Fog and heavy rain continue to hamper operations "on. the Weste: n Front, it was learned here this after noon." Bad conditions have also kept aeroplanes on the ground, In the aren west of Saarlouis, German artillery Kept "up sustained fr, to which French gunners have given' good reply. Both sides are now. suffers from the mud, which is getting deeper and deeper as the red Lorraine soil is churned up.
German forces sent out stronger roconnaissance patrols than usual near Perl but these patrols were driven off without dimeully. Several German patrol and reconhaiseanee parties were also active south of Pirmasens, but were compelled to withdraw without obtaining any results, French military "authorities claim, Authoritative French military eircles confirm the German report that French troops blew up three bridges seress the Rhine on 'Thursday. 'These aid not include, however, the Dit ridge at Kohl,' opposite Strasbourg. Unotticially itis also reported that the French blew up another large bridge on the Thine yesterday, ale though the locality is not indicated.
'There was little activity on the 'Western Front yesterday' because of fangy and rainy weather, according a French war communique. South Pirmasens, the Germans are said to have sent' out several patrol and reconnaissance parties, but these fare reported to have' been cor pelled to withdraw without obtai ing any results,—Reuter, French circles said they were] puzzled over the sudden cessation Of patrol activity in view of Chan cellor Adolf Hitler's threat of a "real war" if his peace proposals were rejected. The German inaction, however, might be the calm betére the storm, they doctored.
"French troops continued 10, re. Inforee. their new advance positions Inside the German frontier "as the: Allied Thigh Command prepared. to meet a major German' offensive, Troops and supplies continued 10 pour into forward positions on both sides of the Western Front yeslerday, (aking advantage of the Iull in. artillery bombardments which earlier had torn up highways behind both. front tines, British "and French officers were still studying thousands of aerial photographs brought back in the past month by Allied reconnaissance lanes, These flights, the French ress "pointed out, were carried out With comparatively litle opposition from the German air force, enabl~ ing the Allied observers to obtain highly important information re-[garding German troop concentra tions and defence works—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.