Evening star., 1944-06-12

The doughboys were cracking the
Cherbourg Peninsula line in the CEN
ter, and a Berlin broadcast reported
sea-borne forces had landed at st.
vaast, Is miles east of the port OF
Cherbourg.
British Flank Forest.
In the widening hole in the center
of the beachhead to the southeast,
Berlin said British formations were
concentrating In the Balleroy area,
10 miles inland. flanking Cerisy
Forest to the east, thus in position
to aid the American drive on ST. Lo.
Headquarters said the beachhead
front now had been heightened toi
go miles, and said the German COM
nand had been forced to throw in
reserves piecemeal, sapping potential
strength from the Nazis anticipated
major counterattack.
The Germans, however, halted the
British drive in the Tilly Sur Seulles
area southeast of Bayeux, and there
were strong indications that the
Allies had lost the town of lilly it
self, IL miles inland, although still
occupying high ground around it.
Heavy fighting ragged in this sector
Z miles below Bayeux.
Despite the battling there and the
hard fighting around Caen, head
quarters described the general situ-
alton as better than satisfactory"
Fighting in st. LO Denied.
Cerisy Forest was used as one of
the greatesN ammunition and fuel
dumps in Western France by the
Germans and had been bombed re-
peatedly.
Headquarters declared fatty that
a Nszi report of fighting for st. Lo
itself was not tAle.
Allied planes battered fiercely at
the Germans. flying perhaps more
than 10000 sorties today. The Ger
man Air Force came up in opposi-
ton in the greatest strength since
D-day.
On Cherbourg Peninsula Ameri-
can troops advancing westward from
Ste. Mere Eglise had crossed the
railroad leading to the port on a
seven-mile front.
The Germans said Carentan,
whose fioodgates control the main
peninsular water defense system,
was evacuated in order to continue
a stand on ground less exposed to
Allied naval guns.
Expect Full-Fledged Assault.
AS for Caen, German broadcasts
said a British drive had driven
nearly to Troarn, miles due east
of that bastion, and that Allied
parachutists had landed south of
Caen. British troops were driving
down west of Caen threatening the
other flank. Marshal Erwin Rom
mel has mounted his flercest ar
mored counterattacks in this Caen
sector, and Berlin said major Brit
ish forces were concentrating for a
full-fledged assault on the town.
AS the American frontal attack
across the Merderet River on Cher
bourg Peninsula reached within IL
miles of the west coast roads
whose capture would seal off Cher
bourg-Vichy radio said doughboys
had pushed into Quineville on the
east coast.
This would put 1t. Gen. Omar N
Bradley's flank within ID miles of
Chernourg on a 4-mile front be-
tween Quineville and Monteburg,
where street fighting was reported
The Germans said 100000 to
100000 Allied troops already had
been poured into the bridgehead
and that these represented only a
third of the amphibious assault
forces poised in Britain to hammer
home attacks against the continent
THE bulk of the huge forces of
the 2lst Amphibious Army group is
still standing by to pounce on some
important harbor," the German
radio declared.
Orne Estuary Crossed.
The Germans said the Allies had
crossed the Orne Estuary, ferrying
over tanks and threatening Caen,
which Marshal Rommel by his
(See INVASION, Page A-4D
" h1 M