STEADY STREAM OF BRITISH TROOPS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 217, 14 September 1939, Page 8

STEADY STREAM OF BRITISH TROOPS.

WELL EQUIPPED.

Allied Forces Prepare To Attack West Wall. TERRIFIC ARTILLERY DUEL. United Press Association.—Copyright. (Received 11.30 a.m.) LOXDOX, September 13. Tn their first reference to British support appearing in French military dispatches this afternoon it was stated "a. great mimher of wellequipped British troops are participating in combat." Troops from England'are arriving in France in a steady stream, says the Paris correspondent of the "New York Times." There is perfect unity of thought between tlie British and French Staffs. The British, who aro entering subterranean passages far from the front, are having their first glimpse of the Maginot Line. They are in ranch greater security than were the "Old Content ptibles," who had to face shot and shell along exposed roads. France lias annexed the British marching song "Boomps-a-Daisy," which is likely to become the "Tipperarv" of the present campaign. Saaxbrucken Threatened. The Independent Cable Service Paris correspondent states Saarbrucken ts "definitely threatened'' as result of the French advance. The French have occupied many German villages. The Berlin wireless admits that the French forces are about three miles from Saarbrucken. A Berlin Army communique dismisses the fighting on the French front as unimportant, and claims the recapture of Birnbirg, four miles south-east of Saar- I bracken. Luxembourg reports state that the Germans destroyed the railway bridge j between Metz and Trier, crossing the Moselle Valley. This action is attributable to German fears of a French offensive in this region. "Building Up"' Stage. Reports from Basle, Switzerland, indicate that a terrific artillery duel began last night in the eastern Moselle Valley, between the Maginot and Sieg- | fried Lines. Swiss observers are of the opinion that the Allied Staffs are "building up" to an actual assault on the Siegfried Line in the near future. Advancing by day, and consolidating their gains by night, while 011 both sid»s the artillery is very active at all times, the French continued their progress along a 12-niilc line, east of the Saar Kiver. says the Paris correspondent of the \ork Times." Saarbrucken is distinctly threatened. Its capture would have a moral effect, but would not change the situation very materially, since the main objective must regain the Siegfried Line.

An offiical French communique states that enemy artillery continued to fire during the night. Aircraft on both sides showed great activity yesterday.

A Paris report cays German long-range artillery hidden several miles behind the lilies, to-day opened a heavy barrage against the French positions oil the Saar River. Enemy guns pounded a small village in the area held by the French near Saarbrucken.

Dispatches from Amsterdam confirm the fact that the Germans are evacuating the Trier district, and also the neighbourhood of Aix-la-Chapelle. °