SUCCESS IN SOUTHERN DISTRICT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 December 1939, Page 7

SUCCESS IN SOUTHERN DISTRICT

Two Soviet Regiments Destroyed RED ARMY MAKING PROGRESS IN NORTH DEFENDERS’ HOPES OF HOLDING OUT (By Telegraph. Press Association.- Copyright.) ( Iteceit e;l This Dav. !) a.m.) HELSINKI. Dm-ciitlmr 15. Il is offwialiv claimed lliai’ llie Finns; are entirely in possession <>!' i lie dislricl of To|v;ij:ii-\ i. on llie southern trout, arid I heir troops are nurstting lhe liussiaiis. The batik- in I his area lasted three days. Il is slated ilia! two Soviet revinif-nls were desl royed. The lied Army, however, is progressing in lhe extreme north, when* four villages, liesides Salmijarvi. are ablaze. Throughoul the night terrific explosions were heard mi lhe Norwegian ITonlier. believed lo indicate llie blowing up of the nickel mines. The Russians in (‘mitral P’iiiiaml claim to have rem-hed a point (>7 mih's from the Soviet frontier. Pressure against Salla is strong, but llie b'inns have received reittforeemeids and are holding their own, inflicting heavy losses. Thousands of Red troops are reported to have fallen in I his are:!. The Finns have withdrawn huge herds of reindeer from the district and donbl whether it is possible for lhe Russians, with their long, vulnerable lines of communication, to be able to provide their troops with provisions for any length of time. A Foreign Office spokesman welcomed Mr Neville Chamberlain’s statement and said: ’‘lf only Britain would help we would be right. - ’ M. I’lrkko, Finnish Minister to Sweden, in an interview in .Stockholm, said: ’T'inlnml can hold mn indefinitely if munitions and supplies are available without delay.” The Archbishop of Sweden, in a message of sympathy to lhe Archbishop of Finland, said: ‘‘Yon arc lighting for the things ,we all hold dear.”