Evening Star Newspaper, April 17, 1940, Page 4

At ww . Nazi Bombs Silence Norse Fort Blocking Line Seized by Ruse Germans Tighten Hold On Southern Norway Behind New Defenses By the Associated Press. STOCKHOLM, April 17,—~A heavy bomb attack on the 50-year-old Nor- wegian fortress at Hegra, about 25 miles east of the German-occupied Atlantic port of Trondheim, ap- peared today to have silenced the fortress’ batteries, it was reported here. ‘The Hegra guns, although directed mainly against an attack from Swe- den, formed an obstacle to Ger- many's control of the railroad ex- tending from Trondheim to Sweden, along which the Nazis are consoli- dating a potential line of defense. A trainload of German troops slipped by Hegra's guns yesterday by a ruse and reached the Swedish border, which is about 50 miles from Trondheim. Mop Up in Southern Norway. Meanwhile, German troops has- tened mopping up operations in Southern Norway behind the poten- tial line of defense from Trondheim to the Swedish frontier. ‘The front, apparently planned as # bulwark against possible attack by British twops reported to have land- ed on Norway’s northern shores, was established yesterday when the in- vading Nazis gained control of the railway cutting across the country’s narrow “waist.” The only German armed forces north of Trondheim appeared iso- lated in the vicinity of Narvik, 400 miles away, and there was increasing evidence that the invaders intended to concentrate on consolidating their position behind the newly estab- lished line in middle Norway. Narvik Operations Minimized. This theory was supported by of- ficial Berlin statements minimizing the importance of operations at Nar- vik, which Norwegian sources said alreadey had been occupied by the allies, and emphasizing the strength of the German position in the south. Observers pointed out that the Germans apparently have control of virtually all strategic points on the Norwegian coast below Trond- heim-—including the ports of Kris- tiansund, Bergen and Stavanger— and are in good position to repel allied attacks from the sea. Severed lines of communication made it impossible to obtain exact knowledge of German operations in Bouthern Norway, but there were reports of scattered fighting in which Norwegian troops were said to be retiring before superior Nazi detachments. Kongsvinger Reported Occupied. Kongsvinger, northeast of Oslo and about 30 miles from the Swedish frontier, was reported occupied by the Germans after street fighting with a small force of Norwegians left to impede the advance. | Norwegian military headquarters announced ski troops had made a successful counterattack on the flank of German forces near Haka- dal, east of Oslo, but said that farther south the defenders were retiring before strong Nazi units. Scattered remnants of the Nor- wegian Army continued to pour across the southern border into Sweden, where they were disarmed and interned. Norse Hold Fosseim District. The Norwegians said their posi- tions in the Fosseim district, 125 miles northwest of Oslo, still were intact. They reported that two German planes had been shot down during yesterday's operations and THE EVENING ' STAR, WASHINGTO NAZI GUNS PROTECT TROOPS MARCHING INTO DENMARK —A German anti-aircraft gun is protecting a line of Nazi trucks Narvik, including both Germans and Norwegians, crossed the Swedish border and were taken to a hospital at Kiruna, More Told of Treason. The Norwegians brought fresh tales of treachery on the part of their own officers. One soldier said all the officers in his unit had de- serted except one ensign and a cap- tain, The ensign, he declared, had shot down a superior officer who or- dered the unit to surrender. (In London the Exchange Tele- graph said that Gen. Otto Ruge of the Norwegian army had broadcast a message to scattered Norwegian military units an- nouncing the arrival of allied aid and appealing to his men to “keep going until that help is effective.”) Sweden, continuing to prepare for any eventuality, placed all petro- leum, fuel and oil supplies under government control. All important Swedish ports on the south coast were declared barred territories, and Swedish and foreign ships were forbidden to enter or de- part without special permission. Special permits were required to | gain admission to the port zones of | all towns in the area affected by the order, Berlin (Continued From First Page.) attack on Narvik occurred last night. The high command acknowledged that the British had landed troops near Harstad, on Hinnooey Island, about 35 miles north of Narvik. (Stockholm had reported such a landing yesterday.) The German expeditionary