PINCERS CLOSING

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20044, 16 September 1939, Page 5

PINCERS CLOSING

CLAWS OF GERMANS ENVELOPING MOVEMENT RAIN PROVES HANDICAP GUERRILLA FIGHTING (Reed. Sept. 16, 9 a.m.) LONDON, Sept. 14.* The Paris correspondent of the New York Times states that the Polish front continues to monopolise attention. The situation of ' the armies of Marshal Smigly Rydz is admittedly serious. There is fierce fighting on all sides of Warsaw. Accounts are conflicting but from jthe confusion some points stand out. Firstly it appears that the claws of the Ger- - man pincers are closing more tightly after the double enveloping movement seemed to have been halted or at .least widely retarded. Secondly the Vistula has been crossed by the Germans at Annapol, near the confluence of the San, which was also crossed at several points. Thirdly, the Germans crossed the Bug River south of Ostrow. Fourthly, the Germans who crossed the Carpathians are progressing.

The Polish forces appear to be disseminated. In addition the body fighting in the Warsaw region between the Bug and the Vistula is inside the pincers. Others apparently are grouped just beyond the claws in the vicinity of Bialystok. Triangle Formed

Meantime, the free actions which were fought in Pomorze and Posnania are the beginning of the campaign concentrated in a triangle formed by the towns of Kutno, Lowicz and Lodz. Manifestly, this cannot be described as a cohesive regrouping of forces; indeed, some French quarters to-day speak of guerrilla warfare.

It is stressed in Paris that the Poles report that rain has been falling in many areas during the last 48 hours. Hitherto, the Germans have certainly been favoured by the weather, which has enabled their armoured columns and motorised troops to progress swiftly across the plains which become quagmires in ;he rainy season.

Rain is falling on the west front also. It is calculated that this will hinder operations because 'overcast skies will halt German Air Fbrce reconnaissance flights. This is why the artillery at present is the most active arm.