Evening star., 1943-03-07

LNbeck: At lease 200 acres. or 20
1eddentiA area Of this island town dest
rate has befallen 100 acres in the thickly
Buildings include many factories
Rosfock: This city has suffered tn.
many. Seventy per cent Of the old town,
ALSO about 50 Acreg Of residential and
industrial property have been destroyed
h the newer sections.
CoIoeae: Six hundred acres devas-
tated. including about 10000 houses, and
$50 factories and warehouses; The actual
destruction is the greatest in any city in
the world. Parts Of the inner city and
large areas Of the suburbs Of Ehrenfeld
and Nippes were Quilted block by block.
Dusseldorf: Three hundred and
eighty densely-built-u acres, about
half the city, devastated, mostly by fire.
Damage was especially heavy In the
Oberbilk and Unterbilk industrial areas,
Mainx: One hundred and thirty
dvs acres Of the densest area destroyed
IN = cont entration Of devastation with
out parallel In the war. The destruction
included many military barracks and
deposs.
Karlsruhe: An attack in September
resulted in devastation OF 800 acres Of
buildings and docks, including TOO
houses.
Na1rbrNcken: Seventy acres were
devastated In July. In one section alone
40 houses were laid low. Among the
factories destroyed was the celebrated
Dudelinger iron works.
Emden:: About 90 per cent of this
port town has been devastated, includ-
Ing 10 acres covered by the Nordee sub
marine works.
Ornabrnck: More than SO acres
devastated, including 40 large warehouses
and acres in the center Of the city
around Crosse Strasse.
Bremen:: Nearly fifth Of the town
has been devastated. including IS acres
OF the Sudervorstadt district gutted by
fre. The freight yards have been burned
out and many buildings Of the Foche-
Wulf aviation plant laid low.
H0mbNre: In the old town there
are three big areas Of destruction shown
oy the aerial Photographic including from
y to Is blocks Of business premises.
1neTe are also three large areas in the
Grassbruck and Billwarder districts laid
low by 4,ooo-pound bombs.
A0chen: This big Rhineland in
oustrial town just over the Belgian bor-
Ger has suffered its greatest damage from
nre. There are three main areas OF
devastation In the center Of the town.
comprising 30 per cent Of the city proper.
Over 16o acres, 70 per cent of the build
inss have been destroyed and all the rest
damaged.
Munster: Approximately 26o acres
have been devastated close around the
old town. The air photos show 8 acres of
completely gutted property, each many
acres in extent, In this section. In the
southeast section OF this inland port city
there are five other large areas showing
similar damage. About Is acres Of ware
houses and workshops have been de-
stroyed. There has been very heavy dam
age to the hangers and buildings of the
Loddenheide Airdrome
Kiel and Wilhelnshaven: Here
the bombers have concentrated on mill
tary and naval targets. The inland
ports Of Duisberg and Mannheim show
heavy scars but not concentrated areas
Of destruction like those found in the in
dustrial cities
Hardly town through the $50 square
miles of the industrial Ruhr has escaped
serious damage There have been re-
peated raids on Essen. Oberhausen, Null
helm, Dortmund, Hamorn, Krefeld. In
South Germany the chief damage has
been in Nuremburg and Augsburg. In
the former city l80 closely-built-up acres
were devastated In a single night. Also
there has been much scattered damage
In Munich.
Fighter Planes Kept Busy.
At lease half OF Germanys fighter
planes have been kept in Western Europe
this past summer and fall by the per-
sistent, night-after-night raids
That is one Of the major reasons why
Germany was unable to deliver a final
Knockout blow at Stalingrad and for
the long series of defeats suffered at the
hands of the Russians since the start
Of winter.
The aerial battle of Germany" has
been about the most practical and effec-
tive second front possible so far as
Russia Is concerned. Such Is the analysis
Of the situation by Raj experts here.
Granted, they say, Germans had con-
troll of the air in the Stalingrad area
through most of the siege. But they
were able to hold 1t by very precarious
margin because Of the hundreds of fight
ers held back in the west to defend their
own cities.
This battle Of Germany" they point
out. also has played major part in the
African campaign. Not only has 1t kept
badly needed planes from Rommel and
Van Arnin, but it has so crippled fac
tories that badly needed supplies simply
could not be furnished, entirely aside
from the heavy Axis shipping losses in
the Mediterranean.
Strategy Is Now Clear.
The major strategy OF the fighting over
Western Europe now is becoming clear,
an Raj spokesman explained Germany
has between so and so industrial cities
with y,op,,lo fiors If mn ~ o,,or 1Xy;tl,