Vichy, June 23.
Two British tank columns, supported by motorized infantry and rear columns of motor trucks earry~ ing water and munition supplies, closed in slowly today in the French desert for a strangle-hold on Palmyra, Ju the heart of the Syrian desert and virluatly the entre of the country.
Palmyra not only is an important pumping station of the Mosul pipe-Tine, but it Is also a garrison town on "the Damascus-Baghdad transdesert highway and one of the inelpal French bases," crom which planes patrol the whole eastetn half of Syria, French aviation, by diving on the attacking columns, sought to destroy them and although they " inflicted considerable damage the British confined to press.
The first British column has {0 eross 140 miles of desert to reach Palmyra, while the coond column must travel 0, miles The small French garrison at Pelmyra was being reinforced as fast fas possible across the desert, Thus there was a race between French re~ inforcements and the British columns, United Press, Bremen Pounded London, June 23.
Continuing the night assaults on! Germany's industrial and naval estiiblishments, British bombers again_attacked objectives in north-west Germany during last night.
Bremen and Wilhelmshaven were the main objectives of the raid.
'A communique issued by the Air Ministry this morning states: "The port of Bremen and the naval bare of Wilhelmshaven were the main objectives of attack on north-west Germany last night by aircraft of the Bomber Command." At Wilhelm shaven particularly large Aires were started, "Among other targets attacked dur ing the night were Emden, Bremerhaven and Duesseldorf, "During these ope ations, an enemy fighter was shot down by one of our bombers, Three of our bombers are missing:
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.