Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 27 November 1942 — Page 10

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ENCH CREWS SCUTTLE SHIPS

“Balk Hitler Move to Use

Harbor Guns. (Continued from Page One)

destroyed by tise French before Nazi troops could enter it. ~The self-destruction of the | French fleet was accomplished within a few hours of a decision by HitJer to toss into the discard all previous commitments to France and to place the nation under a military régime that appeared to.differ little

—if at all—from that imposed on|

all the other conquered nations of Europe. Charging that the French armed forces were riddled with pro-allied supporters and that the French fleet was preparing a dash to sea to join the allies, Hitler ordered Toulon taken over and the remainder of the French army demobilized. He gave Marshal Gerd von Rundgtedt, the Nazi commander in Prance, carte blanche instructions to take any and all measures necessary for total control of France. Darlan Loses Citizenship

. The reaction—if any—of the Vichy regime to these developments was not obvious, A cabinet meeting was called but its only decision was to deprive of french citizenship Gen. Giraud and Admiral Darlan, It seemed possible tonight that ‘ Hitler's action and the courageous gtand of the French seamen might bring over to the allies the longdemobilized portions of the French fleet in British harbors and at Alexandria.

_ These warships had remained ‘neutral since the Franco-German armistice under agreements negotiated by the British with the individual French commanders.

Af last reports the French fleet at Toulon included the three battleships, Strasbourz, Provence and Dunkerque, four heavy cruisers, the Colbert, Foch, Alzeria and Dupleiz; three light cruisers, the La Galissionnierre, Jean de Vienne and La Mar- _ peillaise, the seaplane carrier, Commandant Teste, 25 destroyers, 27 submarines and some auxiliary oraft. March at Night

German and Italian troops marched on Toulon during the pight, German announcements re‘vealed. They encountered what was described as reiistance at “isolated ces.” The Nazi accounts did not reveal how widespread the fighting was but the occupation .of Toulon admittedly required several hours. There was a hint in the German @ommunique that fighting might be in progress in the Toulon area but the Naz:s insisted that the town and harbor were now “firmly

Camouflage, world war II style, is what these three soldiers at Camp’ Atterbury are wearing. They're all crack snipers and hard to see. And when they shoot, look out! Left to right, they are Pvts. Wil-

given to the French public in a broadcast by Radio Vichy at 2:15 p. m. (7:15 a. m. Indianapolis time) in which a letter by Adolf Hitler to Marshal Henri Philippe Petain explaining the axis action was read.

Radio Vichy called on the public to remain calm and said further announcements would be made later.

The Germans ordered the immediate demobilization of the French fleet and simultaneously Hitler ordered Petain to demobilize the remaining units of the French army.

Hitler declared in his letter to Petain that he had ordered the occupation of Toulon to prevent the ships from leaving and said he had ordered his troops to destroy the craft, if necessary and “to break every resistance with the greatest force.” :

Fighting French Doubtful

Spokesmen of the Fighting French organization here doubted that the Germans had actually succeeding in taking over the entire Toulon base so rapidly or that they had won immediate control of seaworthy parts of the fleet. They pointed out that the warships are normally anchored some distance from the shore. They said, however, they were not aware of any allied plans, such as described by the Germans, for the escape of French warships to join up with the allies.

In his letter to Petain, Hitler denied that Germany had any designs on the French fleet or that he had asked France to hand it over. “These assertions,” said Hitler,

in the hands of our troops.” ' __ First news of te Nazi action was

“are pure inventions and continuous

liam Hops, Orland Borelli and Herman Plass, all of the third battalion, 331st infantry regiment of the 83d division.

lies by British or American quarters. : “The French people could live in peace except for sacrifices inflicted by their allies in raids by sea and air.” He asserted the Germans had released 700,000 French war prisoners and insisted that if the release of prisoners had been halted “it was only because in your country insurgent elements always kK managed to sabotage real co-operation.” He insisted that he had never made any demands impinging on French national honor and again rehearsed his familiar theories for the origin of the war.

