The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1940-05-22
Allied Forces Strike Back At Bltzkrieg Of
Germany With Terrific Power -Weygand
Hurls His Troops In Smashing Attacks
Fate of Million Allied Soldiers in North
ern France May Be Decided By
Split in German Lines
GERMANY SAYS WAR WILL
END IN A FEW WEEKS
BY JOE ALEX MORRIS
united Press STAFF Correspondent

united Press Stan CorrespondenD
Allied armies struck back at the Nazi blitzkrieg
offensive today recaptured the ruined but important
French town Of Arras and battered at the German
TANKS on the Aisne and Scarpe rivers. The 6rmer
stand Of British, French and Belgian forces, espe-
cialy in the smoking villages of Picardy and Flan-
ders, was tribute to the fierce energy" of Gen.
Maxine Weygand, Allied generalissimo who made
an arpane fight the confused and inter-locked
battle lines Of northern France.
ALLIES FIGHT TO CONQUER
AS Weygand directed the counter. thrusts, both
French and British governments emphasized their
determination to fight on and to conquer. In London
the government rushed into parliament drastic in
dustrial CONSUMPTION bill designed to all of the
nations resources labor and wealth in a supreme ef-
fort to increase the power Of the Allied machine
NORTHERN FRANCE FIGHT FIERCE
But the battle in northern France still rag
ing fercely and the fate of perhaps 100000 Allied
soldiers caught in German trap before the channel
ports undecided.
COUNTER BLOWS PARRlED
The German high command said that the Allied
counter blows had been parried near Arras and that
the Nazi wedge pushed to the English Channel town
Of Abbeville had been widened by German units
which moved northward from the River Somme to-
ward Montreuil and St. Pol This meant northward
sweep of unstated extent the channel coast and
from the Somme river city of Amiens in an effort to
squeeze more tightly the trapped Allied armies and
to reach the important channel ports OF Bouogne and
Calais, which is only % miles from the shores Of
England.
Nazis Admit Resistance
Nazi in Berlin also claimed that the Germans
had surged close to Paris pushing to scissors, only SIS
miles from the French capital but this lacked official con-
frmation. The German high command admitted, how
ever that the Nazs encountering fierce resist
the part of the British and French and indicated
that long struggle might be expected in northern France
Outcome Is Still Uncertain
The outcome of the enormous conflict still
from the Asne Rethe the mouth of the
Somme at Abbevlle and north of Flanders and Picardy
At the moment that Paris reported that German flying
columns at Abbeville the English Channel had been
cut off by the recapture of ArraS, the German high
mand asserted that the Abbeve forces had struck to the
north from the Somme toward Montreu and ST. Pol The
Germans said an attack on Arras was repused
Fight Behind Each Others Lines
With German and Allied troops inter-laced and fight
ing behind each others lines and communications
and supply routes at dozens of points military experts
said almost anything might happen. One thing
tain. The Germans mastering every resource to
hold and extend the line they have driven all the way
across northern France to the English Channel Their
immediate objective 10 crush the Allied army OF the
north - comprising the British Expedtionary Force,
French units, the Belgian army and Dutch remnants
which has been cut off from the main French forces by
the German drive across France
To Tighten Steel Ring
The thrust Of the German Abbevile forces toward
ACcniinued % Page u