Evening star., 1940-05-16
Invaders Drivinq
Deeper at Three
River Points
BULLETIN.

eral IN immediate command OF
the Sedan sector advised head
quarters tonight that his forces
were complete masters of the
situation" and would regain full
control of their front within one
week.
WITH THE BRITISH EX-
PEDITIONARY FORCE IN
FRANCE LP.-Hand : to hand
fighting Of the fiercest kind
swept through the SUM- -splashed
streets of Louvain this morning
as picked troops counter attacked
three times to throw out Ger
mans who had gained a fo0th0ld
in the eastern fringe of the town.
By the Associated Press.
PARIS, May 16-Thousands of
warplanes and tanks clashed in an
unprecedented battle of movement
along the Meuse front today, involv-
ing a situation so serious and con-
fused that the high command with
held all but the barest details.
A general melee ensued on the
50-mile line from Namur south
to Sedan in Northern France
scene of the fiercest German at
tacks - with armored units from
either side cutting loose from
their infantry and plunging boldly
forward to strike the enemy from
the rear.
A War Ministry spokesman said
the Germans were meeting power
full resistance as they pushed deeper
into Belgium at three different
points on the west bank Of the
Meuse. where they crossed yester-
day.
Fighting on Two Lines.
Fighting was general after q
weeks operations on two great lines.
One runs roughly from Antwerp to
the region east Of Louvain and to
Gembloux, then to Givet, near
Mezieres, and on to Sedan in France.
The second line runs from Sedan
through Montmedy and Longwy and
along the Franco German border to
the Vosges. In this area the fight
ing was characterized principally by
artillery duels between opposing
Notifications.
In the Sedan region itself the
French claimed the Germans were
blocked in an attempt to deepen
pocket they drove into Northern
France yesterday.
French infantry chung to new po-
sitions after counterattacks which
the War Ministry said had driven
back across the river the Germans
who had punched a 10-mile salient
into French territory south of Sedan
day before yesterday.
Plane Downed Near Paris.
In the Paris area French pursuit
planes shot down one of group
of enemy reconnaissance planes this
morning.
Nine alerts (air raid alarms) kept
Nancy awake all night. An undis-
closed number of persons were
killed and wounded by German
bombs. (The French censorship de-
leted four words from this dispatch
following the word "alerts." Nancy
Is south of Sedan, 40 miles from the
French-Belgian border.
Six alarms were sounded during
the night in the region of Lille, just
inside the French border 60 miles
west of Brussels, and two In the
area of LIE Havre, French channel
port, this morning. It was not dis
closed Immediately whether any
bombs were dropped.
The war Office spokesman &C
knowledged that the German Army,
following up advantages gained
after crossing the Meuse between
Sedan and Namur, continued to
push forward in the face of strong
allied opposition.
However, north of Namur, along
the Belgian defense line, he said
the French had thrown back nu-
merous Nazi attacks.
The spokesman said the enemy,
flinging armored shock troops far
ahead of the main body in the So
mile region between Sedan and
Namur, was striking at the rear of
the French forces in an effort to
cut them of. A great battle Is
7Cao pAPTg page A-l1