RUSSIAN MOVES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20085, 3 November 1939, Page 7

RUSSIAN MOVES

FORTIFYING BALTIC TROOPS IN POLAND GERMAN FRONTIERS NEAR NEW NAVAL POLICY LONDON, Oct. 26. The hurried building by Russia of fortifications on the Baltic, within striking range of Germany, and Russian troop movements through Poland to Germany's frontier, arc arousing much speculation.

Reports from Stockholm say the Russians intend to make Libau, leased from Latvia under the recent treaty, the Kiel Canal of the eastern Baltic. Already the building of a strongly fortified naval base has been begun.

Tsars’ Naval Policy

With Libau once again a Russian naval base, Russian bombers will be within GOO miles of Kiel.

“Libau will probably take the place of Kronstadt, the present main Russian base, which is ice-bound six months each year,” says the Daily Herald.

“A large part of Russia’s Baltic fleet, headed by the new 8000-ton cruiser Kirov, has arrived at Libau.

“Stalin’s return to the naval policy of the Tsars will be bad news for Hitler. Libau proved a hard nut for the Kaiser's navy to crack in the last war.” Russian Military Activity Mystery surrounds the dispatch by the Soviet of large reinforcements of troops through Poland to the new German frontier. The troops comprise infantry, motorised units, tanks and light and heavy artillery. They are being hurried through Lwow and other parts of former Polish territory now held by the Russians.

Military experts are speculating about this large movement, which cannot be explained by the mere needs of occupation of the territory. Oil Prospects Disappointing I!i is now revealed that Soviet officials have been disappointed by the prospects of obtaining oil from wells the Germans were anxious to seize, but which fell to M. Stalin in his share of the spoils. The Polish oilfields at Boryslao and Drokobycz, with the exception of three wells, are still unworkable. A Soviet commissar stated at a

meeting of the workers and technicians -that the wells would be producing in a much shorter time than the six months estimated by Polish experts. Nevertheless, the Polish experts say that these are empty words.