ENEMY ATTACK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 October 1939, Page 5

ENEMY ATTACK

ON THE WESTERN FRONT ANTICIPATED IN PARIS. FRENCH FULLY PREPARED. In spite of the lull in German activities on the Western Front, radio messages state, the belief is expressed in Paris that a big Nazi offensive may soon begin along the Saar River. ( The military correspondent of the “Petit Parisien” says that this would mean the employment of the maximum amount of war material and forces ranging between 700,000 and 800,000. The date of the offensive is still uncertain, but should it occur, the French are fully prepared, and no new methods of fighting or manoeuvring would take them by. surprise. In the meantime it is reported that French patrols, like the Germans, are making great efforts io take prisoners for the purposes of securing information. French scouting patrols are stated to have been successful. In Germany there is bewilderment at the lack of activity on the Western Front, but official sources state that the Germans hope to break Britain’s mastery of lhe sea by submarine and anti-aircraft action. The concentration of troops on the Western Front is stated to be merely a necessary precaution, and that the attack will take place only after the British blockade has been broken. SLIGHT ACTIVITY REPORTED BY GERMANS. (Received This Day, 9 a.m.) LONDON, October 16. A German High Command communique records slight activity on the Western front. It claims that the French have been forced to evacuate an armoured fort owing to the rising waters of the Rhine. GREAT PREPARATIONS OFFENSIVE APPEARS VERY IMMINENT. PARIS, October 16. The Germans are making great preparations on the whole of the Western Front. An offensive appears very imminent. Troops are being brought up to the front line, and the noise of engihes was heard throughout the night, but the German artillery was silent to avoid disclosing the positions of the guns. The French artillery reacted lyThis morning’s communique stated that there is great activity within the enemy lines between the Saar and Moselle Rivers, and there is patrol activity by both sides west, of Wissemburg. According to a Daventry broadcast, a French war communique states that the Germans launched an attack yesterday morning on a front of about four miles, supported by artillery fire, near the Luxembourg border. The enemy occupied light positions and temporarily held a village close to the Luxembourg frontier before the attack came to a halt. It was the biggest attack that German forces had yet launched and was the culmination of raids carried out in the past week. Great activity was reported behind the enemy lines during the night between the Moselle and the Saar. There were indications of reinforcements to the front lines and movements of tanks. French artillery was active. The Allied Command is confident of meeting any attack which may be launched. A German attack before the winter is regarded as a desperate measure in which the Germans would lose men and machines that would be difficult to replace.