November 24, 1939; DUTCH LOSE TWO LARGE SHIPS:

THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1939:

By PAUL RISLER,

Havas Staff Writer) '*
(C.P.-Havas)
BELGRADE, Nov. 24— Adolf Hitler sent a elegram calling off a German attack on The Netherlands a scant four hours before it was scheduled to start Nov. 12, this H a v a s correspondent learned today on good authority.
An absolutely reliable source confided to me the following story:

Hitler decided early in the month to invade The Netherlands, c h o o s i n g Sunday, Nov. 12, as the date. The Munich bomb exploded on Wednesday, Nov. 8. On the morning of Nov. 9, arriving in Berlin from Munich, Hitler called together the' five generals who form what Nazi officers call his private general staff.

Colonel - General Walthor von Reichenau called attention to reports that the visit of King Leopold of the Belgians to The Hague meant Belgium would aid The Netherlands should that country be attacked.

French Claim 11 and British

Nine to Prove Air
Superiority
ALLIES WITHIN THREE
OF JOOTH PLANE

PARIS, Nov. 24.— (A.P.) —The allies reported today continuing triumphs In aerial combat on the western front as the ,war turned skyward in a manner reminiscent of the dog-fights of the last war.

In. contrast with the grim, waiting game on the ground, the French sated their aviators shot down 11 German Messerschmidt planes in the past three days.

Dispatches from Royal Air Force headquarters in France said British fliers destroyed nine German, planes in two days,

GERMANY DISPUTES RESULTS

(Germany also reported an increase In aerial warfare but disputed the results. News agency reports in Berlin said German fighters shot down five planes with one German loss in six separate encounters over northwestern France in the past two days,)

The official French communique today said: "Nothing of Importance to report during the night”, On Nov. 23 eight German scouting planes brought down on French territory, four by the R.A-F. and four by the French Air Force. One of our fighters has not returned to it’s base.

Steamship Mangalore and

Tanker Slierdrecht are
Latest Victims
EXPERTS SHAPE PLANS
COMBAT NAZI MINES

LONDON] Nov. 24.—(C.P.)— The 8,886-ton British steamship Mangalore was sunk by a mine off Britain's east coast today. A crew of 77 were all rescued.

The crew was landed at a port on the east coast. Twelve members of the crew, 11 of them, Lascars, suffered injuries which necessitated hospital

treatment. Eight other men were less seriously hurt. The force of the blast hurled some of the men into the water. The vessel is owned by the Hrocfclebank company of Liverpool.

The sinking: of the 5.133-ton Netherlands tanker Sliedrecht by a submarine was disclosed today with the landing of five survivors in a northwest coast Port.

The flve were 7 1/2 days In an open boat before they were rescued by a trawler. The vessel had a crew of 31.

BOARDS TANKER
One of the survivors asserted the. submarine commander examined the ship's papers and said he would have to sink the Sliedrecht although told she was in neutral bound for a neutral. port.

The commander, the survivor added, refused to take the crew aboard his submarine tor transfer to another ship, saying, there was no room