PROBLEM FOR NAZIS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 284, 28 August 1944, Page 5

PROBLEM FOR NAZIS

Disposition Of Forces In Balkans (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY. August 25. The first break-up of German allegiances in the Balkans makes it of interest to note the strength of the dispositions of the armies of the Balkan countries. The Hungarians are known to have 30 to 35 divisions, of from 8000 to 10,000 troops each. Twenty of these are believed to have been in the Carpathians.

The Bulgarian army consists of about 20 divisions and four independent brigades—one armoured, one mountain, and two cavalry. Six or seven of these divisions are known to have been in Yugoslavia. *

Their withdrawal, which is reported from neutral sources, would thus seriously jeopardize the German communications with their armies in Greece. With the withdrawal of the Rumanian allegiance to Germany, the outstanding strategic problem for the Germans will be the holding of the Galatz Gap in the Carpathians for which they have been relying on Rumanian support. For the defence of the gap the Germans had three armies—the Eighth, between the rivers Seret and Prut, and the Sixth between the Prut and the lower Dniester.

The Fourth Rumanian Army was in support of the German Sixth Army between the Prut and the lower Dniester.

Altogether the Rumanians have about 20 infantry divisions and two armoured divisions.

Though the German defences are known to be strong, the problem of supplying the defending armies through what now has become hostile country in the face of active military opposition from the Rumanians will be considerable. A German Foreign Office spokesman announced a reshuffle of the Hungarian Government. According to the German news agency, the spokesman said: “This has become necessary after the developments in south-eastern Europe. It is only one of various measures which had to be taken.”

He added that no details of the reshuffle were yet available.