GERMAN MENANCE TO BULGARIA

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23263, 25 February 1941, Page 9

GERMAN MENANCE TO BULGARIA

More Preparations For Occupation “COMING WEEK WILL BE FATAL” (UNITED PRESS' ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT.) (Received February 24, 11 p.m.) LONDON, February 24. Messages received from the Continent this morning do not indicate that the Germans have as yet entered Bulgaria openly and aggressively, but all* the latest reports signify Germany’s intention to occupy that country.

All indications are that the coming week will be fatal for Bulgaria, says the Sofia correspondent of “The Times.” German troops began crossing the Danube in several places on Friday, but discontinued on Saturday. Even the pontoon bridges were lifted.

No reliable explanation can be found for the sudden postponement of German action. Some diplomatic sources believe that the Germans are making another propaganda campaign to exert pressure on the Greeks before really marching Into Bulgaria.

The Germans apparently plan a silent occupation without officially announcing their arrival.

Large quantities of food have been ordered to be ready next week at several points in south Bulgaria. This means that the Germans expect to have crossed the Stara Planina mountains by then.

A message from Ankara says that German preparations for attacking Greece through Bulgaria are proceeding speedily. They suggest that the routes will be the Struma and Mesta valleys. Bridges in western Bulgaria have been strengthened to carry 20 tons, thus permitting the use of fast tanks. German observers with field telephones are posted at heights in the Pirin, Rila, and other ranges south of Sofia.

The Sofia correspondent of the Associated Press of Great Britain says that motor traffic in the Sofia district was halted.yesterday afternoon as a result of police orders to clear the highways, and Sofia has been ordered to be ready to-morrow for a black-out at a moment's notice. Tourists are forbids

den to enter the frontier regions and the country along the Danube. A correspondent of "The Times” on the German frontier says that military officers in * Berlin explain that Germany’s offensive against Britain includes the expulsion of the British

from the Continent, including Greece, until the possibility of a BritIjfish occupation of Salonika is eliminI feted, the Rumanian oilfields will not ' Ifec safe from the Royal Air Force. Greece could be induced diplomatically to assent to a separate peace, but if she does not consent she must be

overcome by a German march to Salonika, Official circles in the Bulgarian capi-, tal deride rumours that a German occupation is imminent.

The Prime Minister of Bulgaria (M. filoff) and other Cabinet Ministers last sight attended a film showing the German advance on the Western Front. The screening was arranged by the German Minister in Sofia, and is reminiscent of the “Baptism of Fire” film screened in other European capias in an attempt to cow neutrals. Additional anti-aircraft guns are mounted on top of the National Bank in the centre of the city. Newspapers publish a semi-official appeal to the population to be calm. Bulgarian newspapers are making a hold show of German dispatches hints’® at a speedy termination of the Wa f in Albania and emphasising “the Precarious position" of the Greeks, neuter states that a minor distraction

is the departure of a Bulgarian trade mission to Jugoslavia. Reuter’s correspondent in Sofia states that all preparations are ready for the Nazi occupation, even to the appearance of German signposts on provincial roads.

In the Jugoslav capital there is mounting feeling about the latest Balkan developments, and rumours of pontoon bridge tests on the Danube.

British women in Sofia will leave to-day. Feeling in the capital Is tense and traffic there has been halted. The United States Minister in Sofia (Mr G. H. Earle) figured in a scene in a restaurant, where the orchestra, at his request, began to play "Tipperary.” Germans present catcalled and one, who is reported to be a solider in civilian clothes, picked up a bottle and threw it at Mr Earle.

The Minister put up his arm. which was bruised. Then, as the German was about to throw another bottle, Mr Earle picked up the nearest missile and hit him with it. The German re-

ceived a cut on the head and was then ejected by waiters. Mr Earle said the German threw a bottle. “I retaliated by injuring his features. The incident is regrettable, but I saw no other alternative.” The Sofia correspondent of the Associated Press of Great Britain reports that crowds of students marched past the hotel where Mr Earle was staying, singing national songs, and shouting protests against the Germans. German staff officers staying at the hotel watched from the windows, without comment. , ~_ T • Communists and other anti-Nazi elements, demonstrating in front of Broiss Palace and demanding resistance to the German occupation, carried a slogan: ’’Clear out ( the Nazis. Sign an alliance with Russia.” The police have begun rounding up 50 Radical and Agrarian leaders, some of whom are anti-German. Thirty aie already detained.