YUGOSLAV PARTISANS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 188, 8 May 1944, Page 5

YUGOSLAV PARTISANS

Thorn In Enemy’s Side

(British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, May 5.

Major-General Velevit, who recently came to London on behalf of Marshal Tito, estimates that the Yugoslav guerrilla forces have readied 300,000 men. As the date of the general assault on the Germans approaches, no doubts are felt in London that the Yugoslavs are a formidable thorn in Germany’s side. Not only have they kept the Second Panzer Army, consisting of some 12 or more divisions, pinned down in southern Europe, preventing it from being used elsewhere, but they have compelled the Germans continually to reinforce their army. The Partisans took full advantage of the fall of. Italy last year. Of the 14 Italian diviisons in Yugoslavia they disarmed six and recruited two for their own forces. The remaining six presumably were disarmed or recruited by the Germans. The Partisans thus gained considerably in arms and manpower. The latest communique from the Yugoslav front states that the Partisans have gone over to the offensive in several sectors, Including Montenegro, Croatia an! Slovenia. It is obvious that their morale is higher than gver before, both as the result of their own magnificent successes against considerable odds and because of the Allied airborne supplies and air attacks against enemy bases, airfields and communications.

Onlv heavily escorted trains can now run on the Trieste-Zagreb track, while the line from Zagreb to Belgrade has been cut in four places, and that from Belgrade to Salonika has also been cut. Because of the Partisan activity, the majority of the other railways cannot be used by ,thfi%enemy ft