Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 9, Number 50, DeMotte, Jasper County, 2 November 1939 — Wilhelmshaven Is Nazi Outlet To North Sea [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Wilhelmshaven Is Nazi Outlet To North Sea

Early War Reports Indicated Bombing by British. Prepared by National Geographic Society. Washington. D. C.—WNU Service. Early reports from the first days of the European war indicated that the British had bombed Wilhelmshaven, chief naval station of the Reich on the North sea. Situated on the western shore of Jade bay, dpe south of the island of Helgoland,' 1 German sentinel of the

GATEWAYS TO THE WEST. Map shows the locations of Wilhelmshaven and Cuxhaven, Germany's naval stations on the North sea. These important seaports are the Nazi navy's chief gateways to the west on the shores of the North sea.

North sea, Wilhelmshaven is about 365 miles by airline from London or less than two hours’ flight by modem military aircraft. Wilhelmshaven was planned as a naval station in 1853 when its site was purchased by Prussia from the grand duke of Oldenburg. The city is new as German cities go. It was built in 1855 and its harbor was not opened to commercial shipping until 14 years later. Its 25,000 inhabitants today are employed largely in the naval station, in the handling of shipping and in shipbuilding. Wilhelmshaven was the scene of the mutiny among seamen that spread over the German fleet in 1918. There are several large and small basins with shipyards and drydocks for the construction and repair of ships. Each of the three entrances to the basins has locks (necessitated by the tidal range) which are guarded by strong fortifications. Cuxhaven, another German naval base, where it is reported 5 of 12 attacking British military planes were brought down, is 400 miles by air from the British capital. The city lies on the west bank of the Elbe river only a few miles from the point at which the stream flows into the North sea. It is about 40 miles northeast of Wilhelmshaven. Hamburg, one of Germany’s leading ports, is 64 miles up the Elbe from this city.