Von 50 Jahren –
Auf den Marshallinseln
…
Innsbrucker Nachrichter (July 27, 1944)
Ergebnislose Feindangriffe in der Normandie
Vergebliche Durchbruchsversuche bei Florenz – Lublin und Narwa geräumt – In einem Monat 924 Sowjetpanzer vernichtet
dnb. Aus dem Führerhauptquartier, 27. Juli –
Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt:
Südlich Caen wurden unsere gestern zurückgewonnenen Stellungen gefestigt und gegen erneute örtliche Angriffe gehalten. Panzerbereitstellungen östlich Caen wurden durch zusammengefasstes Artilleriefeuer zerschlagen.
Im Raum westlich Caumont erzielte der Feind wenige örtliche Einbrüche, die nach Abschuß von 45 Panzern abgeriegelt wurden.
Amerikanische Verbände setzten im Raum westlich Saint-Lô mit starken Kräften ihre Angriffe fort. Einer feindlichen Angriffsgruppe von zwanzig Panzern mit aufgesessener Infanterie gelang es, bis in den Raum Canisy vorzustoßen. Fünf Panzer wurden davon abgeschossen. Heftige Kämpfe halten hier und im Raum Marigny an.
Nördlich Périers behaupteten unsere Truppen ihre Stellungen gegen alle feindlichen Angriffe.
Wirksame Angriffe unserer Kampfflieger richteten sich bei Nacht gegen feindliche Bereitstellungen im Raum Caen und Schiffsziele nordöstlich Cherbourg. Der Feind verlor elf Flugzeuge in Luftkämpfen.
Im französischen Raum wurden 40 Terroristen im Kampf niedergemacht.
Das Vergeltungsfeuer auf London dauert an.
In Italien blieb dem Gegner im Raum südlich Florenz auch gestern trotz aller Anstrengungen, unsere Front zu durchstoßen, jeder Erfolg versagt. Unter Einsatz starker Infanterie- und Panzerverbände rannte der Feind immer wieder, von Artillerie und schweren Luftangriffen unterstützt, gegen unsere Stellungen an, blieb jedoch unter hohen Verlusten liegen. Ein örtlicher Einbruch, den der Feind erst nach schwersten Kämpfen südwestlich Figline erzielen konnte, wurde abgeriegelt.
An der Ostfront wurden im Abschnitt Stanislau–Lemberg zahlreiche Angriffe der Sowjets verlustreich abgewiesen. Der Stadtkern von Lemberg wird weiterhin von unseren Grenadieren gegen alle bolschewistischen Angriffe gehalten.
Im Raum von Jaroslau und Lublin hält der starke feindliche Druck an. Die Stadt Lublin ging nach erbittertem Kampf verloren.
Beiderseits von Brest-Litowsk, bei Bialystok und östlich Kauen wurden alle Durchbruchsversuche der Bolschewisten zerschlagen, örtliche Einbrüche abgeriegelt. Bei Ponewisch sind Kämpfe mit feindlichen Aufklärungs- und Panzerspitzen im Gange.
Zwischen Dünaburg und dem Finnischen Meerbusen brachen auch gestern wieder zahlreiche Angriffe der Sowjets blutig zusammen. Die in einem vorspringenden Frontbogen gelegene Stadt Narwa wurde nach Durchführung der seit langer Zeit vorbereiteten Zerstörung aller kriegswichtigen Anlagen befehlsmäßig geräumt. Angriffe des Feindes gegen unsere verkürzten, wenige Kilometer. westlich verlaufenden neuen Stellungen blieben erfolglos.
Bei den schweren Kämpfen im Raum Ludsen zeichnete sich das Füsilierbataillon 32 unter Rittmeister von Heydebreck durch besondere Standhaftigkeit aus. Der tapfere Kommandeur fand in vorderster Linie den Heldentod.
In der Zeit vom 24. Juni bis 24. Juli wurden im Nordabschnitt der Ostfront durch Truppen des Heeres und der Waffen-SS sowie durchfliegende Verbände und Flakartillerie der Luftwaffe 924 sowjetische Panzer vernichtet.
Starke Schlachtfliegerverbände griffen in den Schwerpunktabschnitten wirksam in die Erdkämpfe ein und zersprengten feindliche Kolonnen. Hierbei wurden 35 feindliche Panzer und über 400 Fahrzeuge zerstört.
