R.A.F. Blasts Hamburg with New, Improved Bombs

[Globalization41]

London, Special Cable to The New York
Times, By David Anderson, Monday, April 28,
1941: [Late Sunday, U.S. time] Hamburg got
its first taste of the powerful new British
bombs over Saturday night when Royal Air
Force planes dropped them on Germany's
greatest port. Big areas in the industrial and
dock sections were reported blasted. ...
Returning R.A.F. pilots continued to express
amazement at the apparent violence of these
explosions, which had already been used on
Bremen, Berlin, and Kiel. Emden,
Bremerhaven, and Cuxhaven were also heavily
bombed Saturday night. Other R.A.F. forces
blasted at the docks at Havre and Ijmuiden, the
Netherlands, following daylight attacks on Nazi
shipping from off the coast of Norway,
southward . Slight Nazi raiding activity in
daylight [Sunday] was reported from the South
Coast of England. After dark the German
raiders returned over the same area and a hard
attack on one town developed. Heavy high
explosive bombs and a large number of
incendiaries fell on a South Coast town during
the attack that lasted about three hours. It died
down after midnight. ... For the fourth night
in the past five London had no alarm. Some
raiders were reported over East Anglia and
Northeast Scotland. [German reports indicated
that Portsmouth was the target on Sunday night
while Liverpool had been attacked Saturday
night. The R.A.F. reported machine-gunning
anti-aircraft ships off the coast of the
Netherlands and attacking three Nazi supply
ships and sinking one in Norwegian waters. ...
The British claimed 16 German planes shot
down during the past week and 17 British
planes missing in raids on Europe.] ... ...
Berlin, By Telephone to The New York
Times, Sunday, April 27, 1941: In the battle
of the Atlantic, German submarines were
reported today to have sunk five merchant
ships totaling 39,148 tons. German bombers
are said to have destroyed yesterday a freighter
of 5,000 tons in British waters and, in a dive
attack, a British destroyer. A third vessel,
which the German High Command declared
was loaded with airplane parts, is reported to
have been twice hit directly by bombs. ... ...
Cairo, Egypt, United Press, The New York
Times, Sunday, April 27, 1941: German and
Italian motorized columns have crossed the
Egyptian frontier at several points south of the
Solum escarpment in their advance toward the
Suez Canal, the British Middle East Command
said today. [Actually, Axis troops were far
overextended.] ... Military quarters said it
was too early to tell whether the advance was
a skirmish or the start of the anticipated major
Axis offensive to choke off Britain's vital supply
route to the east. [The desert confined military
operations to the coastal regions.] Most of
the Axis troops around Solum are Italians, it
was thought. ... Today's British communique
reported operations "continuing satisfactorily"
in all areas of Ethiopia. The British are
pressing against Dessye, last major Italian
stronghold, and once it is captured additional
Imperial troops probably will be available for
action in North Africa. ... There was no
change in the situation at Tobruk, Libya,
still held by the British, the communique
reported. ... Royal Air Force headquarters
announced that British bombers had
raided Bengazi, Libya, starting big fires
near a water tower, the telephone exchange,
and military headquarters. Near misses on
ships in the harbor and a violent explosion on
a mole [harbor barrier] also were reported. ...
The British raiders machine-gunned a number
of oil trucks and other vehicles between Derna
and Barce and shot down a German bomber
attempting to attack ground troops near Solum.
... In operations over Ethiopia, British planes
were said to have attacked fortifications and
troops around Chelga and Bahrdar, in the Lake
Tana area, and bombed a hanger at Macaaca.
... ... Berlin, Wireless to The New York
Times, Sunday, April 27, 1941: No important
alteration of the military situation in North
Africa was indicated by today's German High
Command communique. The British were said
to be attacking in the direction of Fort
Capuzzo, Libya, and Solum, Egypt. ... An
Axis counter-attack, supported by the air force,
is reported to have thrown the advancing
British forces back to the south. In this action,
the High Command declared, seven British
tanks and a number of British armored vehicles
were destroyed. ... British forces in Tobruk
failed in attempts to break through the Axis
lines around this city, the Germans stated. ...
... Rome, By Telephone to The New York
Times, Sunday, April 27, 1941: In the recent
British aero-naval bombardment of Tripoli,
Libya, [April 22] 101 persons were killed and
about 300 wounded, it was announced in
today's war bulletin. ... ... Berlin, By
Telephone to The New York Times, By C.
Brooks Peters, Sunday, April 27, 1941: The
Greek campaign is rapidly approaching its
definitive conclusion, judging from several
special announcements released [Sunday]. ...
Athens was taken this morning. ... Any hope
the British might have entertained of offering
resistance on the Peloponnesus appeared to
have been shattered by the force of the
German drive. Yesterday morning German
parachute troops [part of the Air Force]
descended on the isthmus of Corinth, captured
the isthmus itself, and proceeded to take the
city of Corinth. Numerous British prisoners
were taken, while the remnants of the forces
fled in disorder. ... The Adolf Hitler Division of
the Elite Guard [a branch of the S.S. (not part of
the Army)], after advancing southward west of
the Pindus Mountains, crossed the Gulf of
Patras at the entrance of the Gulf of Corinth
under fire, thus entering the Peloponnesus
from the north, overcame resistance at Patras,
and took the port, it was also announced.

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... Globalization41.]