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wEATHERCooler tonight, Wednesday,THE EVENING INDEPENDENTA. EXCLUSIVE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEWS AND FEATURES AND CENTRAL PRESS DISPATCHESYOUR HELP WILL KEEP, IT FLYINGVOL. LXXXI, NO. 5 ESTABLISHED 1863MASSILLON, OHIO, TUESDAY, JUNE 6, 1944(FOURTEEN PAGES) i CENTS A COPY—18 CENTS A WEEK11.000 Allied Planes Batter French Invasion Coast****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ******ALLIES DRIVE INTO FRANCE FROM NORMANDY INVASION OEACHHEADSNo German Resistance As Huge Air Armada ' Helps InvadersWeather Described As ‘Just Fair’ Fails To Halt Great Fleet Of Planes; Normandy Beaches Blasted ■ ___' By W. W. HERCHER ‘ SUPREME HEADQUARTERS, Allied Expeditionary Force, June 6 (AP)—Through a rolling ocean of clouds 5,000 feet thick Allied air forces threw 11,000 aircraft of almost every type into the grand invasion of Europe today, bombing and strafing miles of Normandy’s beaches-and flying inland to break the enemy’s communications.Two things stood out in the air operation launched in support of the landings in northern France. The first was the mass of airplanes thl Allies were able to put into the sky weather described as “just fair. ’ ■ \The other was the absence of German resistance.Record Aerial AttackFifth Army Pursues Foe North Of RomeBy SID FEDER ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, Naples, June 6 (AP)—Fifth army forces drove steadily beyond liberated Rome today, some units plunging as much as 5 miles out from the historic Tiber river against what was officially termed “only weak resistance.” •“The battle to destroy the enemy continues without pause,” said a communique, Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark’s troops have crossed or reached the Tiber all the way from Rome to the sea and enemy divisions still in the flatlands below the city are in • (See FIFTH ARMY—Page 8)blasting herald of the invasion, the British bomber command sent more than 1,300 of its biggest ships roaring across the channel last night and early today in the heaviest aerial attack ever aimed at German batteries along the French coast. ■ 'Ten attacks were executed between 11:30 p. in. and sunrise, each with 100 or more of the heavy bombers. •Other British aircraft attacked the northwestern German railroad city of Osnabnick without loss.The stunning • aerial botnbarfl-, ment fell on the Normandy landing *£) beaches as the first phases of the x coordinated assault began.There was a complete cloud over some of 'the RAF coastal targets during the night, but the air ministry declared . to the. The RAF had begun to attack the coastal targets in earnest May in undertaking one of its mdifficult assignments. The targets were very small and well-protected. They had to be hit at night.40 Attacks On-24 Sites , During that time the bomber command had made 40 attacks 24 sites and made direct hits the vital parts of 12 of these sites as well as doing other damage, the air ministry said.Guns sought out as targets were; of 2 kinds with 2 different func-1 tions.’ They were the very long range 155-milluneter. guns such as those used by the Germans to she'd Dover and designed as well to fire on shipping, and the 170-millimeter type placed to fire on beaches or landing craft inshore.It was believed the usefulness of many of the batteries which escaped direct hits was impaired by near misses severing communications with command posts, throwing the guns out of alignment, or raising mounds of earth in front of the guns to make sighting impossible.Watches Battle Raging From Plane’s CockpitBy GLADWIN HILLAssociated Press Correspondent Representing the combined American Press A MARAUDER BASE IN ENGLAND, June 6 (AP)— From the cockpit of one o£ many hundreds of planes which supported the Allied landing in northern France early this morning I watched a battle royal rage on the sea and in the air.Many Parachutes Seen The fields along the French chan-F.D.R. WRITING iiicTojpeWhite House Says President Will Be On Air At 10 Tonightnel coast wire dotted with parachutes of Allied airborne forces ■who had landed a few minutes before and Interspersed among the parachutes were aircraft—probably glid-The first signs of battle were flashed from the channel below, which’ through the-mist and a nayal smoke screen gradually became distinguishable as gun detonations on warships shelling the coastThe cl*nbel wasn’t jammedwith shipping: as might have been expected. The channel is a place, but on every hand there w ■ forces of ships either battering the coast line or bringing up forces to take advantage of breaches.vasion, black and white sebra stripe, which' hurriedly was slapped on aircraft late yesterday.