Evening star., 1944-06-16
Attacks on Austria
Reported After Big
Raid on Bou|ogne
Sv the Associated Press,

SUPREME ALLIED HEAD
QUARTERS, June 16.-The Al
lied aerial offensive against
Continental targets swept on to-
day after RAF heavy bombers
made their second high altitude
precision attack late yesterday.
plastering 12,000-pound bombs
on Nazi E-boat, R-boat and
mine-sweeper pens at Boulogne.
AS the aerial assault in support
of the Normandy invasion rolled on
this morning, the German radio re-
ported hostile aircraft approaching
the Austrian provinces of Carinthia
and Styria.
Big British four-engine Lancas-
ters, with their fighter escort, hit
the French Channel port OF
Boulogne first at 10:30 o'clock last
night. The attack was similar to
one the RAF made Wednesday night
on installations at LIE Havre-a
strike which reconnaissance indi-
Gated was very successful.
Railway Centers Blasted.
Other British heavy pomberS, con-
tinuing the attack into the night,
hit railway centers at Valenciennes
and Lens and fuel dump at Chatel-
lerault. Fourteen bombers were
missing from all these operations,
while Allied night intruder planes
destroyed four enemy aircraft and
damaged others over France.
The evening and night operations
also saw Mosquito force hit un-
specified detectives within Germany.
These blows were a thunderouS fol-
lowup to yesterdays daylight opera
tions which included attacks by an
armada Of 1900 United States heavy
bombers.
In addition to the American heavy
bomber blows, supreme headquar-
ters announced that 5000 sorties
individual plane fights were made
by Allied planes yesterday in direct
support of the ground operations in
Normandy. Many of these were
flown by planes based in France.
During yesterday afternoon me-
dium bombers hit fuel and supply
dumps, bridges and other communi-
cations targets from Valognes, in the
Cherbourg Peninsula, to Laval, about
IS miles behind the enemy lines.
Bombers Penetrate to Bordeaux.
The daylight sweeps yesterday
ranged over France from the Nor
mandy battle fields as far south as
Bordeaux. Out OF these mighty op-
erations three American heavy
bombers, one medium and four
fighters were missing, headquarters
announced, and at least "a German
planes were shot down.
Escorted by nearly 750 fighters,
the great feet of American Flying
Fortresses and Liberators made
their deepest penetration of France
since the invasion started and
dropped an estimated $3.50 tons of
bombs.
Their objectives included an air
base at Bordeaux, 300 miles south
Of the Normandy battle zone; a
railyard at Angouleme, 10 miles
northeast of Bordeaux, and other
targets at Nantes, 120 miles south
Of the fighting area; La Poisson
Mere. SO miles east of Nantes; La
Frilliere, 8 miles east of Tours, and
at Beauvais, 10 miles north of Paris
At least one formation penetrated
into Germany.
Medium Marauders concentrated
their efforts on the Villers- -Bocage
area, where Americans repulsed a
heavy German counterattack and
where fierce armored clashes were
continuing, and on road functions
in the vicinity of st. Lo.
Allied fighters, including many of
those escorting the heavy bombers
used rockets, bullets and bombs on
enemy troops, material and supplies
in and Immediately behind the
battle zone.
Raj coastal command Beau
fighters, escorted by Polish Mus
tangs, attacked an enemy shipping
concentration off the Frisian Islands
without loss. AS a result of their
attack a merchant vessel was sunk,
a naval auxiliary beached, mine
sweeper blown up and sunk and
another hit by a torpedo. Five
minesweepers were left on fire. Two
minesweepers and two R-boats were
raked by cannon fire.
Photographs of LIE Havre after
the raid by Raj Lancasters We'd
nesday night showed the German
E-boats, which had been lurking
there to attack the fianks of the
ceaseless trans-Channel conveys,
had disappeared. Before the raid
10 E-boats and motor torpedo boats
had been seen in the harbor.
After the air attack Allied battle
ships and cruisers gave the German
held port a brisk DoundinQ