Evening star., 1940-06-05

highest honor.
Berlin
Continued From First Page.)
these attacks were staged yesterday
in anticipation of the big push.
Near Abbeville an enemy attack
using strong artillery and tanks was
repelled," said the daily communique
of the high command.
Similarly, an attack on our fight
ing vanguards south of Longwy
foundered, with heavy losses for the
enemy"
The communique said Germans
successfully attacked enemy con-
centrations south of Abbeville" and
mentioned yesterdays aerial assault
on the French port city of LIE Havre,
now perhaps the most vital contact
between Great Britain and France.
The port facilities at lie Havre,
said the high command, were at
tackled by fighting and power diving
bomber units Of the air arm.
Occupation of the Netherlands,
Luxembourg, Belgium and about
10000 square miles of Northern
France since the total war" was
launched May 10 had freed Nazi
legions for what Germans hope may
be the final phase of the war.
Hitler proclaimed his "boundless"
confidence in German armed forces
and asserted that German victory
would answer "the plutocratic rulers
of England and France" who, the
Fuehrer said, have pledged each
other to avoid with all means the
bloom of a new and better world. 80
Our victory will be their historic
lesson Hitler declared.
Spokesman Reserved.
Authorized spokesmen were re-
served about the new offensive. They
intimated it might be several days
before details are Forthcoming. This
has been the high commands pol
icy.
That heavy fighting was under
way was taken for granted by all
Germans who saw the Reich's flags
waving and heard bells tolling in
celebration of the Flanders victory,
in memory of the men who fell
there and as an accompaniment to
the prayers for those who march
on.
Authorized quarters acknowledged
that there had been air attacks at
various places in Germany today,
but no details were given. A spokes-
man said there had not been much
damage.
Referring to a British estimate
that Germany's Flanders casualties
numbered 100000, one authorized
source said:
II believe we will be able to tell
something about those 100000 dead
when the dead begin to, march
again."
On the other hand, this source
said, British losses were so great
that "even Churchill was unable to
keep them secret" The British
Prime Minister acknowledged yes
terday that 10000 British soldiers
were killed, captured or missing in
Flanders.
The official German news agency
DNB, stated in a dispatch from
Dunkerque that three French gen.
erals were among the 10000 pris-
oners the Germans said they cap
tured with the fall of the Allied
Channel evacuation port yesterday
A number Of cannon and tanks
and much other war material were
found also, DNB said, but the
amounts could not be estimated.
Twenty large ships were found
beached, the dispatch continued,
and there were wrecks of many
smaller vessels, all said to have been
victims OF the German air force.
Had 10 Days to Organize.
During the German cleanup in
Flanders, France had about 10 days
to organize her defense line back
OF the Belgian border fortiflcations
along the Sonme, Disc, Aisne and
Meuse Rivers.
1t remained to be seen how we'll
the Allies, under the new command
OF Generalissimo Maxine Weyeand,
could counter the German absorp-
ton Of the border Notifications upon
which his predecessor Gen. Maurice
Gustave Gamelin had relied.
The line across Northern France
approaches at one point within 10
miles OF Paris and at another Reims
is within light cannon range.
If the Polish campaign can be
accepted as the pattern, every air
field In France will be bombarded
by waves of German planes to
smash air resistance at the outset
OF the battle. Scarcely a handful
OF Polish planes managed to get
into the air last September.
Observers in the Flanders battle
zone, now quiet, said that Poland
already had been duplicated there.
Constant Bombardment.
The organization of Frances
secondary defense line is said to
have been under constant lombard.
ment of the German air force,
planes striking at every troop
assembly area, supply line and new
entrenchment.
Repeated efforts of the French
to regain better position with
tank attacks were said to have
been beaten back by Germanys
StukaS-dive bombers.
AS a prelude to the offensive
launched today German bombers
ranged the length of France in
attack.
Among other places, they struck