THE WAR, STEP BY STEP

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 100, 13 December 1939, Page 6

THE WAR, STEP BY STEP

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8.

Soviet troops have occupied Kuolajarvi and have launched a bis* <vfTensive in the Karelia and Lake Ladoga districts. Confirmation has been received ol the Finns sensational air raid nt Murmansk. The Finns are more than holding their own in places where the enemy cannot rely on success by numbers of maehanised forces. A Finnish communique says that (54 Russian tanks were captured and two thousand Russians Avere killed in a single light, it is alleged that the Russians are "sing dum-dum bid lets. ■No further news has been received concerning the i'ate of the Doi.ie Star. German radio now claims that the vessel was sunk by submarine action and not by a surface raider. His Majesty the Kings spends another day in tour of inspection oil the Western Front. The Foreign Secretary, Viscount Halifax, speaking in the House of Lords. said that the British Government fully recognised the magnitude of the task that lies before the Allies in their resolve to see the war through. Hitler visits Field-Marshal von Mackensen to congratulate the famous German Great War leader on his ninetieth birthday. British warships capture the German liner Ussukuma in the South Atlantic, despite, the crew's efforts to scuttle the ship. This is the third German liner captured in the same region within 10 days. Swift, heavily-armed British naval patrols are strung out over all oceans in an effort to draw a net round the German 'pocket' battleships Deutsch land and Admiral Scheer. First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, reviews the war at .sea. Claims that it is impossible for Germany to replace submarines at the same rate at which they are being destroyed by the Allied naval forces. Air raid warnings sounded in the Orkneys and one German 'plane crashes out of control. Neutral newspapers bitterly attach the Soviet.

SATURDAY. DECEMBER 9. While Finland continues to resist the Russian steam-roller, the fate oi' the world of Northern Europe rests in the hands of two conferences meeting; simultaneously at Oslo ano Tallinn. The Oslo conference is between the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian Forsign Ministers. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia are represented at the Tallinn conference. The ('ommander-in-Chiel o! the Estonian Army, has been summoned to Moscow because of Soviet nervousness about Estonian sympathy for Finland. Germany will consider Holland truly neutral only if she refuses fo export to Britain. Finns deny that their 'Maginot' Line has been broken by the Russian advance. A Copenhagen message says that Finnish war 'planes successfully bombed the Russian air base port of Baltsiki, which was taken from Estonia as the result of the Russo-Es-tonian pact. It is also reported that ! they are persistently bombing the Russian defence lines at several points. A Finnish communique says eight more Soviet tanks have been destroy ed, making a total of 80. It is revealed that thirty British aeroplanes are going to Finland. The Polish submarines Wilk and ,Orzel have escaped from the Baltic Sea and have joined the British Navy. Further enemy raids on the Firth of Forth, eight 'planes taking part. Thej' were driven olf, one appearing to be hit. No bombs were dropped. His Majesty the King continues liis tour of inspection on the Western Front. Tt has been established that 20,000 bodies of civilians killed in the defence of Warsaw were found underneath the ruins. Experts are of the opinion that it will take 20 years to re-build the city. It is officially stated in Helsinki that Russian artillery north from Lake Ladoga fired poison gas shells against "Finnish batteries, causing several casualties. MONDAY, DECEMBER 11. "A new exodus from Helsinki began when the people heard that the Russians were using gas. The citizens are hastily improvising gas masks, of which there is a pathetic shortage.

The weather is [ined, a thaw converting the Southern Front into a sea oi' slush and making the Russian advancc more laborious. Finnish Intelligence reports state that considerable chaos prevails irt the Russian lines, also faulty communications. Finnish soldiers are wearing white and the Russian troops are the only ones visible from the air. It is stated that Russian 'planes have machine-gunned their own troops. The U.S.A. Secretary of State has i announced that the United States will hold the Russian Government responsible for aiw damage or injuries to American Nationals and American interests in the blockade of Finland. Indicated, also, that theU.S.A. will refuse to recognise the establishment of the blockade. Nine Heinkel bombers were engaged over Scotland. Five were seen to 1 be hit. A Royal Air Force coastal patrol sank a German submarine with a direct hit. i