Evening star., 1940-06-05
defenses scattered throughout the

French Hold Rail Station.
The French control the important
railroad station of Longueau, south
east of the city, and the highway
and railroad bridge leading into
Amiens.
Along the upper Somme French
troops have labored increasingly to
consolidate bridgeheads and posi-
tions. These new outposts extend
all the way to Ham, where the
Somme veerS north. In this region
canals connect the Somme and the
Disc.
The Disc itself is on the battle
line only short distance, since the
first defense line jumps from Ham,
which is southwest of st. Quentin,
to Chaunty, and thence northeast
ward toward La Fere.
Farther east, however and di-
rectly north of the Aisne line the
Germans launched an attack which
semiofficial sources described as
one of the principal" assaults.
Nazi infantry moved out of the
heights of the forest of Coucy
toward the Ailette River and its
canal.
World War battle-ground.
This region is an old World War
battleground-there was fighting
there in September, 1914; in March
and October, 1917, and in May, 1918.
Military advices said the German
attacks were aimed at the famous
Chemin des Danes, near Craonne,
north Of the Aisne, and against the
Ailette River Canal which joins
the Aisne and the Disc through
Anizy lie Chateau.
This region was described in the
morning communique as along the
road between Laon and scissors.
The area of the INTERVENING
highways and roads from Laon to
scissors apparently was the eastern
end OF the new battle-ground.
scissors is So miles northeast of
Paris, Laon IS. Laon had been the
southernmost point Of the German
thrust in this region last month,
when the German pressure was ex-
erted westward toward the Channel
instead of southwark toward Paris.
The consolidated French front ex-
tending from Abbeville to the
northwestern tip of the Maginot
Line at Montmedy is now Frances
first defense against German at
tacks.
Aerial Reprisals.
The German drive was renewed
after bomb-for- bomb war of aerial
reprisals between Germany and
France, the most serious being the
German bombing of Paris Monday
in which, according to new casualty
figures announced last night, 254
persons were killed and 652
wounded.
OF dead, 1876 were said to be
Notwithstanding 20 children. OF
the wounded, 554 were civilians.
In Paris and the immediate sub
urbs 121 civilians and 46 soldiers
were listed as killed. All those in
jured in the Seine department were
said to be civilians.
The number of German raiders
originally reported shot down was
boosted from II to Is by official
count. The Ministry of Information
said French losses in the air over
Paris had been seven pursuit planes,
while Is others were wrecked on the
ground.
German reports that 1o4 French
planes were downed and 300 to 400
destroyed were described as 'fantas-
tic"
Retaliation Raids Made.
The Air Ministry announced that
Allied bombers already had struck
back in retaliation for the raid on
the Paris area and for new Nazi
forays on the Rhone Valley and the
port of LIE Havre.
Striking deeply into Germany,
French planes were reported to have
bombed with great success" mill
tary objectives in the vicinity of
Munich and Frankfort, 220 and 14O
miles, respectively, from the from
tier.
Airdromes, railway lines and mu-
nltlons factories were showered with
bombs in the raids, according to the
Air Ministry. Among the important
objectives said to have been hit was
a large airplane motor factory. All
the French planes were said to have
returned.
At the same time the British Air
Force was reported to be bombing
the Ruhr Valley, where German war
industries are concentrated heavily.
Rome Watched Closely.
French military leaders kept a
close watch on developments in
Rome. War measures taken yester-
day by the italian cabinet convinced
most observers here that Premier
Mussolini's entry into the war is
probable within the next few days.
In announcing the abandonment
Of Dunkerque yesterday, the high
command paid tribute to the Allied
rearguard whose last ditch fight
enabled some 335,0OO British and
French troops to escape from the
Nazi trap in Flanders. It also ac-
claimed the work of the British Air
Force and Fleet.
Allied losses in the Flanders CAM
paign were acknowledged to have
been heavy, but a War Ministry
spokesman said they had been held
to "a strict minimum.
No actual figures were given on
losses or on the number of rear
guard troops which might have
been captured by the Germans
when they broke into Dunkerque.
New air-raid alarms were sound
ed last night in Northwestern
France, but there were no imme-
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