NATION IN ARMS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 277, 19 August 1944, Page 7

NATION IN ARMS

Strong Disciplined Patriot Army LONDON, August 17. “France was today a nation iu arms, as the general uprising ordered from Algiers reached its full momentum,” says the Madrid correspondent of the Associated Press of Great Britain. “Direct dispatches reaching Madrid say it is no longer possible to speak simply of the Maquis, because they have been replaced by regular armies of men and womeji who lack heavy armour but are well equipped with light weapons. ', . . “The Germans must bo beginning to realize that there is little chance Ol their escape to the Reich, because the French are now astride of all the escape routes. Indeed, the Bordeaux correspondent of the newspaper ‘Arriba’, states that there is almost no communication between northern and southern France.” A Reuter correspondent with the Maquis near Nantes also says tluit the army of resistance is now completely organized and disciplined and has excellent communications. Basically they use radio sets, which were dropped by plane many months ago. These sets are completely mobile. After sending messages for a few minutes tlie Maquis pack un and resume transmission miles away. The question of supply does not worry the Maquis; they live on the countryside, and everywhere are assured of a welcome. Tension Inside Paris. The German overseas news. agency said today that for the first time, the military commander of Paris has issued an appeal to the population to preserve law and order. A German commentator, describing conditions in Paris ns those of a frontline city, said that the absence of police from the streets was one of the most remarkable features of the situation. He expressed the hope that the police strike, which he ascribed to the appointment, of a new high officer, will soon end. He said that electric current is available only from 10.30 p.m. to midnight, mid that from today there will be no gas. “Paris must therefore be supplied with meals from central communal kitchens,” he added. An appeal has been made to peasants to speed up threshing and put their carts at the disposal of the Paris supply services, to alleviate the food shortage. Laval received Ministers to discuss the food shortage.. Coal does not uow reach Paris in sufficient quantities, owing to sabotage and the numerous low-level attacks by British and American planes against Seine barges. Parisians yesterday went to work on foot or by bicycle, since the Metro, which is the only remaining public transport, is now completely shut down. Provincial Police Strike. One-fifth of the entire railway net workin France —the main German escape line—is affected by. the strike of railwaymen, says the "Daily Mail.” French sources in London state that 5600 miles of track run through the affected regions, covering the main lines to Boulogne, to Calais, to Brussels, to Cologne, to Nancy, and to Strasbourg. Gendarmes have also gone on strike in the Departments of He de France, Seine, Inferieure, and Somme. Officers and men left their posts to joint units of the F.F.I. which have been organized east of Paris. Patriot forces have also cut the Paris-Dijon and Paris-Orleans railways. The Germans retaliated by shooting al! French guards and several stationmasters along the railway between Faris and Villeneuve St. Georges. FRENCH AGREEMENT LONDON, August 17. A diplomatic correspondent says complete agreement has been reached between the British and American Governments and the French Committee of National Liberation about the civil administration of liberated France. ’The agreements would be signed, probably iu London, within the next few days.