Evening star., 1944-08-16
BY the Associated Press.

Ile iIH ARMY ldSC spring.
BY the Associated Press.
ROME, Aug. 16.-Allied inva-
sion troops have struck miles
inland at some points on South
ern France after taking all ini-
tial objectives and establishing
themselves firmly, headquarters
announced tonight.
British and American air-borne
troops vaulting behind the lines
were credited officially with block
ing enemy reinforcements. Great
fleets of American troop carriers
winged supplies and reinforcements
by glider and parachute into the
air borne bridgehead today.
German resistance generally con-
tinued relatively weak.
Assault forces fought on through
the night after overrunning the first
beach obstacles
Blocked at One Point.
The landings were generally lightly
opposed but heavy German fire
blocked off sea landing craft al
one point, it was learned. This
setback was reported by Technical
Sergt. Richard T. Wright of Ar
lington, Va, marine combat cor
respondent. He said the German
fire at this point, which was not
identified, had prevented troops
from debarking.
THE Berlin radio declared Ger
man bombers and torpedo planes
had sunk one fully laden landing
craft and damaged several other
Allied vessels in the Gulf of st.
TropeZ.
The Gulf of St. Tropez lies
midway between Cap Negre and
the Frejus area.
(The enemy broadcaSt. without
confirmation from Aimed quar-
ters, said tanks and guns aboard
the sunken vessel had been des-
tined to support landing opera
tions in Ste. Maxine, on the
north shore of the Gulf
Allied headquarters said the
operations were proceeding "ac-
cording to plan No comment was
offered on broadcast German ac-
counts of the action nor was a re-
port that French parachutists were
operating 20 miles inland officially
confirmed.
Both Nice and Cannes. major
seaside cities at the foothills of
the Maritime Alps, were de-
clared in frontier reports to La
Suisse of Geneva to have been
captured by the Allies. The dis
patch said Marseille was immi-
nently endangered by force of
French Partisans and 1000
Allied parachute troops)
1t was known that the Allies had
landed at Cap Negre and in the area
of Frejus, 35 miles apart, on the
coast between Toulon and Nice.
The Mediterranean Allied Air
Force sent Flying Fortresses against
vital rail bridges of Southern France
in support of the attack. Unes-
corted. the bombers encountered no
enemy planes.
Heavy Two-Way Traffic.
n llCdNy tWo-"dS lllitu
airlanes between Southern France
and Italy. The MAAF said REIN
forcementS for air-borne troops
were landed yesterday and mo op-
position either from the air or on
the ground was encountered"
The reinforcement wave was de-
clared easily the largest of the day,
with not less than 1000 parachute
troopers in the air at one time and
the glider train extending more
than so miles.
(The British radio today said
the Allies had captured five
towns, including one miles in
land, and that prisoners are
coming in in batches." The towns
we're not idenitfied)
(The British radio said one of
its correspondents had been as
far as 20 miles behind Cannes
with French parachute troops.
This broadcast, recorded by NBC,
said 10000 French sailors were
participant in the invasion)
Dispatches from correspondents
referred to three separate Allied
beachheads George Tucker, Asso-
ciated Press war correspondent, said
the landings covered a 40-mile
stretch of the coast.
Some Smelling by Nazis.
Another dispatch said the Ger
mans began some heavy shelling,
forcing landing craft to hit the
beaches behind dense smoke screens
In general, however, reports indi-
Gated opposition on this second day
of the fourth front was much less
than anticipated.
Air activity during the night in
cluded an attack on the Valence
Airdrome in the Rhone Valley BY
both day and night German COM
(see MEDITERRANEAN, Pg. A-5J
HnIIsn Nance cnmmiffnn