Daily Post - 10.09.1941, Side 4

Allied Foree
Lauds
BRID6E - BDILDEIS
in Spitzbergen
i ..4..... 1
To Prevent Nazis Using
Coal-Mines
».........
Joint Action By Canadian Nor-
wegian and British Troops
■ ■»■■■ ——
London, Sept. 9th.
It was announced in London late last night that Norwegian,
Canadian and Britislv troops had been landed in Spitzbergen.
The troops were under Canadian command. There was no resi-
stance and no Germans were seen except for one reconnaissance
aircraft. For a long time the Germans paid no attention to Spitz-
bergen but after the invasion of Russia they had begun to use
the coal mines.
WIRELESS STATION.
The atitaok iwas made in order
to prevenit the Germans from
getting aoal suipplies in Spitz-
bergen and u.sing the wdreless
station. Suitable measiunes wiere
taken and the Noitwiegia'n miners
and fishermen iwere broiug'ht
away- There were nio quislings in
Spitzbergen. The Russian miners
also warmly weloooned the
Á.LUed troops. The families of
tbe Noitwiegian fishermen and
miners iwpre broiught to Britain
toi prevent the Germans taking
revenge on them.
ARCTIC CLIMATE
The islands of which Spitz-
bergen is the biggest have a
total area of 24,294 square
miles, and Spitzbergen is only
360 miles from Norway. For-
merly a whale hunting base,
Spitzbergen has come to the
fore since the beginning of this
Century when rich deposits of
coal were found there. Its
sovereignty was under dispute
until in 1920, at a treaty in
Paris, the Norwegians were
recognised as the rightful
owners.
Since then an average of
600,000 metric tons of coal
have been exported from Spitz-
bergen each year.
Its climate is much more
severe than that of Iceland, al-
though, like Iceland it is tem-
pered by the Gulf Stream.
1,854 military aircraft were
delivered by American aircraft
manufacturers in August .
CHPRCHILL
“THINGS HAVE
GONE BETTER”
(Continued from page 1).
Boait and air aittacks the enemy
oo;ntinually shanged taotics.
„The Brí-tish puhlic and indeed
the whole woríd have derived the
ímpressian that things have gone
much better iin Ju]y and August,”
he said.
‘‘I oannot deny this is so,” the
Premier added amidst oheers. The
impnovement in the sea iwar
manifested itself in the falling bff
of sinkings and oonsequent in-
onease in arrival 'of valuiable
catgoes in Gneat Britadn.”
Mr. Chunohi'll thén sfated that
d'uring tfiese two months enemy
losses had been thnee tiines
biggen thain British and Ailied
iosses.
ln 1941 77 enemy wiarships had
been sunk 'Oí badiy damaged and
105 supplyships or 15 per month
or one every two days.
AID FOR RUSSIA.
The Premier then dealt with
Russia and said that the Russ-
ians needed supplies and on a
big scale. They had a well
equipped army of ten to fif-
teen million men but they had
lost some of their valuable in-
dustries. Big supplies had al-
ready reached Russia from
Britain but more was needed.
Of the three routes available
The rapid construction of bridges is an important feature of
modern mechanised warfare. Existing bridges are very vulner-
abíe to attack from the air, which may méan their replacement
in a minimum time. — Britain’s Royal Engineers, here seen
building a pontoon bridge, are continually experimenting to
ensure that the Army will be kept mobile and not held up by
the loss of bridges.
ÍOO Bombers Over
North Germany
London, Sept. 9th.
Last night one hundred British
bombeis took part in fiercie raids
'Oin military objeotives in the
Rhineland. Tliey all rcturned
safely.
The maim targets were aircraft
faotories at Cassel and industries
at Munster. The raids are said
lo have been veiy suctœssf uil.
the route tlirough Iran was the
safest, only more rolling stock
was n|eded. Th^e Britislh, de-
legation to Russia had hen ap-
pointed but the names of the
delegates would not be publish-
ed until the American delega-
tion arrived.
In three m'Onths of the Russian
campaign Hitler had already l'Ost
mo,ne men than duriug tho wihole
of the war previously.
ICELAND AIRFIELDS.
Naval Battle Near
Nnrmansk
- i
_ : 1
London, Sept. 9th.
British naval forces sent to
guard the approaches to Mur-
mansk yesterday met a German
convoy in these waters. In the
ensuing engagement a Ger-
man destroyer, an armed
trawler and another ship were
sunk.
There were no British casu-
alties.
The German destroyer
“Brensa”, hit in the Kirkenaes
raid, is believed to have been
sunk.
The Admiralty anniounded late
iast night that an enemy supply
ship had been sunk in the
Channel together wúth an E-Boat.
More ships were damaged.
Talking about the wtar in the
air Mr. Churchill stated that the
air fields of New Foundland and
Iaeland'would be of great import-
ainde and help. .
He doinoluded by these words:
“We ane still the masters of our
fate and the oaptains of ou.r
SO'UlS.”
An American frighter of
4,000 tons has been attacked by
German planes in the Gulf of
Suez and sunk. The Germans
state that they made an extra-
ordinary successful air raid on
shipping in this area, and said
that naturally shottmg was to
expected around Suez.