(A broadcast from supreme headquarters said the black and white identifying stripes on the planes were one step toward preventing confusion and repetition of sifeh mistakes as Allied gunners firing friendly planes, as happened in Sicily.)United.Nations convoys are bringing up additional reinforcements support the initial invasion dri and thousands of Allied planes ; hammeijmg the coast.Channel Islands Held By AlliesOur WeathermanMASSILLON AND VICINITY Considerable cloudiness and cooler today, tonight and Wednesday. Yesterday’s high was 86 at 5 p. The low for the 24-honr period i 67 at 5 a. m. today. Precipitation, .02 of an Inch. High humidity 81,(Prayer on Page 3) WASHINGTON, June 6.—(AP) Closeted in his bedroom, President Roosevelt spent the early morning hours of the** invasion writing a 'prayer for victory for the Allied forces of' liberation.The chief executive, who received reports of the invasion through its early phases, will go on the air at 10 o'clock tonight (ewt). with the hope that the nation will join him in the prayer w hich he wrote. Received Invasion Reports Presidential Secretary Stephen Early, who described Mr. Roosevelt' iactivities to reporters, said the president ’went to his bedroom early last evening and began working on t: prayer shortly after he delivered nationwide radio broadcast on the fall of Rome. Working behind ‘blackout curtains which darkened LONDON, June 6, (AP)—Allied [the White House to night-time pass-troops have landed on the channel ersby. Early said the chief executiv island of Guernsey and Jersey, the received steady invasion reports-Gennan agency Transocean said, complete and In detail—from U:30 Allied tanks have landed In the p. m., on into the actual hours of Arromanches area, midway between the assault against the coast .qt Cherbourg and La‘ Havre, the [France.agency added, but it said the great-1 He knew when the first barges est concentrations of landing craft started across the channel and he were observed off Cherbourg and knew when they landed.” Early saia. Le Havre. |“He knew of other operations in just“The enemy, who had thrown ini as great detail.”Invasion BulletinsLONDON, June 6 (AP)—Prime Minister Churchill said tonight Allied troops had penetrated in some cases several miles inland after effective landings on the French coast on a broad front.SUPREME HEADQUARTERS, Allied Expeditionary Force, June 6 (AP)—The Allied landings in France were postponed 24 hours due to bad weather, it was learned today. They-originally were scheduled for yesterday morning.LONDON. June 6 (AP)—The Paris radio said today that the battle in the Cotentin (Normandy) peninsula “seems to be gaining depth.”(See WATCHES—Page 2)(See F.D.R.—Page 2)SUPREME HEADQUARTERS, Allied Expeditionary FOrce, June 6 (AP)—Allied troops have secured a beachhead and dug in, military circles here heard early this afternoon. It is not known presently how deep the penetrations are.DOVER. England. June 6 (AP)—Big guns on the French coast opened fire across the Strait of Dover shortly after midday today.A salvo of four shells was seen to explode.SUPREME HEADQUARTERS, Allied Expeditionary Force. June 0 lt;VP—More than 640 naval guns ranging from four to 16 inches in size are bombarding the beaches and enemy strongpoints in support-of land-forces, it was announced today.NEW YORK. June 6 (AP)—An NBC reporter who flew over 20 miles of the invasion coast- this morning said “not a single German coastal gun was firing in the entire invasion zone.’' and NBC said this indicated “we have completely knocked out the initial line of defenses of the much-vaunted Atlantic wall.”LONDON June 6 (AP)—The Paris radio today broadcast an appeal by Marshal Petaiu to Frenchmen to refrain from actions “which would call down upon you tragic reprisals.”He called on officials, railwaymen and workers their posts—where they would“Do not listen to .....,J our decrees,” he said.• LONDON. June 6 (A Pi—German forces launching a counterattack knocked out 35 heavy Allied tanks at Asnelles in the Seine bay area alone bv noon, a DNB report from Berlin said toaay. lt;“Innumerable barriers on the beaches are rendering enemy landings extremely difficult,” the German account declared.“In the area east of Cherbourg massed German counter thrusts are making good headway. The enemy now. as before, is throwing the bulk of his landing troops into theGreatest Overseas Attack In History Is LaunchedAmerican, British And Canadian Airborne And Seaborne Forces Cross Channel From England To Strike At Hitler’s European Fortress From Le Havre To CherbourgBULLETINSUPREME HEADQUARTERS, Allied Expeditionary Force, June 6 (AP)—German opposition in all quarters was less than expected it was learned at headquarters tonight, and an optimistic tone was evident.It was disclosed that Allied naval loss es had been “very, very small,”American warships, particularly one battleship, moved close in to .the French shore and with the help of the air forces virtually silenced the coastal guns at the landing beaches.German coastal gunfire was described as sporadic.In general. Allied losses