forces, said the high command, have a firm grip on all important railway lines in Norway, including the oreline from Narvik east to the Swedish border. The fight along this line, the Ger- mans said, ended with bloody losses for the Norwegian defenders, many of whom were said to have been taken prisoners. while others fled across the Swedish frontier. Text of Communique. The high command’s daily com- said that the crews of three other | Nazi planes which made forced land- ings in the border area southeast of Oslo, had been destroyed. Strong German forces were re-| ported moving south out of Trond- | heim, apparently with the object of | making contact with Nazi forces | driving north from Oslo. | There were unconfirmed rumors of naval fighting off the southern tip of Norway. Norse Disorganized in South. A spokesman for the Norwegian Yegation in Stockholm conceded that the defense forces in Southern Norway were disorganized and that they had lost most of their mnui- tion sand equipment at the outset of the lightning Nazi invasion of April 9. Although Norwegian military headquarters has announced the oc- cupatjon of Narvik by British and Norwegian forces, Swedish advices indicated that the Germans still were holding certain strategic points in and around the town, which was said to be a mass of smoking ruins. The Germans were reported in possession of the railway leading from Narvik to the Swedish border, less than 20 miles away. The rail- way connects with the important Swedish iron mining center at Kiruna. Norwegian Force Overwhelmed. Heavy fighting was observed yes- terday at Riksgransen, a way sta- tion on the Narvik-Kiruna Railway, near the Swedish frontier. At near- by Bjorgen, a force of 1,000 Germans was said to have overwhelmed about 250 Norwegians after five hours of fighting. Additional British troops were re- ported to have been landed at Har- stad, 35 miles north of Narvik, under the protection of five warships. A score or more of soldiers wounded in the fighting around munique said: “General conditions in Norway: | Further consolidation was strength- | ened by reinforcements of German | troops and the taking over of im- portant railway connections. “In the Narvik region German troops occupiéd the ore railway up to the Swedish border. Resisting Norwegian detachments were dis- persed after a short fight with bloody losses for the opponent. A number were captured and the rest fled across the Swedish border. “The enemy landed troops near Harstad on Hinnooey Island, 60 kilometers (about 37 miles) north of Narvik. There were no similar at- tempts in the nearer neighborhood of Narvik. “A German fighting unit took Kongsvinger early in the afternoon of April 16 and continues its ad- vance northward. “German armored units success- fully participated in a fight north of Honfoss. Shore Forts Prepared. “The navy protected personnel and material reinforcements to Norwegian ports. In the course of expansion on schedule of the coastal defense, shore fortifications in Oslo Fjord were fully prepared for battle. “In the course of the defense of Narvick the commander of destroy- ers, Capt. Commodore Bonte, fell in a heroic fight against superior British forces. “Roughly, two-thirds of the crews of damaged or otherwise incapaci- tated destroyers which had fired their ammunition to the last shot have been incorporated as rein- forcements into the army units de- fending Narvik and the region to the north of Narvik. “In the region of Trondheim Ger- man troops advanced as far as the Swedish border and occupied the railway at Meraaker, “The day passed quietly in the "HOME OWNERS! When Planning for Spring Specify STURDI FOLD AWNINGS Bergen sector. During the night of April 15 and 16 the British air force again made a raid on Stavanger which failed to cause military damage. Two Batteries Surrender. “Two additional Norwegian bat- teries surrendered to German troops in the Kristiansand region. “Expansion of the territory oc- cupied in the Oslo region is progress- ing further. Railway connection of Oslo, Fredrikstad, Halden, Kornsjo and the Swedish border was re- established. “A German submarine sank a destroyer of the Tribal class north- east of the Shetland Islands. “Several Norwegian torpedo boats were put into the navy’s service. “The air force, continuing recon- naissanee April 16 over central and northern North Sea as well as along the Norwegian west coast, obtained valuable results. “German fighting planes, despite bad weather, attacked units of the | British Navy. A large transport | | ship was hit squarely by the heaviest | caliber air bombs, U-Boat and Cruiser Sunk. “As previously reported, one en- emy