GREEK OPERATION

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 84, 6 October 1944, Page 6

GREEK OPERATION

ATHENS MAY SOON BE LIBERATED

(By Teleoraph—Press Association—Copyright.) Rec. 1.30 p.m. LONDON, October 5. The,latest reports tonight state that the ground and air operations in the Peloponnesus, and particularly in the region of Patras, are faring well, states the "Daily Mail" correspondent at Mediterranean headquarters. He added, "The liberation of Athens and the neutralisation of German power in Crete and Rhodes and the chain of small islands in the Aegean Sea may not now be far off. The^success of our landing from air and sea emphasises the extent of the enemy's evacuation, which has been going on for some weeks."

"The Times" correspondent says,. "As soon as the news of the arrival of the British spread, wandering Italians: who had been deserted by the retreating Germans gave themselves up. They were ragged and bootless, and: said that the Germans stole all their underclothing before turning them adrift among hostile Greek patriots." A "Daily Express" correspondent, in a delayed dispatch dated September 30, says, "In the suburbs of Patras about 1000 Germans and an equal number of Greek quisling troops face a British force. We have the help of 400 or 500 partisans. No one particularly wants to fight—the Germans because they have little stomach for it and ourselves because we do not wish to bring damage to the friendly. Greeks. As soon as we arrived in Patras the German commander of the garrison sent a message stating that he desiif d a parley with Major Earl Jellicoe. commander of the British combined forces. The negotiations broke down on a definite prohibition from Athens." ... • ,

• The correspondent dwells upon the bitterness, between the Greek patriots' and the quislings, and says that the. quislings will* give themselves up only, to the British, while the partisans insist that only they should take quislings, which means that all quislings would, be shot. "Unhappily," he adds, "anyone may be called-a quisling who expresses sentiments which do not exactly, agree with those of the' partisans." i

Ankara radio stated that clouds' of smdke and explosions on Rhodes Island which were visible from Turkey indicate that the Germans are destroying ammunition and pther war material preparatory to evacuating the island. •