PRECAUTIONS REMAIN IN WESTERN ZONE

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 98, 19 January 1940, Page 9

PRECAUTIONS REMAIN IN WESTERN ZONE

(By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright.)

(Received January 18, 10.15 p.m.) LONDON, January 18. While the cruellest winter for three-quarters of a century continues mercilessly to harrow Europe, bringing both wars to »standstill a state of mobilization continues in Belgium, and the lx ether lands’ precautions are being extended despite the easing of the frontier tension. , , . The French have completed flood defences on the northern frontier, as a result of which a great artificial lake can be created, making virtually impossible the passage of mechanized or ot er troops. Machinery has been installed enabling the French to inundate the broad lowlands between France and Belgium creating a third water barrier against Germany, with Holland s dy es anc. Belgium’s Albert Canal. , . . German troops have begun erecting electrified barbed-wire along the entire German-Netherlands frontier. It is reported tha. this is intended to prevent spies and saboteurs from enteung Germany and to prevent leakage of information about troop movements and extensions of the Siegfried Line. Only a few roads aie left open. The wiring cuts through woods and private propel ties on the frontier. LOW COUNTRIES’ MEASURES A Royal decree in The Hague proclaims that the state of siege is extended to the waters in south Holland and the -waters adjacent to Kannantsoog, near the naval base of Hekler, which is blacked out in order to deprive foreign planes of a beacon. _ In Brussels the Minister of Defence, General Dems, said m an interview: “The mobilization will be maintained for some time vet. We must always be on the alert. The Finnish War has proved that we were right. In our armaments no countryis better equipped against tanks, thanks to our 4.7 anti-tank guns. The cold spell has produced thick ice which can be crossed by troops, but boats are busy keeping the defence waterways free from ice. Belgium is spending a lot on air-raid precautions. lhe Government is most satisfied with the mobilization, under which 720.000 men are under arms. , . The police have raided the offices of the Flemish national newspaper. “Volkenstaat Publication,” which is forbidden on the ground of subversive action because it stated that the weekend piecautions were a prelude to a military dictatorship. Troops of the British Expeditionary Force are jubilant over the renewal of limited home leave Trains carrying soldiers to England started from the railheads tonight. The tension on the front is easier, though watchfulness is not being relaxed. T.he weather is very severe, and thick storm-clouds have rolled up, clinging low like mist to the snow-covered ground. Limited leave has also been granted to the Royal Air Force.