CALL ON FRENCHMEN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 July 1943, Page 3

CALL ON FRENCHMEN

MADE BY THE’ALGIERS RADIO TO DESTROY AXIS DEFENCE POSTS. AND SABOTAGE ENEMY LINES OF COMMUNICATION. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, July 12. A dramatic message was broadcast yesterday from the Algiers radio calling on the people of France to destroy Axis observation posts along the coast and sabotage enemy lines of communications. This suggests that there will be an early invasion of France. The message added: “It is of paramount importance that Frenchmen should prepare dumps of weapons for the time when the Allies land.” Weight was lent to the invasion suggestion by the heavy attacks in the weekend on German air bases in northern France which were carried out by strong formations of British and American bombers. SARDINIA & CORSICA. Opinion in Washington suggests that operations against Sardinia and Corsica in the near future will enable the Allies to launch flanking aerial attacks against western and central Italy. Rumours ran wild in Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, following a further closing of the Turkish-Syrian frontier

and suspension of telephonic communication between Turkey and Bulgaria. A premature report that Allied airborne troops had landed in Greece caused a panic. All Bulgarian reserve officers and the majority of the Bulgarian divisions were reported to have been called up. ACTIVITY IN SYRIA. Axis radio stations throughout the weekend issued reports of intensive invasion preparations in Syrian ports, where the Allies were said to be hurriedly massing landing barges. The sta. tions also reported that Polish and French troops in Syria were taking part in massive landing exercises of the type which preceded the invasion of Sicily. Axis circles expect that the Allies will use airborne troops on a large scale, and they quote Ankara for a statement that two divisions of these troops are poised in readiness. Giving a warning of the Allied preparations for an attack on the Continent, the Berlin radio said: “The western Mediterranean has been allocated to the Americans, while the British will lead invasion attempts in the eastern Mediterranean.” Outside Sicily and Italy, the major attention from the Allied air forces in the Mediterranean has been concentrated on Crete, and the recent raid on Crete by light shock troops has

greatly increased the nervousness of the Axis. With the new phases of Allied offensives, there will probably be a general intensification of the air war against Axis targets, specially communications and airfields in western Europe. It is. believed that in the forthcoming operations, as in the operations already under way in Sicily, armaments which hitherto have not been used will be brought into play, including new types of planes.