Evening star., 1944-01-30

lerS broke through TO give them ter
rife battle.
The bombers themselves employed
new tactics, tanning out over their
target, once they were safely
through the corridor, to cover as
much of the city as possible instead
of attacking in single, drawn out
| formation.
Obviously the American British
ble-barreled assault on Berlin
and Frankfurt, 300 miles apart, was
planned to throw maximum strain
on German defenses. 1t was esti-
mated that the 1900 fighters which
the Germans have massed in the
west and the ground gunners be-
tween the coast and Germany
proper were given their biggest test.
Some must have been in action
hours on end.
When the RATS night force was
returning about breakfast time, the
American bombers already were on
their way.
The record American assault
coincided with announcement of the
arrival of Maj. Gen. James H. Doo-
little to command the 9Th Air Force
Although the announcement did not
specify the time Of arrival, it may
be that this was the first operation
under him in this theater.
Frankfurt, city of 100000 popu-
lation which has been attacked
heavily six times, including a 2,O00-
ton assault by the Raj, took what
undoubtedly was the worst daylight
pounding given any target of the
war.
The city was bombed by the Raj
at night on october % and by the
Americans on october 4. 1t is tht
site Of important synthetic OF
plants, regular refineries, Germany.
largest automobile works, Opel, anc
also is the headquarters of the great
I. G. Farben Industrie chemica
trust.
The crews of British Lancasters
and Halifaxes participating in the
latest Berlin attack said it was one
of the most successful of the cam.
paign to obliterate the capital.
IL Combats by One Group.
They reported that the Germans
seemed to put up every fighter
available. One group of Lancasters
sighted so fighters and had IL COM
bats. When the Pathtinders arrived
over Berlin shortly before the zero
hour, 3:12 am, they ran into an.
other fighter attack which LASTED
half an hour.
The bompers encountered rockets
apparently fired from the ground
but the ground defenses wilted as
the attack progressed and near the
end the only defense was the
fighters.
Reports to Stockholm said direct
air service to Berlin was halted yes
terday and planes landed at Stet-
tin, where passengers continued by
train.
The official German explanation
for the cancellation of flights was
that the landing field was too mud
dy, but reports from Malmo sale
that Templehof Airport had beer
cut off by telephone from that city
and from Copenhagen and that
travellers reaching Denmark said q
block-buster had hit the admins
tration building at Templehof Fri
day night.
Receive Brunt of Blows.
The travellers said Central Berlin
and the southern boroughs, par.
ticularly Wilmersdorf, had received
the brunt of the Friday night blast
Neutral correspondents were not
permitted to give a detailed report
of the damage or the number o1
victims, but the descriptions re-
ceived from Swedish writer's indi.
Gated it was one of the severest
blows yet delivered against the
ISupAVcl.
The Stockholm Aftonbladet's cor.
respondent said the late night alarm
sounded an overture to the hor-
rible spectacle which an annihila-
ton raid means and which only
those who have experienced it car
understand in its whole extent"
Berliners realized from the very
start that the raid would be heavy
The RATS Christmas Tree" flares
and German searchlights lighted the
sky and the combination of detona-
tions Of the bombs and Berlin's
antiaircraft fire made it a CON
cert Of hell" he wrote.
Whole Blocks Crushed.
Zone felt the ground shaking a.
the result of enormous air mines
(which crushed whole apartment.
house blocks. When sirens an.