In der Nacht führten schwere Kampfflugzeuge Angriffe gegen feindliche Bereitstellungen im Raum von Lublin.
Nordamerikanische Bomber griffen Orte in Südostdeutschland und in Rumänien an. Durch Luftverteidigungskräfte wurden 42 feindliche Flugzeuge, darunter 35 viermotorige Bomber, vernichtet. Rumänische Jagdflieger schössen im Kampf mit einem nordamerikanischen Jagdverband neun feindliche Jäger ab.
In der Nacht warfen feindliche Flugzeuge Bomben im Raum von Hamburg und auf die Stadt Tilsit. Sechs Flugzeuge wurden zum Absturz gebracht.
Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Force (July 27, 1944)
Communiqué No. 103
In the area west of SAINT-LÔ, Allied forces have made good gains through enemy positions. One armored column has driven south some five miles from the PÉRIERS–SAINT-LÔ road to take MARIGNY. Another armored prong thrust across the SAINT-LÔ–COUTANCES road through SAINT-GILLES. The advance is continuing. Elsewhere in the western sector local gains have been made.
South of CAEN, there has been heavy fighting, with the enemy continuing a stubborn defense. All attacks by our forces in this sector have met strong concentrations of enemy tanks, artillery and mortars. Several enemy counterattacks have been repulsed.
Yesterday afternoon and evening, fighter-bombers attacked enemy gun positions, strong points, tank and troop concentrations in and around the battle area.
Other fighter-bombers and fighters kept up the attack on transportation targets over a wide area from DOUAI to VENDOME, cutting railway tracks and strafing locomotives, rolling stock and vehicles.
Sixteen enemy aircraft were shot down. Thirteen of ours are missing.
Fuel dumps at FONTAINEBLEAU and SENONCHES and railway bridges at EPERNON and L’AIGLE were attacked early yesterday evening by medium bombers.
Heavy bombers, six of which are missing, attacked the railway center of GIVORS–BADAN, 12 miles south of LYONS, last night.
Three enemy aircraft were shot down during the night, two over NORMANDY and one by INTRUDERS.
Periodical Communiqué No. 2
271700b July
Since 15 July, the French Forces of the Interior have repelled further attempts by the Germans to liquidate Marquis areas. German attacks have now taken the form of raids carried out by armored columns. In many instances these new tactics have been frustrated by ambushes.
In the SAÔNE-ET-LOIRE Department, resistance forces have succeeded in annihilating an enemy convoy of 116 lorries. In the PYRENEES, resistance forces attacked a column of armored cars and artillery with such success that the enemy was forced to bring up reinforcements in order to avoid complete defeat. Engagements have also taken place in MORVAN and in BRITTANY. In the RHÔNE Valley, resistance forces which have withdrawn from towns captured by the enemy have now regrouped in the woods.
In NORMANDY and elsewhere, attacks against the railway system continue to disorganize the enemy’s lines of communication. In the LOIRET, 30 trucks of war material have been destroyed. In the HÉRAULT, attacks on railway lines have caused several derailments, including the wrecking of an ammunition train. Interruptions of traffic in this area lasted from 18 to 36 hours.
The destruction of locks on important canals has continued, particularly in the north and in the east, thereby interfering with the transport of fuel. Barges carrying 100,000 gallons of oil fuel have been blown up, and petrol depots and convoys have been destroyed in the NIÈVRE.
Communiqué No. 104
Allied armored thrusts in the western sector continue to make rapid progress.
One column has cut the road from SAINT-LÔ to PERCY in the neighborhood of LE MESNIL-HERMAN, while another has advanced for miles to the southwest of CANISY. A third has driven some distance west form MARIGNY down the COUTANCES road.
Between the SEVES and the AY rivers, an advance of some 2,000 yards has cut the PÉRIERS–LESSAY road.
Between SAINT-LÔ and CAUMONT, the enemy salient is being steadily eliminated and advanced troops after occupying BERIGNY have reached the outskirts of NOTRE-DAME-D’ELLE. Other forces moving west from the CAUMONT area have reached the village of MOUFFET.
A strong enemy counterattack towards VERRIÈRES was repulsed last night. The enemy has made no further effort in the CAEN sector.
