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First to return were the wounded. An Armada of ships - all sizes, all shapes - were used for crossing the Channel. The weather which helped Hitler's tanks to advance has since helped the British evacuation. Cost to the Navy of carrying out, in an inferno of bombs and shells, one of the most magnificent operations in history has been three destroyers, some auxiliary craft, and a small steamer. Cost to the enemy of the Fleet's intervention outside Dunkirk can be counted in the shattering of German advanced forces by naval guns and the survival of the ten of thousands of British soldiers whom the Germans had hoped to capture or destroy. The Navy carries on "Ceaselessly, by day and by night . . . operations are continuing," said the Navy's communiqué last night. Many more men than was expected have already been able to extricate themselves from the perilous position in which they were left by Belgium's king. A midnight message from Paris brought dramatic news which suggested that the withdrawal was nearing its end: "Two division of General Prioux's army (who held the Flanders hills between Dunkirk and Lille in a desperate rearguard action) have now reached the coast. By means of a furious tank battle they have blasted their way out of the German trap. The rest of their comrades are following." General captured? It is feared that General Prioux himself will not reach safety. He stayed to the last to safeguard the retreat and a German news agency message claims that he and his staff have been taken prisoners. The armies, navies and air forces of Britain and France have fought as one unit in what military authorities consider the most perfectly executed rearguard action on record. Casualties have been heavy, so have losses of supplies and equipment, but German claims of losses inflicted are regarded in London as "fantastic." German air losses, on the other hand, have been great, mainly because of the reckless manner in which the assault on the withdrawing Allied forces has been conducted. Fierce fighting continued last night on the flanks of the Allied withdrawal behind Dunkirk, where forty German infantry divisions and eight armoured columns - (totaling 700,000 men) were flung against the remnants of the Allies' northern army. But the skilful handling and courage of the Allies in Flanders, beset on all sides and outnumbered by three to one, led French military experts to hope that our men may fight their way to defendable positions on the coast. There, supported by the heavy guns of the Navy, it is possible that they could chold the dunes, small hills and soft ground that surround the port. Much of this ground is already fortified it formed the northern end of the extension of the Maginot Line. Holding on British forces, helped by one or two French divisions, are believed today to be still holding the famous line of the Yser against German tanks which are attempting to batter their way through to Dunkirk. The Germans are reported to have captured Cassel Hill (where Prioux's men held out) and are thrusting east for a line of small hills and ridges. These mounts, which were recently fortified with tunnels and pillboxes with high gun-power, may also furnish good cover for the Allies. Fighting flared up again last night on the Souther Front behind the Somme. Here again, British and French troops are fighting side by side. It is believed in Paris that when the Flanders battles has died down the whole German war machine may suddenly be switched on to this front.
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