The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-11-27
Hitler Scraps Franco-Ger- man Armistice; Sought
 to Take Armada USE OF VESSELS BY
 GERMANS PREVENTED Occupation of TOul0n Ac. cOmplished Quickly Dur
 ing Night
BY JOE ALEX MORRIS United Press Foreign Editorl

London, November 27. - (UP) - The pride of the French battle fleet, headed by the 26, ,500-ton Strasbough, was blown up and scuttled in Toulon harbor today, ac. cording to French reports, to prevent it falling into the hands of Adolf Hitler. Havas dispatches broadcast by the Vichy radio revealed that the Strasbourg was blown up with mighty explosion when NaZi forces acting on Hitler's orders = Scrapped the last vestige of the Franco German armiStice and raced into Toulon today.
 The example set by the Stras- bourg crew presumably at the cost of many of their own lives = was followed quickly by the other ships of the French armada which lay in Toulon harbor.
 Raced To Pier
 
 One German force raced with ali possible speed to the pier beside which the Strasbourg lay.
 It appeared that while Hitlers sudden maneuver had kept the French fleet out of Allied hands it had also denied him any hope of using the ships himself.
 The Havas dispatches reported the ships now lie sunken at their an- chorages in the debris filled Toulon harbor.
 The action of the French crews apparently sent to the bottom the greatest naval tonnage which had been scuttled since the day that the German crews of the Imperial Navy sank their ships at Scopa Flow rather than allow them to be turned over to the Allies at the end of the First World War.
 In Toulon, at last reports. were the battleshipS Strasbourg, Dun- kerque and Provence. seven cruis- CTS, a seaplane carrier, 25 destroy CTS and 27 submarines.
 All of these ship. according to the Havas reports, were sunk by their crews while Nazi bombers roared over the harbor dropping magnetic mines, flares and bombing the harbor Notifications.
 German Panzer columns at that moment were racing into the town. smashing resistance wherever it was encountered.
 Havas reported that many cas- ualties were caused as real fight ing developed"
 French gun crews both ashore and afloat opened up with their anti-airchaft guns against the Nazi bombers.
 Some of the ships attempted to make a getaway to sea but it was not. believed any succeeded.
 Havas reported that most of the French captains" and many menl- bers went down with their ships to their death.
 "At the end of the day-a terrible and sad day-there was the spec tacle Of all these beautiful war; ships" said Havas. "the pride of France. lying on their sides with thick clouds of smoke rising from them"
 The courage of the sailors of the French fleet was emulated by theig comrades ashore manning the coastal defense batteries. When they saw that resistance would not hold off the German attack. they spiked their guns and blew up the magazines.
 Some of tha French crews-find- ing that their ships could not be scuttled due to repairs in progress turned their own guns on each other, smashing and damaginb the warships so they would be useless to the German.
 Ships StiiI Blazing
 At nightfall tonight. the French reports said. the ships still Ia blaz- ing and the dull boom of interInit- tent explosions echoed over she
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