Fighter-bombers, supporting advancing ground forces in the SAINT-LÔ sector, attacked enemy guns and transport.
Military targets at BRUSSELS and GHENT were attacked by small forces of heavy bombers this morning. Escorting fighters strafed roads and railway facilities in the same area.
Enemy shipping off the PAS-DE-CALAIS coast was attacked by coastal aircraft early today.
U.S. Navy Department (July 27, 1944)
CINCPAC Communiqué No. 92
U.S. Marines continued their advance on Tinian Island on July 26 (West Longitude Date), and now control the northern one third of the island, including Mount Lasso, the island’s commanding height. Our lines extend diagonally southeast across the island from a point south of Faibus San Hilo Point on the west coast to a point several thousand yards north of Masalog Point on the east coast. Light surface units and 7th Army Air Force Thunderbolt fighters from Isely Field on Saipan are supporting our ground forces. On July 24, the fighters flew 124 bombing and strafing sorties, scoring hits on enemy troop areas, ammunition dumps, gun positions and motorized equipment.
Our casualties on Tinian as of July 25 were 159 killed in action, 441 wounded in action, and 32 missing in action. We have counted 2,089 enemy dead and have captured 62 Japanese troops who have been made prisoners of war. Eighty civilians have been interned.
Seabees and Army aviation engineers are enlarging and clearing the Uhushi Point Airfield which was taken July 25.
On July 25, 7th Army Air Force Liberators dropped more than 70 tons of bombs on the Japanese naval base at Truk. Large explosions were observed. One of at least eight intercepting enemy planes was damaged. Five of our bombers were damaged.
Aircraft of a fast carrier task group on July 24 and 25 attacked enemy installations on Arakabesan, Peleliu, Angaur, Malakal and Koror, in the Palau group, and Yap and Ulithi, all in the western Caroline Islands. Five enemy airborne aircraft were shot down, 21 were destroyed on the ground and others damaged the first day. No airborne enemy fighters were seen the second day. Our planes sank an enemy destroyer, an oiler, a destroyer escort or minelayer, seven small cargo ships and many smaller craft. We lost five planes in combat but recovered four pilots.
Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing Corsairs and Dauntless dive bombers and Catalinas of Fleet Air Wing Two continued on July 25 to harass enemy positions in the Marshall Islands. Nauru was attacked the same day by a Navy Ventura bomber.
The Pittsburgh Press (July 27, 1944)
Yanks drive seven more miles
U.S. column racing toward sea to trap seven German divisions
By Virgil Pinkley, United Press staff writer
Yank drive of seven miles into Nazi defenses for a total thrust of 12 miles in three days highlights news from France. The British were forced back in the Caen sector, withdrawing from Esquay and Tilly-la-Campagne (1). The Yanks captured Canisy and drove to Le Mesnil-Herman (2). Other U.S. forces thrust into Périers (3).
Bulletin
SHAEF, London, England –
The German defense line in Normandy cracked wide open today and a U.S. armored column raced southwestward toward the sea in a fast-breaking bid to shear off the Nazi left wing and trap the enemy’s 84th Army Corps of seven badly mauled divisions.
SHAEF, London, England –
U.S. armored columns raced forward up to seven miles today in their Normandy breakthrough drive, fanning out on a broad arc which overran the road junctions of Canisy and Le Mesnil-Herman and reached points 4¼ miles from Coutances and six miles south of Saint-Lô.
Field dispatches reported the capture of fire-ravaged Canisy, three miles southeast of Marigny, and said Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley’s tanks had spurted another five miles in the same direction to seize Le Mesnil-Herman on the Saint-Lô–Percy highway and reach Saint-Samson-de-Bonfossé.
The whirlwind advances through groggy German defenses expanded the breakthrough by U.S. armor to a depth of nearly 12 miles in less than three days of fighting. They also set the stage for flanking pushes to the east and west which, if successful, would collapse the whole southern rim of the German arc around the Normandy beachhead.
The main spearheads of the breakthrough forces were swinging southeastward below Saint-Lô and southwestward toward Coutances, the capture of which would undermine the Atlantic coastal wing of the German Army.
