Evening star., 1944-08-15
Allied Forces Push
Several Miles Inland
With Light Opposition
Continued From First Page J

Continued From First Page.)
underground army Of Southern
France had responded.
Scarcely shot was fired at the
big transport planes and gliders
which put the air-borne troops
down, and the first returning pilots
OF the massive fighter plane screen
which covered the invasion said not
a single enemy plane opposed the
early operations.
Three Shot Down Later.
Later, when Lightnings encoun-
tered the first German planes to be
seen, three Messerschmitts were
shot down without loss.
An Allied spotter plane few so
miles inland without sighting a
single enemy troop concentration.
While Allied bombers struck in
cessantly at objectives inland, the
huge invasion fleet hurled tons of
steel into German coastal defenses.
Most of the air-borne troops were
believed to be British.
The prodigious invasion effort, in
volving hundreds of thousands of
men and mountains of supplies and
equipment, was not far from the
mouth of the Rhone River leading
northward across France.
German broadcasts were more
specific on what they said was the
invasion sector than were Allied
announcements The Germans
narrowed the landing area to a
70-mile stretch between Toulon.
30 miles east of Marseille. and
Cannes.
Focal point of the strike, the
Germans added, was the 16-mile
stretch between St. Raphael and
Cap Camarat, about midway be-
tween Toulon and Cannes. The
Germans admitted the Allies had
secured a foothold.)
Landing Coast Rugged.
The Riviera coast where the land
lngs Weer made is rugged, with hills
rising abruptly from the coast and
is rockbound in many places. But
between these lodges are manv
beaches, some small, others extern
sive.
Back of these beaches are the
little resort towns nesting against
the hllls-one of the worlds best
known Fairgrounds.
The striking force was composed
largely Of American and French
troops whose path was prepared
by thousands of planes which had
plnpolnted guns, coastal defenses.
bridges and roads since Friday.
These attacks already had sealed
on the Germans in the area under
attack from speedy help either from
Italy or Northern France.
Bombers today alone few more
than 1000 sorties over the beach,
heads without opposition.
The air forces also dropped sew
eral million leaflets today. some in
vltlng German troops to surrender
others instructing French civilians
TO Keep off the roads and awav
from military objectives and vet
others advising the underground
what to do
The assault, which was in strong
force. was led by specially trained
Allied troops, many of them vet
erans OF previous invasions and
campaigns in the Mediterranean
theater,' Allied headquarters an.
nounced.
Announcement of the invasion
was accompanied by an appeal from
Gen. Sir Henry Maitland Wilson
Allied Mediterranean commander
to the French people to "plav their
part In the new battle of France.
Gen. Wilson declared the objective
OF the troops now ashore in the
south was Ito drive out the Ger
mans and join up with the Allied
armies advancing from Normandy"
Remember l9l8,' Wilson Saws,
The army of France is in being
again. fighting on its own soil for
the liberation of its country with
all It's traditions of victory behind
1T his broadcast proclamation said.
Remember 1918"
The text of Gen. Wilson's special
communique follows:
Today American. British and
french troops strongly supported
by Allied Air Forces are being
landed by American. British and
French fleets on the southern coast
OF France"
The Allies have been massing men
and materials for months on Cor
slca, about 100 miles southeast of
the coast of France at Nice across
the Ligurian Sea. and only yester-
Gay the Berlin radio reported large
Allied conveys had been observed