have been much less than expected.Between midnight last night and 8 o’clock this morning Allied aircraft flew 7,500 sorties and dropped 10,000 tons of bombs on attacked areas in Normandy.By WES GALLAGHER' SUPREME HEADQUARTERS ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE, June 6 (AP)—Allied troops landed on the Normandy coa st of France in tremendous strength by cloudy daylight today and stormed several miles inland with tanks and infantry in the grand assault which Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called a crusade in which “we will accept nothing . less than full victory.”German broadcasts said the Allies penetrated several kilometers between Caen and Is-igny, which are 35 miles apart and respectively 9 and 2 miles from the sea.German opposition apparently was less effective than expected, although fierce in many respects, and the Germans said they were bringing reinforcements continuously up to the coast, where “a battle-for life or death is in progress.”The seaborne troops, led by Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery,_ surged across the channel from England by»4,000 regular ships and additional thousands of smaller craft.They were preceded by massed flights of parachute and glider forces who landed inland during the dark.Eleven thousand planes supported the att ack.The German radio said the landings were made from Cherbourg to Le Havre—a strip of coast roughly 100 miles long—and later said additional landings were being made “west of Cherbourg,” indicating the Allies intended to seize the Normandy peninsula with its ports and airdromes as the first base. -j The initial landings were made from 6 to 8:25 a. m. Britishtime midnight to 2:25 a. m., ewt, the Germans said subsequent landings were made on the English channel isles of Jersey and Guernsey and that invasion at new points on the continent was expected hourly.Aside from confirming that Normandy was the general area of the assault, supreme headquarters of the Allied Expe-Rv rhp prpcs: I Canary. Force was silent concerning the location.“ twT rwJ From Moscow came word that the Russian army was man news 'agency transoceani massing in preparation for another great attack from the eastbroadcasts that Allied invasion j as its part In defeating Germany.h“begun- i Allies Make Good On Great Gamble;00 a. m. German DNB agency)broadcasts Le Havre being bom-! All reports from the beachhead, meager though they were barded violently and German nav-, ;n specjfjc detail, agreed the Allies had made good the greet craft o« coif5 ^ ‘“^ gamble of amphibious landing against possibly the strongest •55 a m CalaL-’radio thi= J.fortified section of coast in the -world.D-day. ’ ~ j Reconnaissance pilots said the Allied troops had secured131 a. m. spokesman from Gen.! the beaches and were slashing inland, some of them actually Eisenhower in broadcast, from | runninc, ;n a swjfj. advance. The unofficial word at headquart-^fnlt;fS.SI=°nfr0pS! ers confirmed this, while the Vichy radio admitted the Allied of the Allied air i .*«nsive has be-1 drive inland was going right ahead^gun” and orders them to move 22■ More than 640 naval guns, ranging from 4 to 16-mch, hut*-miles inland. ! ------;;2Q a. m. Beilin radio says ‘first J (See GREATEST—Page 8)center of gravity is Caen.'1 big city at base of Normandy penin-3:32 a. m. supreme headquarters. Al-j lied expeditionary force, announ-' ces iliat Allied armies began landing on northern coast of France.:40 a. m. Shaef announces Gen.. . ____Sir Bernard L Montgomery Ls ini By LEWIS HAWKINScommand of assault army com-! WITH ALLIED NAVAL FORCES, June 6 (AP)—The prising Americans. British. Cana-. United States Navy struck the beaches of western Europe to-D-DayChronology12:37l!U. S., British Navies Hammer Channel Coast3 jtt Berlin sacs heavy Allied 1 day with torrents of shells in shepherding the army’s invasion warships are shelling Le Havre, troops onto the hostile coast, seared and pitted by thousandsand parachute troops are floating |of aer{al bombs. ___Ear-Trying Prelude j ' ' ’Warship guns fired an ear-try-1 several navies, but British warships ing prelude before the swarms o' j spoke the loudest because theredown on Normandy.4 a m. supreme headquarters ; a number of feints preceded vasion.4:07 a. m. Germans reinforced at dawn at the mouth, of the Seine near Le Havre.4:47 a. m. French patriots warned(See D-DAY—Page 2'landing craft broke' ...» shelter of the con-j* to begin the first critical show-1 down on the beaches.This bombardment- was a con*.-; bineri chorus from the cannon ofo' theThe Immensely hazardous and complicated job of taking the soldiers across the last yards of the moat to Hitler's fortress found American soldiers and American landing craft by the
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Evening Independent
Massillon, Ohio, US
Tue, Jun 06, 1944
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