The German line between the Saint-Lô gap and the Atlantic was buckling under the U.S. 1st Army’s blows. U.S. patrols thrust into Périers, central hinge of the German defenses fronting Gen. Bradley’s troops, and the Lessay–Périers highway was cut in a gain of more than a mile.
The Nazi plight was reflected in a DNB News Agency estimate that Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery can now send into the field “about 50 divisions, including very strong fresh tank formations.”
Gen. Bradley’s men generally were on the move from just west of Caumont to the sea, and were consolidating their armored gains as fast as infantry and artillery could be moved up.
Henry T. Gorrell, United Press writer who witnessed the breakthrough in its crucial phase yesterday, reported in a dispatch filed at 3:30 p.m. (local time) that by afternoon the foremost elements of the U.S. armor were at Saint-Samson-de-Bonfossé.
From another sector, United Press writer James McGlincy reported the capture of Le Mesnil-Herman, one of the biggest road hubs south of Saint-Lô.
The first field dispatches of the day reported the capture of Canisy. They said it burned all night after being set afire by the explosions which cracked German resistance.
Littered with Nazi dead
Mr. Gorrell reported:
A driver of a tank outfit said there was not much left of Canisy. The streets are littered with German dead, cut down by automatic weapons fired from halftracks as the Americans passed through. There was a brief street fight, which cost the Americans only a few casualties.
As the tank columns fanned out far beyond Marigny, dispatches reported that in some sectors Adolf Hitler’s famous SS regiments had pulled out and left the rearguard fighting to Polish conscripts, hundreds of whom were captured.
The weather had cleared, and wave upon wave of fighter-bombers battered all day at the German positions.
Mr. Gorrell reported:
As I write this, our fighter-bombers are returning from the front and executing victory rolls en masse. It is quite a sight to see as many as 40 of them do it simultaneously.
Eyewitnesses told Mr. Gorrell they had seen many German tanks knocked out along the Saint-Gilles–Canisy road. Big German Tiger tanks were battling U.S. Shermans in the advanced areas.
Terrific cannonade
The chief German resistance had been from mortars. Our infantry was fast cleaning up the corridors laid out by the tanks, and “such was the state of German demoralization at the sight of the U.S. armor that very few snipers stuck around,” Mr. Gorrell said.
Since yesterday afternoon, there has been a terrific cannonade as our mobile guns, supported by hundreds of other cannon in the rear, picked off observed targets. Our Piper Cubs now are flying over by dozens, spotting for the artillery.
Roads in the path of the advance are strewn with knocked-out German vehicles and German bodies. Our engineers are keeping pace with the advance, filling in the bomb and shell craters.
The east end of the American line was also rolling up slow but steady gains. Infantry reached Mouffet, five miles west of Caumont, in a two-mile advance from Montrabot. They took Bérigny and on the Saint-Lô–Caumont highway and pushed forward to the vicinity of Notre-Dame-d’Elle, three miles south of Bérigny and six miles east of Saint-Lô.
Farther to the east, the British and Canadians were forced to yield some ground both south and southwest of Caen in the face of increasingly heavy enemy counterattacks.
The British and Canadians withdrew completely from Tilly-la-Campagne, four and a half miles southeast of Caen, and also abandoned Esquay, six and a half miles southwest of Caen, and nearby Hill 112 on the bank of the Orne River. Both the Exchange Telegraph Agency and the London Daily Sketch said the withdrawals constituted a “serious setback” for Lt. Gen. Miles C. Dempsey’s 2nd Army.
Planes hit three ships
Allied fighter-bombers continued to give close support to the ground forces last night and boosted their toll for the day to 20 enemy tanks destroyed, 19 probably destroyed and 58 damaged. Fourteen gun positions were hit.
Planes also hit the three ship unloading supplies at Granville, 15 miles south of Coutances, as well as railway yards, fuel dumps, bridges and road junctions behind the battle line.
Front dispatches said the British and Canadians were regrouping south and southwest of Caen after their offensive push down the highway toward Falaise broke down in the face of strenuous opposition and counterattacks by four German panzer divisions.
Rocket-firing RAF Typhoons stopped one German counterattack yesterday evening before its infantry and supporting ranks could reach forward Canadian positions. Five tanks were destroyed and eight others damaged.