U-boat and one enemy cruiser were sunk by heavy bomb hits 150 kilometers (93 miles) northwest of Mold Fjord. “In the course of air patrol along the Norwegian southwest coast Ger- man pursuit planes shot down on April 15 one Lockheed-Hudson plane and one Sunderland flying boat. One German plane failed to return from a flight against the enemy. “On the west front southwest of Merzig our own shock troops blew up enemy dugouts and dispersed a British ‘crew of over 50 strong and brought home as booty 'prisoners, arms and munitions.” Earlier DNB had said the British attack on Narvik last night was heavy. The agency declared that no allied troops had been landed in Narvik (this is contrary to Norwegian re- ports), and said that the situation there, aside from the British bom- bardment, was unchanged. | DNB denied foreign reports of a | German withdrawal toward the Swedish border which is less than 20 miles from Narvik. German forces in the Narvik region were said to be in constant wireless com= munication with the German com- mand in Norway. Narvik is 400 miles north of Ger- man-controlled Trondheim. New Shanghai Council Members Guarded By the Associated Press. SHANGHAI, April 17.—Police of the International Settlement today assigned a personal bodyguard to each member of the newly-elected Shanghai Municipal Council, follow- ing circulation of rumors that irre- sponsible Japanese disgruntled over erction results, were plotting vio- lence against them. Colored Police Court Judge Is Sought A delegation of colored citizens was to call at the Justice Depart- ment today to ask appointment of a colored attorney for the vacant District Police Court judgeship. Charles M. Thomas, president of the Federation of Civic Associa- tions, and George Parker, president of the Washington Bar Association, were among the group. x FREQUENT DAILY SERVICE TO D. C, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 1940, " | and military equipment on the road at left as Germans marched into Denmark April 9. London (Continued From First Page.) northern ore port, were believed to be moving south toward a Ger- man army pushing north from Oslo and Bergen in an attempt to cut Norway in two and retain the south- ern half, which contains almost everything of:value in the invaded kingdom. Trondheim, seaport and railroad junction, on a long, deep, rocky fjord, is the key to this operation, they said, because whichever side controls it has an immense ad- vantage. Nazi troops hold Trondheim, hav- ing landed there in the first few hours of the invasion. But military sources said the German garrison is not strong enough to resist the Brit- ish and is being reinforced from the south. Vulnerable to Sea Attack. _ Despite their possession of Nor- wegian forts, with big guns sweep- ing all water approaches, these sources declared, the Germans in Trondheim are vulnerable to attack from the sea One strategic value to Trondheim is its airport, which, although not | so large as that at Stavanger, would | help air operations both in Northern | and Southern Norway It also is| linked by railroad to Bergen, Oslo | A special recruiting office was | opened here today to help the Nor- wegian Legation handle the flood of volunteers for Norway's defense | forces. | The Ministry of Economic Warfare announced that six Swedish, 14 Nor- wegian and 7 Danish ships had been detained by the contraband control “In view of the situation in Norway and Denmark.” In the House of Commons, Prime Minister Chamberlain turned down & plan for a non-political war ad- visory committee as unnecessary. Forty-two German prisoners be- lieved to be the crew of a scuttled Nazi merchantman have been in- terned in Scotland. The immediate German objective | appears to be the mopping up and | pacification of Southern Norway, below the railway front German forces have taken across the middle of the country. This mop-up would facilitate a | German attempt to keep allied ex- peditionary forces backed up in the bleak, mountainous region to the north, leaving the Germans in con- trol of most of Norwegian industries, which are centered in the south. The allied high command main- tained the strictest secrecy on oper- ations of British and French troops reported landed in Norway, but the Norwegian high command has said they made contact with Norwegian forces and with them were in con- trol of Narvik, far horthern ore port, FOR HIGH QUALITY COAL Fuel Oil TELEPHONE 714 13th St Natl. 3068 W’s only overnight by Skysleeper to Texas, Arizona and Californial Only American flies the Southern All-Year Route —A. P. Wirephoto. which was the outpost of the Ger- man occupation. Apparently the als