“I know that you, Herr Marshal, had no part in this instigating of the war,” Hitler said. However, the Nazi high command admitted that “part of the French fleet scuttled itself despite the orders of the French government.”

Say Resistance Nipped

The communique repeated that “resistance at isolated places” was encountered by the German troops when they started their march into the naval base last night. The German communique attributed the resistance to “Anglo-Saxon influence.” However, it insisted that the efforts of the French to resist were “nipped in the bud” and that the occupation was carried out in a few hours, “The town and harbor of Toulon have been firmly in the hands of our troops since early this morning,” the Nazi high command said.

Italian troops as well as Germans

Foole

A 2 ae

83d Division photos.

What looks like a hundle of old rags thrown carelessly on the ground is, in reality, a camouflaged sniper—Pvt. Plass. He’s so hard to see in this disguise that a couple of soldiers on a recent maneuver at Atterbury went over and sat down on him when they were given a rest period. That proves the deception of the disguise.

marched into the French naval base city, the communique said, asserting that the taking over of the fleet had been agreed upon by both Adolf Hitler and Bento Mussolini. Fleet Being Demobilized

The Germans said that French commanders had completed plans to take their ships into the Mediterranean to join the allies. The occupation of Toulon was designed to thwart this plan which was attributed to allied influence and sympathizers of Gen. De Gaulle. The French fleet now is being demobilized, the Nazi high command said. “The demobilization of unstable French formations is going on and will be finished in a short time,” the high command said. The high command noted that Toulon had been left unoccupied by German troops which moved into the previously unoccupied zone of France two weeks ago. This action, said the communique, was due to the pledge of the French to defend themselves against any allied move.

Broke Word, Is Charge

However, the high command charged the French naval commanders “broke their word of honor to form a combined defense.” “Attempts of high French officers to flee increased,” the communique said. “Also systematic agitation under Anglo-Saxon influence started to spread among the French defense force which had been ready to co-operate and this agitation in recent days also infiltrated the navy at Toulon.”

The high command said that the

split among the French officers “increasingly was jeopardizing the security of German-Italian troops of occupation and undermined the authority of the French state leadership.” “The fuehrer and the duce gave orders last night to occupy the fortress,” said the communique. “German and Italian troops carried out this order with lightning speed.” The letter charged that “unfortunately the unscrupulous AngloSaxons and, last but not least, the Jewish wire pullers succeeded in interpreting every friendly gesture of the new Reich as a sign of German weakness and every offer of peace as a proof of imminent collapse.” Whether the Germans would now attempt to bring the French warships actively into the Mediterranean battle was not yet certain. It seemed highly doubtful, however, that they could persuade French officers and seamen to fight their ships in the Nazi behalf. It was equally doubtful that the Germans could provide naval personnel of their own at any early date to man the ships.

PROBE DISCRIMINATION

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (U. PJ). —The committee on fair employment practices announced today it will hold hearings early next year on charges of discrimination against war workers in Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Baltimore. The charges involve discrimination against workers becausé of their race, creed, color or national

origin.

GIVE UP TURKEY AID INJURED SOLDIER

SOMEWHERE IN NEW GUINEA, Nov. 26—(Delayed)—(U. P.).—Capt. Charles H. Armbrust, San Antonio, Tex., of the medical corps, and the crew of a flying fortress bomber today sacrificed their Thanksgiving day celebrations to speed a severely wounded soldier to a base hospital for an operation to prevent complete paralysis of his left side. As the plane flew at 10,000 feet across the Coral Sea, staff crew members took turns assisting Armbrust in caring for the patient. The co-pilot and navigator tuned in American Thanksgiving radio programs and doled out the crew's Thanksgiving dinner—hard chocolate and lukewarm water from: canteens.

WORKERS SHARE $4400 NORTH MANCHESTER, Nov. 27 (U. P.).—North Manchester foundry employees received a Thanksgiving bonus of $4400 yesterday which was about 5 per cent of their annual salaries. The bonus plan was inaugurated several years ago by Robert Stauffer, president of the company. More than $41,500 has been paid out in the bonus plan.

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