Evening star., 1940-05-23
Cif's Business Area
A Mass Of Debris and
Woods Are Uttered
Casualty Lists Run as
High as 10000, but Not
All the Dead Are Dutch
BY LYNN HEINZERLING,

BY LYNN HEINZERLING,
Associated Press War Correspondent.
RHENEN, the Netherlands, May
23.-Ruins in proud Rotterdam and
the crumbled works of strong
points" in Dutch defenses tell the
story of the shattering impact of
Germany's mechanical army and
the devastation rained from the
skies by the Nazi "Stukas" (dive
bombers).
I have just completed a three-day
tour of the Netherlands battlefront,
in which I have seen the destruction
Of modern war.
The nerve center of Rotterdam
a square mile of what once was the
business and financial district of
Hollands most prosperous seaport
is q mass Of debris, heaps Of bricks
and mortar and twisted beams and
girders. .s
Two miles east Of here stands
what was the southern strong point
of the Grebbe defense line-a wooded
hill which overlooks the approaches
to Rhenen. It was one of the best
Dutch defensive positions I saw on
the entire tour.
The Uttered Woods.
Now the woods are Uttered with
the equipment of war, pockmarked
with shell holes and ripped by ma
chine gun fire. Along the road there
is evidence of hard battle-hastily
dug holes, smashed equipment, dis
carded arms. Searchlights set in
hillside bunkers that were meant to
light up night operations were shat
tered by German gunfire.
In addition to tank barriers, the
Dutch had constructed machine-gun
nests on each side of the road so
they could keep up cross-fire.
But the overwhelming German
forces swept through the line and on
to Rotterdam and the sea after
bitter fighting.
There is no agreement on how
many bodies may be buried beneath
the Rotterdam ruins. German au-
thorities say the business area was
cleared of civilians before the
"Stukas" began their deadly work.
But one air force officer estimated
there must be several thousand"
dead.
(The Netherlands Legation in
Paris announced Sunday that
more than 100000 were dead in
Rotterdam)
Minute Job.
The "Stukas," say the Germans,
completed their work In 71z minutes,
from first bomb to last. The Dutch
commander had been given 3-hour
ultimatum. Shortly after the dead
line elapsed, he capitulated. But by
then the Germans, fearing he was
holding cut In hope of reinforce
ment. already had started the
bombers on their way, and it was
too late to stop them, they said.
The official toll Of wounded is set
at 354, while unofficial casualty lists
run as high as 10000. One Of the
buildings ruined was the United
States Consulate. The Consul, John
H. Lord, got out before the building
was hit.
The 28,OOO-ton liner Statendam,
one of the largest in the Dutch mer-
chant feet, still is smouldering in
the harbor. She lay alongside
Noordereiland North 1sland, in the
center Of the Nieuwe Mas River.
Chances are she may have been
set afire by Dutch shell, for it was
on Noordereiland that German po-
sitions were centered, and the NaI
forces used the Statendam as an ef-
fective barricade.
Fifteen German Planes.
Bv no means all of the casualties
were Dutch, however. German troop
transport planes, seeking to land at
an airport few miles outside the
city in the direction Of The Hague,
found fighting already in progress
there. The planes, trying emergency
landings on a road nearby, were
caught by cross-currents Of wind,
and Is of them cracked up.
In clearing on top of the forti-
fed hill north Of here saw some
of the graves marked by $50 wooden
crosses, with trench helmets hung
on them. They were about evenly
divided between Dutch helmets and
German.
There were barbed wire pits and
shell holes on all sides. The litter
of the equipment of the fallen lay
on the ground around the clearing.
Dutch Fought Bravely."
A German officer stood at one end
OF the line of crosses and told a
handful of correspondents:
"The Dutch Army fought bravely
and the German soldier would be
the last to reflect on the honor of
a soldier who fought in such q
manner"
The Grebbe fortifications extended
from this hill north to Amersfort
and on to the 1jssel Nicer (zuider
Zee). To the north of the hill the
Dutch had many more Notifications,
as well as one Of the areas where
they expected flooding the land to
hold up the German advance.
There, too, the Germans broke
through on their great surge to the
west.
1--WE knew all about the plan to
flood the land and our technical
men knew 1t would not stop U.s." the
German ofncer said.
The Dutch, meanwhile, seem to
be taking the occupation philoso-
phically. A few are bitter over the
lack of British help-the Germans
say only TOO British troops landed
In Holland-but otherwise they are
seeking to return to normal after
an invasion that left them stunned
by its speed.
lTE CHEERFUL QERB |