Evening star., 1944-06-26
By DON WHITEHEAD.
Associated Press War Correspondent.
WITH AMERICAN FORCES EN-

TERING CHERBOURG, June 26.-
American forces entered Cherbourg
late yesterday afternoon.
With artillery battering the
|enemy's collapsing defenses. Amer
ican troops clawed into the city
from south, east and west and
|clamped a firm grasp on the vital
port.
The Germans stand -or-die de-
fenses slowly withered under the
terrible pounding from, our big
guns and mortars until at 6 pm.
moon, Eastern war time) there
were only two strong points at
Fort du Roule and a few other
scattered defense points holding
out against the relentless dough-
boys.
There remained last night the
slow job of cleaning out the main
part of the city and the silencing
of the enemy guns which are still
firing on Allied troops who battled
their way into the city 10 days
after opening the western front.
Under a Pail of Smoke.
Cherbourg lies under pail of dust
and smoke from fires kindled by
artillery explosions and from demoli-
tions of the Germans who are unable
to withstand the crushing power OF
the attack thrown at them by the
Americans
Hundreds of prisoners are stream
ing back to prisoner cages. There is
no estimate of the number, but they
are being rounded up in groups of
20, so and 100 at time, wherever
the doughboys go. There are many
others dead around the positions
hammered by our big guns.
| But Cherbourg proper is un-
touched by our artillery fire which
is concentrated on points of resist
ance.
Late yesterday afternoon the Ger
mans blew up Fort Desfiamands. A
mighty explosion ripped out the
sides of the fortress and clouded the
eastern half of the city in dense
smoke. There weer explosions of
other demolitions as the troops ad-
vanced.
Cherbourg's basin was an inferno
of artillery explosions, flames, smoke
and dust yesterday-one Of the most
spectacular and awesome sights I
have ever seen.
Shoes Crunch on Gravel.
And then, when the troops began
the final attack at 2 pm, a sudden
quiet descended over the battlefield
a ghostly sort of silence which was
unbroken for minutes by the noises
of battle. The only sound remem-
ber was the crunch Of shoes on the
gravel as the doughboys marched on
Cherbourg.
Even though they were told to
stand by their guns or be shot as
towards, the Germans broke under
the steady hammering of artillery
and pressure from the Dougboys
and did not put up the house-to-
house defense many expected them
to do.
I sat on a bluff overlooking the
city yesterday morning and watched
artillery and navy guns work al
the job of completely crushing
the enemy. Rarely In warfare does
one get ringside seat at close
range and see the spectacular pyro-
technics such as we saw.
Our seat was on the bluff above
the old stone quarry which hao
been headquarters for an enemy
coast artillery outfit. A dozen OF
more troops and a few newsmer
sat in the warm sun in plain view
of the enemy and looked at the
battle
Shells were bursting on a sane
spit near Fort des Flamands, east
of the harbors main inner channe
where the Germans had a battery
of big guns blasting away at oul
positions. We could see the fash
of these guns and the enemy walk
ing about them.
Observers finally ranged In or
the positions and gray bursts from
our shelling mushroomed up
Lay something on them!" shouted
LIT. James Timothy OF the Kennedy.