The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-04-08


 An cir ministry summary of TO. suits ot the growing British aerial 0ffensive said the Royal Air Force had now, ln all raids, dropped more bombs on Germany and occupied territories than the Germans had dropped on Britain,
 Equipment Destroyed
 10 asserted that in the three Tee cont raids on the great Renault and NkAtford works outside Paris, Brit. ash planes had destroyed equipment Autlclent Go arm Ave German meehaniRed divisions,
 Our planes destroyed the greater nart of the RenAult works, mostly hoyond repair, and seriously dan- aged the Matford works" the minls- eFy aaid. ''These factories were pro- duolng At least 10000 heavy army trucks c year in addition to large numbers of tanks and armored fght- ang vehicles,
 "Thls immense production has been stopped, much of tt at least Q year. Some of it cannot be resumed llntil after the war because Qt the Obstruction of irreplaeeable machine e0ols.
 'The loss of vehicles before they could appear in battle to cause loss l. of casualties Go ourselves and our allies was as good aS Q military vic- tory.
 "fmaglne the eifect of the news i af An Allied oommuniuqe had an. nounoed:
 tour armies as the elimination 1 0e tx months of heavy fighting hav0 destroyed more than 10000 | German trucks and large numbers og tanks and Armored vehicles, The entire equipment of Ave mechanical ! divislonS has been destroyed"
 Axis Drive In Llbya
 L0ndon, April 8-(Upl-German l and Italian forces in hihya have mtayead c forward movement which may be the first move In a gigantic German apring offensive designed Co make Adolf Hitler's position un. Masaliable eesore summer, British Uuagters admitted today. Berlin's eommunique reported that British forces had been thrown back southeast of Mekilli, which Is 70 miles south and slightly west of Dorna on the Lihya coast. Rome said that the British forces had evacuated some advanced poe aitluns under pressure of Axis forces.
 A British military commentator aAid there had been increased Axis activity and 1t was reported unof- Aeially that the Empire forces had retired to prepared positions in the xaco of an attack In some force, perhaps the start of savage otfen- elve.
 The Germans and Italians were reported moving out from the Mar tuha-AEekili- -Bomba triangle in three strong reconnaissance columns, feel- ang out the British strength.
 Preparing Two Weeks
 British reconnaissance reports he'd noted that the Germans for two weeks had been concentrating men In the triangle, while ct the same time they concentrated men an Greece and Crete, intensified their aerial attacks in Malta, and heavily bombed the Alexandria naval base, in Egypt.
 German armored forces were rec ported holding the triangle, with Italian infantry scattered about in support,
 Col.. .den. Erwin Rommel. the German commander, was reported Go have in all two German and one Italian armored divisions and six up to iSS,000 men. Two of the Italian infantry divisions, totaling Italian divisions were new; the are mored divisions were the German 18th and 2ist and the Italian Ariete which the British had smashed last November and December but which had been reorganized at full strength.
 There was growing belief here that Hitler had called on Rommel tho one general who had never le; him down, to start Q general offen- sive which would be spread to all fronts.