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Newspaper
Tucson Daily Citizen
Location
Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
Date
May 31, 1940
Page
5
J W T Mason reports Allied naval forces off Dunkirk continue to protect and evacuate troops despite German air power. naval cooperation slows German attempts to trap retreating British and French divisions with aircraft failing to interrupt the evacuation.
Paris reports a second British expeditionary force has arrived in France to relieve the Somme salient. Berlin notes continued fierce fighting as Allied evacuations from Flanders proceed via Dunkirk, underscoring the high stakes of empire survival.
In frantic talks and grim assessments, Allied leaders weigh potential German moves while Mussolini’s Italy looms. Hitler’s regime faces resource limits. Britain and France defend Dunkerque and Calais as the war widens across Flanders and the Somme fronts.
President Roosevelt outlines urgent plans to train up to a million people for industrial and military roles, stressing rapid expansion of production facilities for guns and munitions and the need to mobilize labor beyond existing skilled distributions. He warns that national safety requires full public aid and accelerated mobilization across industry and armed forces.
Swarthmore College will drop the dean position as the new president takes over dean duties. Frank Aydelotte resigns to become director of the Institute for Advanced Learning at Princeton University.
London May 31 reliable British sources estimate about 90 000 British French and Belgian troops were landed in England from the Flanders battleground. About two thirds are British and the total is roughly half the BEF strength of 175 000. Casualty figures are not given though German losses are put near 500 000.
In testimony to the House naval appropriations subcommittee Rear Admiral W R Furlong said the navy will equip its new air fleet with armor and leak proof gasoline tanks. He noted steel seats and bullet proof tests as part of armor initiatives with $2.1 million for leak proof gas tanks and $100 thousand for bullet proof glass, funded by a $1 473 756 728 naval supply bill.
Reporter H Taylor Henry details French divisions entrenched along the Aisne River with heavy tanks and artillery defending a Rethel bridgehead to cover a wider withdrawal. He notes calm on the front’s right flank while tank battles and dive bomber raids continue and towns lie in ruins behind quiet lines.
The State Department warned belligerents not to molest or delay the liner Washington as it sails from New York toward Bordeaux and Lisbon to bring Americans home. The ship travels without convoy carrying only two Red Cross workers and medical supplies, with no passengers or cargo for Bordeaux.
Military circles report continued fighting and retreat in northern France and Flanders. Britain anticipates air drops and potential invasions while efforts intensify to foil fifth-column activity. Police raid London districts and refugees’ goods to seize weapons and uniforms as Home Office warns of possible civil defense calls.
German high command reported weather hindered air operations on May 30 while Allied forces suffered new destruction at Dunkerque. Raids damaged harbor facilities and a German torpedo boat squadron claimed another Allied destroyer sunk off the Belgian coast. The communiqué said Allies sought to evacuate remnants from a triangular pocket near Furnes Bergues and Dunkerque as French forces were dispersed or captured, with pockets resisting near Lille.
The report notes unknown British losses in the Cassel pocket and unspecified Allied casualties. Estimates put German casualties between 440000 and 600000 and Allied losses between 300000 and 500000, with a German footnote claiming prisoner counts and booty are undetermined. The German navy imposes a blockade along the occupied Netherlands coast and stretches of Belgian and French shores.
The account notes Italy leading in early actions with aerial bombardment and artillery fire across the channel. It claims Stuka bombers aim to keep Britain unsettled while France, once a key ally, is nearing completion by Britain.
The article notes the looming task before Hitler and his blitz divisions. It says his next target could be Paris or London and that days will be needed to mop up in Flanders, overhaul his war machine, and gather equipment at jump-off points.
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