Evening star., 1944-03-06
Germans Report
Great 350-MiIe
Aerial Battle
ALLIED FORCES REPULSE small
attack on Italian beachhead.
Page A-10
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
LONDON, Mar. 6.-American
heavy bombers in very strong
forces" bombed Berlin today in
the second American attack on
the German capital.
The German radio declared one
of the wars greatest air battles had
ragged over $50 miles from the Meth
erlands coast to Berlin.
The first official Allied announce
ment said only that targets in the
Berlin district" were hit, without
identifying them further or giving
other details
This surprise followup to Satur-
days "icebreaker" raid, by one for
nation of bombers, was a striking
demonstration of the 8th Air Forces
might, for it was the seventh opera
ton of the heavy bombers in eight
days.
Heavy fighter escorts accompanied
today's formations on the round trip
of more than 1,100 miles from Brit
iSh bases.
Day and Night Attacks.
Thus Berlin, already heavily
bombed by massive RAF night as
saults. was brought under destruc-
tive hammer blows falling by day
and night.
Presumably the American daylight
attacks are aimed at precision de-
struction of selected targets escap-
ing the RATS Saturation raids.
The heavy bombers flew to Berlin
as Allied medium and fighter bomb
ers for the fifth succeeding day at
tackled Northern France - where
Prime Minister Churchill said the
Germans were preparing rocket and
robot-plane installations. Last night
Raj Mosquitoes attacked Western
Germany without loss.
In London Dingle NJ Foot, par
liamentary secretary of the Min
istry of Economic Warfare. told a
luncheon that when resistance in
the air is overwhelmed the de-
struction of German war industry
will follow on a far greater scale
than achieved in the last few weeks"
Preliminary to Invasion.
He said the intensified bombing
will be more than "a policy of at
rition designed to wear down Ger
man war potential over a long
period--it represents the essential
preliminary to invasion of Europe"
Last Wednesday was the only time
w TN riol, that
heavy bombers have not gone out.
Successfully, they bombed the Pas
de-Calais area, Brunswick, South
west and Northwest Germany, and
yesterday hit Nazi air bases in
Southern France. The bombers and
fighters yesterday knocked down 27
enemy planes.
A German broadcast declared that
zone of the greatest air battles of
the war has been raging since 11:30
this morning over Northwest and
Central Germany" extending from
the Zuider Zee as far as the Heavel
Lakes near Berlin.
The radio said the air raid alarm
sounded in Berlin just before 2 pm.
t9 am. Eastern war time).
Direct Course to Berlin.
The Americans took a direct
course to Berlin, the Germans said,
and during their incursion were
continually pressed by the strongest
forces of German fighter and de-
stroyer aircraft, and we're forced
to ever-freSh eVaSiVe maneuverS by
the fire of hundreds of antiaircraft
batteries"
The attack had been expected by
German antiaircraft defenses after
the first two American daylight
thrusts had failed The United
States bombers flew in tight forma-
tions, protected on both sides by
fighters and long-range fighters fly
ing at higher altitude" the Berlin
radio continued.
The impression that the greatest
possible fighter protection by United
States Army and RAF fighters was
given in order to accomplish the
thrust to Berlin this time was pre-
vailing when the formations flew
over the western frontier"
Yesterdays operations were exc
cuted by strongly escorted forces of
Liberators which bombed the Ger
man air base at Cognac and other
targets IN the vicinity of Bergerac.
(See RAIDS. Page A-4.)