The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-02-18
Washington Calling
BY MARQUIS CHILDS

II MI1hVCAo OAA
PARIS-In a quick trip by plane and car l
have lust had chance to see good portlon
of France
The damage done by the occupation ana by
the war of liberation is tremendous-tar greater
than had imagined before l came mere Inc
complete destruction of areas in Normandy
was well publicized at the time OF the INVASION
but what people back home have failed to
! realize is the universal destruction throughout
France with Paris for the most part the con-
SpicuouS exception.
The damage outside the path of the invasion
came first from Allied bombing and second
from the Germans, who destroyed what they
could as they pulled out of the country they
had occupied for four years. Some additional
destruction, small by comparison, was caused
later by German bombing Of French areas &C.
| cupied by Allied forces.
In the course of the tour, saw long lines
of shattered freight cars still standing on the
tracks-at the same spot, apparently, where
they had been hit by American medium
bombers and fighter bombers This was not
once, but half dozen times at least. Nor did
the strings OF charred and crump1ed cars seem
to be on side tracks. In several instances they
were on what appeared to be part of the main
French rail system.
It is a rare thing to see railway train
either passenger or freight, in France and,
nine times out of ten, it will be a military
train. Likewise from the air you see very
few railway bridges that are intact. You get
remarkable impression of the accuracy OF
precision bombing when you see one or two
spans gone with virtually no damage done to
the area Immediately around the bridge.
The ports suffered perhaps the most serious
damage of ALL Even those put back into use by
the military are mere ruined shells.
In LIE Havre, the destruction extends literal
~ for miles. The whole area back of the docks
was RACED by Allied bombing. The detailed
story of this will probably not be told until
after the war. The Germans, before they
pulled out, made hash of the great dock installa-
tons, warehouses and trackage facilities.
The u S. Navy has done remarkable job
in restoring the port so that today more cargo
passes through than in peacetime. 1t is hand
led by means Of ingenious. improvised float
ing docks rugged in the midst of the wreckage.
While many workers in LIE Havre are able
to find jobs with the Navy in setting up temper
airy docks, others exc out a bare existence in
the ruins. You see them painstakingly salvag-
ing bricks, metal and whatever else has any
value.
At Lyons, every bridge across the Rhone
was destroyed by the fleeing Germans. Tenn
porary structures carry civilians and military
traffic supplying French bomber group, part
of the First Tactical Air Force.
That base, incidentally, is an example of
what accurate bombing can do While it was
occupied by the Germans, American flyers
bombed it and destroyed almost every nstalla-
ton on the field in about half hour. Not
single civilian was killed in the course of that
plastering, we were told at Lyons.
Seeing this destruction makes you realize
what the Germans are taking behind their
lines from our Tactical Air Forces. German|
railway yards, trains and key rail functions
are being constantly pounded But you realize
yuhen large scale of tleI
German railway system, what an enormous
job this is.
In the operations room saw map covering
the entire wall which showed the intricate net
work of inter- connecting lines. When one line
is bombed out or a bridge removed, traffic
can be :hifted to a temporary line while re-
pairs are made. That is to say, the SHIFT ana
repairs can be made if the force OF military
necessity is behind it.
Here in France, that necessity no longer
EXISTS except for a few main military supply
lines. The repair of French transportation
proceeds with painful slowness. French con-
struction methods always at handlcra1t pace,
now seem pathetically inadequate to the ask
of reconstruction.
The real lack of course, is materials. Inc
French have claim on $50 tons OF alloy Steel
now in Britain that is essential to the re-
Mobilization of the railway system. lney haVe
been trying in vain for weeks to get tranSporta-
ton to bring it across the channel
The suffering of the French in this sixth
winter of the war is not to be wondered at.
Only people of their frugal habits could nave
come through. After the bitter winter and the
severe floods of the present, the great questlon
mark is for the future.
downright 1945 by United Feature Syndicate,
Inc.) /
Tip to any Nazi big shot-write your mem
oirs NOW, boy!
'Footsore Germans in full retreat news
tom ROW eastern front. What's this, Adolf
the blisterkreg?
A tiger, says nature item, can leap 10
feet. That's nothing compared to the distance
native can achieve on slghtlng same
A. Lost ~. hive the old-timers stopped cold!
VINO among them. can remember a worse
Wirter7