Lt. Gen. McNair, 61, killed at front line in Normandy
Led training of ground forces
Washington (UP) –
Lt. Gen. Lesley J. McNair, the man who directed training of this country’s mammoth new ground forces for the battles they are now fighting around the world, was killed in the front line of the current U.S. offensive in Normandy, the War Department announced today. He was 61.
Before he fell, Gen. McNair saw the start of an offensive which has already smashed through the German lines and carried deeper into the enemy’s territory the doughboys whose training he directed.
Gen. McNair stood high in the small group of military leaders who, under Gen. George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, built the U.S. Army from 1½ million men to its present size of 7,700,000.
Had narrow escape
Gen. McNair had some narrow escapes in other wars and had come close to death once before in this one. On April 23, 1943, while visiting the Tunisian front, a splinter from a German four-inch shell pierced his steel helmet and lodged a quarter of an inch from his brain.
He survived that experience, however, and shrugged it off with a tribute to the quality of steel in his helmet.
From March 1942 until recently, Gen. McNair was commanding general of the Army Ground Forces, a post which ranked him with Gen. H. H. Arnold, commander of the Army Air Forces, and Lt. Gen. Brehon B. Somervell, commander of the Army Supply Forces.
On July 14, the War Department announced that he had been succeeded by Lt. Gen. Ben Lear and had been given an “important overseas assignment.” What that assignment was has not yet been disclosed. It appeared possible that it might have been the command of an Army corps.
Second of rank killed
The War Department announcement said merely that Gen. McNair “was killed by enemy fire while observing the action of our frontline units in the recent offensive.”
Gen. McNair was the second officer of his rank to meet death in this war. The first was Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews, commander of U.S. forces in the European Theater, who was killed in a plane crash in Iceland on May 3, 1943.
Gen. McNair was credited with possessing one of the best brains in the Army. He used to be known as “the GHQ Sparkplug” and there are many stories around the Pentagon concerning the effect of his visits to Army units. One engineering unit which had taken pride in its ability to build a pontoon bridge in something over an hour pared by the time to 39 minutes shortly after a visit by Gen. McNair.
Gen. Marshall, on hearing of his death, described Gen. McNair as “an inspiring example to the forces of our great ground army which he organized and trained.”
The notable success of U.S. combat troops going into action for the first time against battle-hardened enemy troops was accredited in considerable degree to the effectiveness of this training program.
Gen. McNair was born in Verndale, Minnesota, May 25, 1883.
Gen. McNair was the sixth Army general officer to be killed in action in this war, not counting seven who died in airplane crashes and two who died from illnesses resulting from combat experience.
Others killed
Generals killed in action to date include:
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Maj. Gen. Clarence L. Tinker: Missing in action off Midway June 7, 1942, and listed as presumed dead a year later.
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Brig. Gen. Asa N. Duncan: Missing off the European coast Nov. 17, 1942, and declared dead a year later.
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Brig. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest: Missing after a raid on Kiel, Germany, June 13, 1943, and now considered dead.
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Brig. Gen. Donald F. Pratt: Killed in action June 6, 1944, in France.
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Brig. Gen. Nelson M. Walker: Died of wounds July 10 in France.
Gen. McNair graduated from West Point in 1904. He went through the last war in France without a scratch but he had some close calls.
Gen. McNair served with the 1st Infantry Division of the AEF in France during the last war and also at general headquarters of the AEF. He won the Distinguished Service Medal for his work in gunnery.
In 1940, he was assigned as Chief of Staff of General Headquarters, Washington. When the War Department General Staff was reorganized in March 1942, he was made head of the Army Ground Forces.
Gen. McNair is survived by his widow, who lives at the Army War College here where Gen. McNair had his headquarters as head of the Ground Forces.
Yanks on Guam close on airfield
Marines take plane strip on Tinian
By Frank Tremaine, United Press staff writer
…
Germans fortify streets of Pisa
Use Leaning Tower as observation post
By Eleanor Packard, United Press staff writer
…
Unions offer veterans less than law provides
Agreement with VFW fails to recognize Selective Service job protection guarantee
By Fred W. Perkins, Pittsburgh Press staff writer
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Reports of Ford’s plans premature
Company undecided on low-priced auto
By Edward A. Evans, Scripps-Howard staff writer
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U.S. moves to ostracize Argentina from neighbors
Non-recognition policy, if long continued, may force change in sentiment
By Hal O’Flaherty
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Charges denied by Argentina
Discrimination laid to United States
…
Pinkley: Hitler stakes everything on Norman battle
Nazis countermand strategy of generals
By Virgil Pinkley, United Press staff writer
SHAEF, London, England –
I have been informed by credible authority that the Nazis have countermanded the strategy of top generals of the general staff and have staked virtually their entire future on halting the Americans and British at the present line in Normandy.
