DECLARED TO BE FIGHTING ON

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 179, 26 April 1941, Page 12

DECLARED TO BE FIGHTING ON

Armies In Yugoslavia PLEDGE BY REFUGEE GOVERNMENT

(British Official Wireless :in<i Press Assn,) (Received April 25, 7 p.m.) LONDON, April 24.

The Foreign Secretary, Mr. Eden, in a statement in the House .of Commons yesterday on the position of the Yugoslav Government, said: “King Peter and his Government, having been forced by enemy action to leave Yugoslavia, have now established themselves in the Middle East. The Yugoslav Government thus continue to be the properly constituted Government of the whole of Yugoslavia, which country is at war with Germany and Italy and is at the side of the Allies. “On Monday Britain received a formal assurance from the Yugoslav President of the Council of the intention of his Government to stand faithfully by Britain as their ally and of their resolve to continue the struggle till final victory was won,” Mr. Eden said. "I need scarcely inform the House that His Majesty’s Government takes note, of this assurance with the utmost satisfaction and declares, for its part, its firm intention to restore fully, the. independence of Yugoslavia. Meanwhile the Yugoslav Government may count on the fullest possible measure of help from Britain in its prosecution of the struggle against the common enemy." Asked if lie had any information of the whereabouts and safety of Dr. Matchek, the Croat leader, Mr. Eden said, "I regret I have none at present.” Air Hunt for King. The Cairo correspondent of the “Daily Mail” says that a member of tlie Yilgoslav Cabinet on his arrival there, revealed that German planes harried King Peter all along Ills journey from Belgrade to Jerusalem. The Luftwaffe earlier had bombed and ma-chine-gunned every place at which the King and his .Ministers arrived. Their worst exiierience was at Sarajevo, which the Germans raided continuously from tioon on Sunday till laic on Monday morning. The collapse of tlie Yugoslav army was due to the fact that the previous regime littd depleted all the keypoints in south-eastern Yugoslavia of sufficient troops to impede tlie German thrust to Greece by way of Monasiir, the informant said. The Simovilch regime had no lime to re-grottp Hie nation’s forces, and when tlie Germans, knowing the weakness al this point, began olierations their Fifth t'alumnIsts also played a vital pari, i-ultitig communications and passing on faked orders.

All the Croatian Ministers aceonr paiiied the King except Dr Matched; According to Yugoslav diplomatic sources at Vichy yesterday, five Yugoslav armies, numbering nearly 100,000 men, are successfully holding the centre of the country.

They control roughly a quadrangle hounded on the east by the BelgradeNish railway and on the west by Foea and Pee. Only the first four armies capitulated in northern Yugoslavia. The remaining three withdrew to the quadrangle.