Evening star., 1940-05-12
Fighting Fronts

Fighting Fronts
At this writing it is difficult If not i'm
possible to recount all that has hap
pened IN unfortunate Lowland Coun-
tries, or to present fully up-to-minute
picture of conditions today.
Broadly and in chronological fashion,
however, events seem to have been about
as follows:
Months of speculation over likelihood
that great putsch of today's war would
come through these peace
First full nations reached new but
Signs not unusual climax last
Tuesday when Associated
Press reported from highly reliable"
source In New York that heavy German
troop columns were moving toward
Netherlands frontier from Bremen and
Dusseldorf; that DR.. Alexander Loudon,
Dutch Minister here, had been named
general paymaster for all officials of his
government abroad; that telephone and
telegraph communications had been sud-
, denly cut off from Netherlands and
usual radio weather broadcast omitted
for mysteriously unnamed reasons; and
that all Dutch defense personnel leaves
had been Cancelled.
Ridicule and denials followed these re-
ports from Berlin, but it was noted that
new restrictions had been placed at once
on circumstances under which German
civilian population could use key rail-
road6-routes over which NaN troops
might be headed for western borders.
There was lull OF some "a hours after
these developments time enough
for belief to arise that another false
alarm had been sounded-then veritable
hell descended upon little buffer states.
AS gray dawn broke slowly from the
east, against its tightening skies swarmed
angry fleets of potent Nazi
Blitzkriea air force. Skillfully and
By Air with brutal efficiency,
squadron after squadron
roared toward designated objectives
-loosing bombs, dropping parachute
troops, landing to set up carefully plotted
operations bases. a.
Spanning in this fashion the long re-
hearsed defensive land and water lines
OF both small nations, German attackers
blasted at Brussels and Antwerp in Bel
GUM: at Rotterdam, The Hague and
Amsterdam In Holland. Not always ac-
curately, Nazi bombs were hurtled at
airports from which defense planes
might rise.
Around Rotterdam, great seaport city
Of broad streets and narrow canals, some
of fiercest fighting ragged
Bottle for as Germans landed
Rotterdam troops by seaplane and
by parachute. Early
reports told of capture of Mas railway
station in center of city and virtual de-
struction of outlying Waalhaven Airport;
later ones told of courageous stand by
Dutch reinforcements and bombardment
by Hollanders' own artillery of parts of
city occupied by invaders. Dutch claimed
victory.
Scarcely more than 100 miles from
British coast, strategic importance of
this city was obvious to all.
From farther north came early ac-
counts Of bombing of Amsterdam and
The Hague but alert aircraft defense
forces apparently succeeded in blocking
actual landing of troops in these cities.
Conflicting as usual were casualty
claims, with Berlin asserting that almost
100 enemy" planes had been destroyed
in first IL hours, while Dutch countered
by declaring at least 70 NaZi flyinp ships
and one armored train had been blown
to destruction.
Meanwhile, aided by first-line defenses
In form of wide-open dikes, Dutch
ground forces had at least slowed Ger
man advance within short distance of
frontier.
Southwark inspired by their own
heritage of courage and by action of
.. their young King Leopold
Leopold In taking active command
AtFront of his armies. Belgians
likewise claimed to have
halted Nazi columns short of their
initial objectives.
Behind lines of actual conflict, maneu-
vering Of diplomats and their words was
almost as intense as actual fighting.
With typical Hitlerian arrogant irony,