The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-06-30
First Group.
Thrown Back
Below Caen
NAILS RUSH RESERVES
Additional Help Streams
From Central France
And Germany

SUPREME HEADQUAR-
TERS ALLIED EXPEDI-
TIONARY FORCE, Friday,
June 30.-(AP)-The Ger
mans hurled all available ar
NOR last night in a bold bid
to lop off the menacing Brit
ish thrust five miles below
strategic Caen but were
thrown back as more enemy
streamed from CEN
trail France and the Reich it.
self for the developing show
down battle of Normandy.
A British staff officer told Asso-
ciated Press Correspondent Roger
D. Greene that Field Marshal Gen.
Karl Rudolf Gerd Won Roundstedt
had sent his tanks hammering at
the flanks of the firm bridgehead
across the Odon river to try to
dent the lines but "he is not sue
ceeding."
Only IL miles north of Caen,
astride the road to Paris, the Bri.
fish clugged out local gains in
fierce fighting, the Supreme Head
quarters cornmunique announced.
Allied air might, which smash
ed at the strategic troop reserves
Wednesday night with an RAJ raid
on the big rail center of Metz, turn
ed it's attention to the tactical re-
serves speeding up from Paris over
devious routes already attacked by
bombers and had field day in
smashing more than 100 vehicles.
Casualties Heavy
Tommies who stormed Gavrus.
a mile and a half north of Evrecy,
and tanks which approached near
the right flank of the bridgehead,
said enemy casualties were heavy
or this front.
The communique said the posi-
tons across the Odon, which at
points reach within a mile of the
big Orne river, were "strengthen-
ed after further heavy fighting" in
which all counterattacks were
firmly repulsed''. The Germans
were reacting swiftly and vigorous
ly to this threat to Caen, coming
closely on the fall of Cherbourg.
Although Caen does not compare
with Cherbourg as a naval port.
it's peace-time commercial cargo
tonnage was roughly 10 times
greater than Cherbourg, a source
at supreme headquarters said.
The Germans loosed one counter
attack at 6 pm. yesterday on the
right flank in the Granville area
and were met by terrific barrage
laid down by British artillery and
tanks.
Across the Caen-Villers-Bocage
road the British stormed Gavrus.
and at last reports held most Of
the town. On the left flank Of the
river bridgehead, British infantry
mopped up enemy remnants in
Colleville and Mouen, the latter five
miles southwest of Caen.
| Artillery Hits Hard
The ranks Of enemy reserves
were decimated by the massed ar
tillery of Gen. Sir Bernard l..
Montgomery and by fighter.bom'
bers which struck road and rail
bridges near Montfort-sur-Risle,
Cherisy, 40 miles west of Paris, St.
Paul-Courtonne about As miles east
Of Caen, and ranged far south and
hammered trains at Orleans and
near Flors.
The Germans, throwing in their
air force during the generally I'M
favorably weather, lost at least A
air craft in air battles that swirl
ed over the French front and deep
into Germany itself.
The Germans fought the British
encircling move south of Caen
mainly with armor, but the Nazi
line of tanks--thinned by the loss
of 292. wrecked or disabled since
Bodybuilding III destroyed
was being pressed steadily back
upon the Orne river.
It appeared that the first big
German counterblow was being
shaped as Field Marshal Gen. Karl
gled to mass men and armor in the
Rudolf Gerd Won Roundstedt strug-
hail Of Allied blows raining down
from the air. The supreme COM
mand said major co-ordinated
counterthruSt" was expected.