "Alcazar."
The feeling that Narvik is be-
coming the Nazi "Alcazar" was ex-
pressed by Education Minister
Bernhard Rust in an address to
German youth. Spanish National
lists withstood 7l-day siege in the
Alcazar fortress at Toledo during
the Spanish civil war and were
rescued when Nationalist troops
captured the city.
Hitler appears to have decided
on solving the Narvik problem by
sending troops by land in a man
ner mindful in its dramatic pos
sibilities of Hannibal's crossing the
Alps.
There is this difference, however:
While the German troops are on
this last bottleneck of 200 most
difhcuit miles, the Nazi air force
will be counted upon to protect
them against possible enemy sur
priseS.
The high commands laconic state
ment in its communique that Our
troops started to advance northward
from Grong." eastward of the port
OF Namsos, which was abandoned
(See BERLIN. page A-3J