lied landings took place in the Nar- vik region. Stresses Importance of Aid. Erik Andreas Colban, Norwegian Minister to London, who talked with Prime Minister Chamberlain yesterday, was believed to have stressed the importance of imme- diate allied help to Norwegians in Southern Norway before Germany could solidify her hold on that re- gion. Norwegian quarters in London argued that this was the most im- portant task for the allies and that their ultimate objective must be re- cauture of Oslo, the Norwegian capi- tal, which is now occupied by Ger- man troops, because the city is the heart of Norwegian industry. One-third of the country’s in- dustrial facilities are concentrated at Oslo, Norway's largest port and railway center. The British press, however, ad- | vised that immediate and spectacu- lar results from the allied expedi- tionary force should not be ex- pected and expressed the view that considerable time would be needed for organization of forces to deal an_effective blow to the invaders. The newspapers pointed out that the swiftness of the German stroke —coupled with confusion and be- trayal in the Norwegian defense— ;nnd Swedish ports on the Gulf of |had barred an effective mobiliza- | Bothnia. | tion of Norwegian forces, and that allied forces must bear the brunt of the drive against the Germans. The latest word on the expedi- tionary force came from the British Broadcasting Corp., which an- nouneed last night that it is “now officially confirmed” that Canadian, French and British troops are in Norway. Severe fighting for control of the air over Norway was expected by military observers to precede any large-scale clashes between allied and German land forces. Until the allies can capture an air base, the German forces hold the advantage they won with the lightning invasion of Southern Nor- way April 9, when Stavanger and other airport cities were taken over. Diplomatic quarters said Mr. Chamberlain was likely to give an interim report to the House of Com- mons tomorrow on the Scandinavian situation—although he declined to | do so yesterday—and a full state- ment next week. Balkan Drive Pressed. Although immediate attention was centered on Scandinavia, Great Britain and France showed no letup odds if her actions meantime had precluded s peaceful arrangement with England, America and France, Her Strategy. Diplomatic circles here are keenly aware that, whereas, before Great Britain was at war, Japan could hope for an indefinite period ahead in which England would be unlikely to act vigorously in the Pacific, Japan now realizes that Britain may be free for her soon. These facts have increased Japanese wariness— & wariness diplomats here expect to continue unless Japan should cor- rectly, or mistakenly, come to the conclusion that a German victory in Europe is likely. In the meantime, it remains part of Japan’s diplomatic strategy to at- tempt to keep the allies and America worried over the possibility of Japanese forward moves in Nether- lands Indies, Shanghai, or else- where. This, the Japanese hope, may induce the allies and America to be more pleasant than they other- wise would be in diplomacy with Tokio, and inclined to make more concessions to Japan’s “new order” in China. (Copyrisht, 1040, Chicago Daily News, Inc.) Allies Not Alarmed By Talk Japan May Take Dutch Indies Tokio Not at All Sure British Navy Won’t Soon Be Free; U.S. a Worry, Too By FRANK SMOTHERS. Chicago Daily News Poreign Correspondent. SHANGHAI, April 17—Allusions in Tokio over the week end to the possibility that the European war may spread to Netherlands Indies and that Japan, in such case, may need to take “appropriate meas- ures,” have been noted with keen in- terest but no great alarm by allied and American circles in the Far East. That Japan would like to seize Dutch possessions in the Orient in the event the Netherlands are in- volved in the war is doubted by no student of Japanese strategy. At the same time, Japan is undergoing such a large strain as a result of the Sino-Japanese war that com- petent observers do not expect her to tackle the East Indian adventure 80 long as the British and American navies are able to cope with her, as now appears to be the case. Japan Might Act. Should the British navy become badly crippled in European waters and should the Japanese believe the chances of vigorous American naval action in the Pacific were thereby greatly decreased then Japan might take advantage of any pretext to at- tempt to seize the Dutch islands and gain control of the oil and rubber of those rich possessions. However, to give Japan any really bright opportunity for seizing Dutch, British, French or