BRITISH TROOPS IN ACTION

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 68, 13 December 1939, Page 9

BRITISH TROOPS IN ACTION

Baptism Of Artillery Fire PATROL ACTIVITY Movements On Luxemburg Frontier By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. LONDON, December 11. Military sources in Paris report heavy German patrol activity, notably in the section of the line taken over by British troops. A commentator stated that British soldiers received their baptism of artillery fire when participating with the French in patrol activity. French advanced posts repulsed raiding Germans with hand grenades, capturing some. A German communique says that there was light artillery fire in some parts of the front. Otherwise the front was quiet. The French official morning communique states: “There is nothing to report.” A night communique issued in Paris says: “There was very reduced activity on the front throughout the day.” German troop movements are reported to be increasing on the left bank of the River Sauer on the Luxemburg frontier. The German High Command visited the district, which villagers have been ordered to evacuate. Messages from the Belgian-German frontier report many cases of diphtheria among German troops. A message from Basle says that for the first time in the war German and French troops skirmished near the Swiss frontier in advance posts and exchanged fire across the Rhine.

The Germans appear to be giving special attention to that sector held by the British troops, and German patrol activity is particularly heavy in the British section of the lino. One German patrol came upon a British outpost by night in an isolated wood. The enemy was repulsed, and there were no British casualties. The French official wireless commentator describes the part being played by the British troops as of capital importance, and says that it. gives the lie to insidious German propaganda which states that the British are leaving all the work to the French.

The French military expert describes the fighting going on day by day. Some 40 units—2o on. either side, and involving 1600 or 2000 men—are in contact. Tests of strength take place on open ground, which is closely watched by small posts occupied during the day and almost always evacuated by night.—By relic.

MESSAGE FROM THE KING Complete Confidence In British Force LONDON, December .11. A message from the King to Lord Gort has been published as an order of the day. It is as follows :— “It has given me the greatest pleasure to visit the troops in your command in France. The days spent among them have been full of interest and have enabled me to see something of the conditions in which they are living and the work in which they are engaged. I am satisfied that the British soldier today is at least the equal of his predecessor in both efficiency and iu spirit. “I send best wishes to all ranks of the British Expeditionary Force and assure them that complete and unfailing confidence is placed in them by their fellow-countrymen.” REPULSED BY R.A.F. e Nazi Plane Over Yorkshire Coast LONDON, December 11. Royal Air Force fighters chased away a German plane, believed to be a Heinkel, which flew over the Yorkshire coast at a great height. Fishermen on the south-east coast sighted a second German plane flying low through clouds. DUNTROON COLLEGE New Zealand Graduates CANBERRA. December 11. The New Zealand cadets at Duntroon Royal Military College obtained diplomas at the annual graduation ceremony today. At the presentation Lord Gowrie announced that some New Zealanders and Australians would be appointed to the Staff Corps of the expeditionary forces from the respective Dominions. The list of 71 graduates constitutes a record for one year. The New Zealand graduates are Messrs. R. Bay, R. Paterson, D. Dumbleton, L. Kermode, A. Molineaux, B. Boolot, D. Powrie, J. Pountney, E. Maxwell, C. Nathan, W. Morrison, F. McWha, L. Cross, and D. Harrowell.