They’ve made it an “all or nothing” affair.
This decision is at wide variance with the determination of Field Marshal Karl Gerd von Rundstedt – now reported a victim of the blood purge of German generals opposing Hitler – to fall back behind the Seine and Loire Rivers should the Allies establish a bridgehead in Normandy.
Would force detour
Von Rundstedt’s view was that such a move would have compelled the Allies to go the long way around south of Paris to get at the German Army. With all the main bridges on the Seine and Loire down and transportation hamstrung by months of Allied bombardment, this would have left the Allies a difficult supply problem.
Simultaneously the Germans would have been fighting from shortened supply lines.
The Nazis countered this argument according to my informant, with the assertion that the prestige value of a do-or-die stand at the base of the Normandy Peninsula outweighed practical military factors.
Rush divisions
So Adolf Hitler and his party generals rushed most of the crack panzer divisions in Europe into Normandy to grind themselves against the Allied force. Elite SS and grenadier outfits were placed in the frontlines. In one sector near Caen, 15 to 20 divisions were crammed into a 12-mile front to greatest concentration of manpower in military history.
Repeatedly they threw these crack troops into limited counterattack hoping to gain time in which to patch up the crumbling Eastern and Italian fronts; time in which to achieve a stalemate and a negotiated peace; time in which frantically to push scientific experiments on novel weapons such as the flying bombs.
Slows Allies
The result of this German resistance has been to slow Allied progress down to a backbreaking and frequently disheartening task of grinding down the German men and material. It is difficult to measure these Allied gains hour by hour and day by day, but Allied officers here believe that once the hard crust is broken, they will roll rapidly toward Paris and the Reich frontier.
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s forces are tearing at the vitals of the German Army in the Battle of Normandy and achieving at an unexpectedly early phase the ambition to meet and defeat the German Army in the field.
U.S. thrust has makings of beachhead breakout
British reverse, which puts Montgomery on the spot, may be serious, writer says
By William H. Stoneman
SHAEF, London, England –
The American advance west of Saint-Lô has definitely broken through the Germans’ main positions in that area and has produced the first real promise of “something interesting” which the Allies have enjoyed since the fall of Cherbourg.
For the time being, it is not wise to speculate on the extent and direction of the American advance, but nobody can deny that it has the makings of that breakout from the beachhead which we have been waiting all these weeks.
Unpleasant British reverse
Meanwhile, the British have suffered an unpleasant and perhaps serious reverse in the area southwest of Caen, across the Orne River from the scene of the British-Canadian offensive which was launched Tuesday.
While the British-Canadian offensive was fading out against furious opposition, the Germans west of the river suddenly staged a little offensive of their own capturing the town of Esquay and nearby Hill 112, which is seven miles southwest of Caen.
Commands triangle
Hill 112 commands a large part of the triangle between the rivers Orne and Odon, southwest of Caen, and unless it can be recaptured the British forces at Maltot and Éterville will be embarrassed. The triangle must be held or the Germans can threaten the flank of the British and Canadian forces, south of Caen, on the other bank of the Orne.
The British-Canadian offensive south of Caen was bogged down and stopped due largely to the excellent defensive nature of the ground held by the Germans. Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery must now be in a considerable quandary; he has simply got to break the stalemate south of Caen and it just does not look as if he could.
Somebody must do it
If he cannot, then they will have to find somebody who can.
If Gen. Montgomery should go – and we have no reason to believe he will at this juncture – his logical successor would be the Allied commander-in-chief in Italy, Gen. Sir Harold H. L. G. Alexander, his former chief during the Libyan desert campaign.
Alexander’s success in Italy and his great personal popularity have combined with our lack of progress in France to put him in the spotlight. Montgomery certainly cannot stand much more delay on the British front.