FAR EASTERN DEFENCES

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23589, 17 March 1942, Page 5

FAR EASTERN DEFENCES

Measures Taken By Russia HUGE ARMY FORMED (Received March 17, 1 a.m.) (U.P.A.) LONDON, March 16. Russia is perfecting her Far Eastern defences, some details of which are being allowed to leak out to coincide with the arrival of the new Japanese Ambassador (Mr Sato), says the Stockholm correspondent of the "Daily Mail.” The replacement of Lieutenant-General Tatekawa is interpreted as indicating a swiftly changing policy in Tokyo to«wards Moscow. The Kremlin is taking no chances cf Mr Sato “doing a Kurusu” on Russia. Russia is taking no risk of a repetition of Pearl Harbour. Battle orders which can be instantly put into operation have been issued at Vladivostok and also at the Nikolayevsk naval base opposite ■ Sakhalin Island. The coast between Vladivostok and Nikolayevsk has been - mined, and the police are rounding up a widespread espionage ring in the Far East. Anti-aircraft defences have been strengthened and aerodromes and fighter squadrons multiplied. Frequent reconnaissances are being made over the Gulf of Tartary. These have revealed that hundreds of Japanese fishermen are within Russian territorial waters. The political situation between Russia and Japan is causing the Kremlin some concern, because it is realised that it resembles the situation between Russia and Germany before Germany invaded Russia. The Swedish press at the week-end stated that the Japanese army m Manchukuo had been raised to more than 1.000. men, which is three times the total in 1940. Russian authorities in Stockholm laugh at the suggestion that even 1.000. men would constitute a serious menace to the independent rar Eastern Russian Army, which normallv totals 1,500.000. Military quarters believe that the Russian forces are now nearer 3.000.000 front-line troops, with huge reserves being trained. No troops or aircraft have been transferred from the west. The commander-in-cmef at Khaoarovsk is General Gregory Stern. The whole army manning the RussianManchukuoan frontier is stronger and better equipped than in the days of us Greater, Marshal Bluchcr, who is reported at present to be training a Central Asiatic army. . ~ M Stalin has ordered the formation of a huge Far Eastern force comparable with the armies facing Germany. Manpower and munitions are being drawn from great new towns oast of the Urals and independent of the west front. Thousands of Russians are labouring night and day trebling the trans-Siberian railway track to carry war materials to the Far East, and this line runs parallel with the Amur river frontier . The Russians are concentrating on a second trans-Siberian railway running north of the Amur river to K°" s °™‘ olsk on the Amur river south of Nikoof a chain of aerodromes linking the Kamchatka Peninsula with Alaska by way <£ th a e nH Al f£ tians is proceeding rapidly, and tne Russians expect the early 4 elive ;y. y of American aeroplanes by this route. Another source of Japanese anxiety is the Russian improvement of communications between war industries east of the Urals and Urumchi inSmkiang, and with Lanchow and Chungking. which would possibly be valuable supplementing routes for transporting supplies to China.