FRENCH ADVANCE

Opotiki News, Volume II, Issue 234, 15 September 1939, Page 3

FRENCH ADVANCE

MANY VILLAGES, OCCUPIED G Eli .MANS PEAR OFFENSIVE DEFINITE POLISH STAND ShAl’GI i'l ER . BY 'GERA! AN TANKS LONDON, Sept. 13. ‘ A Paris report says that Saarbrucken is stated toi he “definitely threatened as a result of the French advance.'” 'The French have occupied many German villages. A report from Luxemburg states that the Germans destroyed the railway and bridge between -Metz and Trier .crossing the -Moselle. This: can be attributed to the German fears of a French offensive in this region. Berlin ‘reports that the German Chief cif Staff. General Von lirauchitsch, has joined the German troops in Poland in the trout line near Radium ywhere fierce fighting is reported. It appears that Herr Hitler visited Lordz and not Lodz as had previously been reported. A German communique says that the visit was an agreeable surprise to the troops and population, it also .stated that unfavourable weather conditions were now developing. -V Bucharest message quotes the Rumanian weather bureau which states that heavy rain is falling in northern Poland. There is no rain, however, in the south. It is reported from Tallinn that the entire Tarto region of Estonia is flooded. Reports received by the Router agency from the Polish-Ruinanian frontier state that the German air force is desperately trying to cut off Poland’s < ommmiicntioiis with R umania. 'J'hi.s means ceaseless bombing and ma-chine-gunning cl the railway and road leading from Lwow and Stanislawow to the frontier town of Snyatin. 'lbis road is littered with abandoned cars liddled with mat hine-gun bullets. Lwow has been, heavily bombed in the hist- two days. Factories and! the rail Win and houses are suffering heavily. Sy n a tin is reported to> have, been hem lied ami the station damaged. Seven bombs fell in the crowded marketplace of a Jewish village near the frontier and 2U(}‘ persons were killed. -V report from Copenhagen quotes a German tank corps officer, who has just returned to Berlin from Poland, a.s' stating:—“The German tanks in Poland have been even more successful than it had been imagined they could: lie. hut at what a cost. Modern warfare will prove it. is nothing but a gigantic massacre.” In the course of an interview with* the Politikcn’s Berlin correspondent, he continued: “The Germans lost at least 15,001) men on the Polish front. It is impossible tfi estimate che Polish losses, luit they must he between 1 ol?,0l.'0 and 380,000. \Ye readily admit that it was most do-, plurable, but we found it impossible to take piisonors. \\ e had to shoot everyone within sight because c! the fear that some might get behind cur tanks. Moreover, we had nobody to fake (barge of prisoners. 't hus we have scarcely any prisoners as we have to shoot everyone. I he .Poles are very coni niveous lightens, it uill net ]>e an easy task to conquer Inland. because wc will have to kill cv- : cry soldier before the nation is likely to give in.” LONDON, Sept. 13. A \Yaimiw radio broadcast received in Budapest yesterday states that the invaders are now definitely on (he iim. A Paris' message states that the Polish Poznanian army has broken the Gorman ring and is new menacing the German centre army besieging Warsaw from the south-west A Aloseow wireless to-day announced that the Poles had converted the defensive to the offensive in the north.