Evening star., 1944-07-10
Montgomery's
Troops Strike
At Enemy Flank
MAP on Page A-j.)
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
SUPREME ALLIED HEAD
QUARTERS, July 10.-The Brit
ish I'd Army today struck hard
blow eastward on Smile front
at the Germans left flank,
miles south of newly occupied
Caen, capturing a chain of Nor
mandy towns and strong points
and advancing to a point within
less than a mile of the Orne
River.
On the western end of the Nor
mandy line American troops broke
through strong German defenses
around captured La Haye du Puts
driving south along the road to
Lessay and opening a broad exit
through the base of the Cherbourg
Peninsula.
The enemy Gefenses cracked open
when 1t. Gen. Omar N. Bradley S
doughboys stormed through La Haye
and then began moving ahead
against scattered knots of resist
ance. The Germans began falling
back on their next line of defense
a field dispatch said.
Other Americans Advance.
In the center an American smash
into the German lines from the Wire
River bridgehead at ST. Jean de
Dave also made steady progress on
7-mile front to depths of more
than mile in hard fighting through
difficult low country hidden by fog
and drizzle.
Gen. Bradley's columns, accom-
panied by steady drumfre from
artillery, captured Sainteny. 6 miles
south of Carertan and about the
same distance from the road juno
ton of Periers.
Periers is about So miles south
west of Lessay, a coastal road juno
ton bordering a deep inlet from the
sea. where the Germans might at
tempt to defend bottleneck against
the other Americans rolling swiftly
southeastward from La Haye.
Field dispatches described the
attack in the Caen area as a typical
f1anking jab by Gen. Sir Bernard
L. Montgomery.
The British plunged eastward
from their Odon bridgehead behind
the embattled Germans in the
suburb of Fauborg de Vaucelles, and
captured Bretteville-sur-O Odon, q
mile southwest of Caen
Eterville. next in the chain and
3 miles southwest of the city: NAL
tot, 4 miles to the southwest, and
Hill liz. bit farther southwest.
all fell in quick succession.
Gen. Montgomery's bludgeon.
more than 3 miles broad. was
matched by British bridgehead
across the Orne TO the north and
east OF Caen which also threatened
the last-ditch Germans with a
squeeze offensive.
The British fought forward 2
miles in this latest attack with the
objective of freeing the docks of
Caen from the threat of German
artillery fire SO that a stream of
Allied freight might soon begin
peuring in to match the reinforce
ments from Cherbourg. All the
points fell before noon after the
initial jumpoff at am.
Nazi Stand at Fauborg.
1t was made while the bulk of the
main German forces were engaged
by British sweeping through the
ruins OF Caen toward the suburb
OF Fauborg de Vaucelles, where the
Germans were making a stand
The new attack. flung with a
thunderous artillery barrage at 5
a m, came Is hours after British
and Canadian forces had taken
Caen. 100 miles from Paris. and
opened the way to a favorable fiat
battle-ground on the plain of Caen
south of the port of Falice.
Field dispatches assaying the ex-
tent of the victory at Caen said the
German 18th SIS Panzer Division
and field division had been badly
mauled in trying to hold the city
The 18th Panzers were reported
whitfield to As per cent of their nor
NAL strength. loss of perhaps $500
men.
Severe Nazi Reverse.
Caen was so badly battered that
the British had to bring up bull
dozers to push the rubble aside be-
cause vehicles could not get within
500 yards of the river.
The Germans have suffered
severe reverse the supreme COM
mand asserted in commenting on
the capture of Caen, but hastened
to add:
They have not yet suffered
ma jor defeat in the field"
The bulk of the German troops
engaged in the area staged an or
eanized retreat in the words of
the supreme command. and took
new stand along the south bank of
the Orne.
The Germans whole Normandy
(See INVASION, Page A-3)