The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-05-11
700 Planes BIitz Nozis
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Some Londoners said the roar of their motors was the loudest they had heard, eclipsing even that of the London i>litz when the planes were German.
 The Nazi-controlled Paris radio said an Allied air force dropped many high explosive and incendiary bombs on Annecy deep in eastern France this afternoon, causing "im- portant" damage. The broadcast said another town in the Loire de- partment was completely destroyed by other bombers, with casualties expected to run into the hundreds.
 The Berlin radio reported that a bomber formation approached south west Germany, but turned away. Single planes were reported over western Germany-apparently aer- ial scouts syping out prime targets for the great offensive. A later broadcast said bomber formations were sweeping toward western Ger many.
 The first daylight announcement American Marauders and Havocs from the Allied air forces reported laying carpet of bombs on German airdromes at Beaumont-le-Roget and Cormeilles-en-VeXin
 All Return
 All the Marauder medium and Havoc light bombers returned from the morning. mission, encountering no German fighters. Crewnnen re- ported planting their bombs square, ly on the targets.
 Another force of Marauders this afternoon bombed the Pas de Calais, where the Germans were reported to have set up rocket guns and other weapons for use on D-Day.
 F'olkestone correspondents report ed large numbers of fighters over the straits during the afternoon. Thunderbolts swarmed overhead in large numbers, while other planes shuttled back and forth.
 At midafternoon soon after 8 15- minute bomber parade over the southeast coast, heavy explosions rumbled across from France.
 The bulk of the British-based night-raiding fleet of 500 heavy bombers smashed at railway yards at Lille and Lens, northern France, temporarily cutting key supply and Gent and Courtrai, Belgium, lines to Germany's west wall de- lenses at all four places.
 Four functions
 All four functions lie les than 500 miles from that portion of the chan mel coast closest to southeast Eng land, where huge American, British and Allied invasion armies have been reported massing for landing in western Europe.
 Altogether 19 lines run into the four communications hubs from the channel ports of Calais, Dun- kerque and Ostende and from Ger manys industrial Ruhr valley, store house for war. The line between Lens and Gent, on which Lille and Courtrai are functions, is the first major railway running parallel to the coast behind the channel beaches.
 The London Daily Mail said Mar shal Erwin Rommel, German anti invasion commander, has seied con- trol of Frances bombbatt-ered rail- way system, presumably in des- perate effort to keep supplies and achievements moving into the coastal areas.
 Other RAF heavy bombers dropped hundreds of tons of block busters on a mysterious military objective" on the French coast itself, while twin-engined Mosquitoes hit the Rhineland chemical city of Ludwig shafen. Fifteen planes were lost in all raids and in mine-laying opera tions.
 A German broadcast said an air raid alert also was sounded in Essen, home of the big Krupp Arms Works in the Ruhr, but Allied sources did not report any attack on that city.
 Flying from Italian bases, RAF Liberators and Wellingtons bombed railway yards and industrial sections of Budapest last night and early today for the fifth time after bat ting their way through electrical storms and rain over the Balkans.
 Dense Clouds
 Dense cloud was encountered over the Rakos railway yards, the main target, but the raiders released their bombs through clear patches and saw them burst among rolling stock
 The Budapest attack followed daylight raid yesterday by up to 800 American Flying Fortresses and Liberators from Italy on the Messer- schmitt fighter factory at Wiener Neustadt, g miles below Vienna, Austria, in the face of fierce opposi- ton from 12O intercepting enemy planes and heavy anti-aircraft fire
 Twenty-nine heavy bombers and three escorting fighters were lost, the largest number in single at- tack ir six weeks, but the force dropped possibly 1900 tons of ex- plosives on one of the main cogs in Adolf Hitler's hard-pressed air. craft industry.
 Although haze and smoke pre- vented observation of full results of the raid, a metal-shaping building. the final assembly shop, power house and a sub-assembly plant were known to have been damaged.
 Escorting fighters shot down II enemy planes and the bombers themselves accounted for an un- specified additional number. Still other enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground at the nearby Wiener Neustadt Nord airdrome. Several fires also were started in a locomo- tive works.
 Other LibeFat0rs
 Other Italian based Liberators raided the Yugoslay railway center of knin. 30 miles northeast Of sibenlk. yesterday.
 British based fortresses and Lib- orators were idle yesterday for the first time since April 23. balt some ? 250O American and British medium, light and Aghter-bombers and