American pos- sessions in the Orient a great deal more than temporary damage to the British fleet and consequent limi- tation of the American Navy’s free- dom of action would be necessary. An ultimate allied victory in the European war would leave Japan isolated and facing overwhelming Reed Charges lobb_ying ByF. C. A. Governor A letter written and mailed post- age free to 630,000 Federal Land Bank borrowers by Gov. A. G. Black of the Farm Credit Administration on April 10, inclosing a memorandum from Secretary of Agriculture Wal- lobbying statutes, Representative Reed, Republican, of New York, charged in a statement last night. Representative Reed declared that the communications constituted “a subtle effort to influence borrowers to bring pressure to bear on mem- bers of Congress” to support the Jones-Wheeler bill that would re- organize the farm credit machinery. He added that “manifestly this action on the part of Secretary Wallace and Gov. Black furnishes the best possible argument in favor of the Gillette-Kleberg bill which would restore the farm Credit Ad- ministration as an independent, in their economic and diplomatic | drive to counter German pressure in the Balkans. The report that a German mili- tary mission had arrived in Rome Reynaud Paises lace to Mr. Black, violated anti- | non-political Government agency.” | How Largest Norse - Arms Plant Gave Up Without a Shot Told Long Negotiations With Nazis Carried On Under White Flag By the Associated Press. KONGSBERG, Norway, April 17~ This story of how Kongsberg, site of Norway’s largest arms and ammuni= tion factory, and the nearby military station at Heistadmoen surrendered to the Germans without firing a shot was told today by eye-witnesses: The civilian population of about 7,000 fled to Numedal Wednesday— a day after the Germans had ar- rived in Oslo, only about 60 miles northeast of here. The inhibitants tried first to smash the ice in the Numedal-Slaag River to prevent the Nazi troops from crossing it after Kongsberg's three bridges had been partly wrecked. The German soldiers arrived Fri= day. Maj. Jan Kieliand, commander of an infantry regiment, arrived here from Heistadmoen under a white flag and was received by German military authorities in the town hall. After prolonged negotiations Maj. Kielland left, coming back in the afternoon, still under a white flag. At the same time rumors spread that the regiment at Heistadmoen already had vacated its positions and would surrender without a fight. Shortly before darkness the en- tire regiment, totaling about 1,600 officers and men, assembled in a church at Hedenstad for formal sur- render. Maj. Kielland made a brief speech, thanking them for their will to de- fend Norway but declaring that conditions made defense useless. The men marched back to Heistad- moen, where disarming was pere formed quietly. A. F. G. E. Ends Talks | With Security Agency Spokesmen of the American Fed- | eration of Government Employes | yesterday concluded a series of con- heightened the interest of diplo- British Navy for e i o vow: s s, || Norway Victory moved toward the Rumanian oil | BY the Associated Press. L felds and Soviet Russia made a grab| LONDON. April 17.—British Prime at Rumanian Bessarabia. | Minister Chamberlain and French s 4 Premier Reynaud exchanged these Germany and Rumania are in-| o volved in a new quarrel over trade, | ;"es”ges today " expres?ir;g ; °t°".n a German trade delegation to|ScnC® that tk;]e a l:}esd “al"? e 0??5 Bucharest having protested the Ru- ::;n P:f::;y Ge‘e,::me BRI (T manian decision forbidding all ex- Pgemier Re: naudy'wrote- ports of wheat and temporarily pro- | “The peo, lyof Prance ehare with hibiting exports of oil. Moreover, | Ll i Rumania has ordered her Black Sea | ¢ People of Great Britain a thri and Danube ports under naval rule, | °f, 2dmiration and gratitude for the The German military mission has | <§$ésm IRS;:IS Navyt wik!x;c:xnxl: been inspecting airplane and other :md h:s gxofllictedp“e n‘;‘ e manufacturing plants in Northern | 2 hlnh = Gl S aled Italy. German sources at Rome, | “ound whic “l’ 1 nml;g e where the delegates arrived yester-| MI- Chamberlain replied: 'Your telegram has deeply touched day, said they had been “noting the g = production capaci and exchang- | me and will, I know, be received with | ing information with Italians. These | sources, however, insisted that the visit had no “special signifieance.” Although ‘§ome sections of the British press showed annoyance with Italy, allied diplomacy appeared bent on improvement of relations with that country. Italian Ambassador Giuseppe ! 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