The Wilmington morning star., 1942-03-05
Raj Carries Out One OF
Greatest Air Raids
In History
BOMBS DEVASTATING
Renault Works, Others Lev
eled Like Packs
OF Cards
(By The Associated Press)

(By The Associated Press)
LONDON, March 4-In one
of history's greatest air raids
the RAF last night spread
ruin in the Paris suburban
area where French arms
plants are working for the
Germans, thus signalling the
end Of kid-glove treatment of
the Vichy regime and the
start of a new campaign to
weaken the expected Nazi
spring offensive against Rus
sia.
The raid lasted only two
hours, and was made by a
force which spokesmen said
was not exceptionally large,
but judged by French figures
of 6O0-odd dead and over
1000 wounded it was more
devastating than any of the
all-night and all-day bombings
by which the Germans vainly
sought to knock out Britain
in 1940-41.
Returning RAF pilots and bonn
bardiers said that at the great Re-
nault plant and others making
tanks. airplane engines and trucks
for the Germans, their bombs scat
tered buildings "like packs of
cards"
Only two British planes were
lost. clear Indication of weak
opposition.
It was asserted here that the
raid was made without prior con-
sultation with the United States
Department of State, which has
conducted the protraced Allied ne
goiations with Vichy.
Bombing Legitimate
In Washington, however, Under
secretary of State Sumner Welles
promptly declared that bombing
factories in occupied France max
ing war materials for Germany
was legitimate war measure.
In London, informed political
quarters said London and Wash
ington now were convinced that
Vichy could not be won away from
German influence by further WOO
ing.
AS for the Frerc people, the
British government expressed "sin-
cere hope that any French lives
had been saved by advance radio
warnings that targets in the Paris
area might be attacked at any
time.
But Britain left no doubt that
this first big-scale blow at Paris
Nvirons would not be the last,
even at the risk of open hostilities
with Vichy.
The British air minister report
ed that in bright moonlight en-
hanced by flares the bombers had
no trouble in finding the Warplant
targets along both banks of the
Seine. It said precautions against
injuring French civilians or DAM
aging civilian property were so
strong that bombers were ordered
to return with thei loads if there
were any possibility of a mistake.
Two Fires Outside
''By the end of the attack, though
there were many large fires with
in the area of the Renault works,
there were only two small fires
outside, and these were just on
the verge of the works along the
bank of the river" the air minis
try stated in pointing cut the ex-
treme accuracy of aim and de-
scribing the damage as heavy.
This accuracy, plus the loss of
only two planes, indicated that the
Germans were caught with their
defenses down, a fact which gave
added pipuancy to the raid on the
French coast Feb. 26 by British
parachutists and infantry.
The parachutists destroyed a
German radio locator station at
Bruneval, just north of LIE Havre,
on the most direct route from
southeast England to Paris.
Informed British sources said the
bombers thus were able to cross
the French coast undetected, the
Germans evidently having ignored
the BIC warning to French citi-
zens to beware.
The British announcement called
the Renault works, at the Paris
suburb of Billancourt, "the out
standing symbol of collaboration
with Germany
Working For Germans
The ministry of economic war
fare said it and other factories in
the Paris industrial belt had been
working "a hours a day for the
German army. Amcng their prod
Continued on Page Two; Col. A.