Evening star., 1940-06-18
Soldiers Shielded
By Few Thousand
Alpine Chasseurs
Oil Reservoirs Burned,
Bridges and Munitions
Dumps Destroyed
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press
LES VERRIERS. Switzerland (At
the French Border. June 1s.-
French troops, 350,000 strong,
escaped today from the lower Magi-
not Line to reassemble with the
southern army and lend force to the
nations insistence upon an honor
able peace
The troops moved south in two
main forces, the first of 100000 and
the second of $4,000.
The larger body was shielded by a
few thousand French Alpine Chas-
seurs, who stood guard in the lower
Jura region while the Maginot Line
troops escaped behind the thin
screen.
The second force of $4,000, mainly
from the Nancy garrison and vet
Grams of engagements around Metz
and the Vosges sector, headed south
IL hours after the others. They made
their way down through the Saone
Valley unopposed except for skir-
mishes with small motorized German
units.
Germans Reach Swiss Frontier.
Their passage indicated here that
although German panzer divisions
reached the Swiss frontier early this
morning, the Alsace Lorraine area
is still far from being sealed OF from
the rest of the French forces.
1t was considered impossible for
the Germans in two days to have
extended its motorized legions over
the area from Verdun TO Jura in
more than thin line.
A lone French motorcycle courier
was said to be maintaining liaison
between the forces.
Artillery fire just north of Basel
ceased today, but the rumble of guns
was still audible from the region
around Neuf Brisach where the
Germans are maintaining bridge
heads at the Rhine and the Rhine
Rhone Canal.
Huge clouds of smoke marked the
passage of French troops in with
drawal. They were burning oil
and gasoline reservoirs, dynamiting
bridges and destroying munitions
dumps behind them
Citizens Feed Soldiers.
In the communities of Eastern
France through which the troops
moved south. the civilians reopened
barricaded shutters and doors to
greet and feed the soldiers.
Everything had been prepared for
the encirclement developments and
the people had been expecting to see
German rather than their own
soldiers.
The main French army of the
south, according to advices reaching
here, is being reasSembled at the
junction of the Rhone and Saone
Rivers.
The feat of the Alpine Chasseurs
IN screening their mates happened
this way.
Sometime between the fall of
Paris and the fall of Verdun the
Maginot defenders were ordered to
send out all available reserves, and
at the same time two divisions of
Alpine Chasseurs were rushed from
the ltallan front to reinforce the
Verdun sector.
Chasseur Force Cut in Two,
Before the Chasseurs reached the
Verdun region, however, the Ger
mans broke through on the Marne
and sent an armored division to
close the door behind Alsace-Lor-
raine and the Maginot zone. On
Sunday they cut the Chasseur force
In two. Less than a division was
left between the Germans and the
Jura Mountains.
Nevertheless, despite their small
force and their weariness from sew
eral days fighting, they stood for 36
hours against the Germans, using
several batteries of 75's and lois
which they found at the position
they took on Little Freese Mountain
about 80 miles from the Swiss
frontier.