BALKANS AND WAR

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 December 1943, Page 5

BALKANS AND WAR

TURKEY’S NEW TASK

PERSUASION ON BULGARIA

LONDON, December 14. “Turkey is not a neutral country,” said a declaration broadcast by the diplomatic correspondent of the semiofficial Ankara newspaper “Ulus.” “Every step Turkey has taken in this war” said the broadcast, “has been taken only after consultation with the British Government, with a view to helping the common cause of the Allies The war is now entering a new phase. This may mean that Turkey can now take part in a different way. This was discussed at the Cairo conference.” Turkey’s only concern was how she could be useful to the Allied cause, which was the cause of Turkey itself “The Turkish Government has undertaken to persuade Bulgaria to quit the 1 Axis- and sue for peace,” says.a “New York Times” correspondent in which contribution’ to speedtag up an Allied

V correspondent says that Bulgaria’s break from the Axis would open up the entire Balkan peninsula as far as the Danube, and accomplish the immediate liberation of Greece. “It is understood that Hitler has already warned the Bulgarians that any aeaep move would be followed by swift retribution. He reminded them that the Italians were suffering as a result of their collapse. Nevertheless, from the Allies’ viewpoint, even should Bulgaria sue for peace and be occupied by the Germans, this would further drain Hitler’s shrinking reserves, and precipitate an early Tuikish entry into the war.”

HUNGARIANS PRO-BRITISH

It i< reported from Bucharest that Dr. Neubacher, the Germans chief negotiator . for south-eastern Europe, arrived in Budapest unexpectedly. His visit, has attracted the greatest attention. . “A high-ranking, well-informed person told me that Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria are searching frantically for a way to quit the Axis, says a “New York Times” correspondent in Ankara. The correspondent says that the pro-British sentiments of Hungarians are unchanged, they claim that the alliance with Germany has been forced upon them. They would unhesitatingly, surrender to Britain and America, if possible. Rumania has been so terrified by . the Soviet victories that Rumanians would welcome a British-American occupation. . “Bulgaria’s position is different, as the Government is made up of Nazi puppets, while the army is strongly pro-Russian. Indeed, the general opinion is that the troops would mutiny if ordered to fight against Russia. If the war were confined to land battles the Bulgarians would insist on defending the country against any Power except Russia. The recent bombings gave Sofia a taste of war from the air. The population is now clamouring for peace at any price. However, in view of the. presence of the Gestapo, peace is unlikely to result from this clamouring. But, before long, more powerful rqethods may be adopted.”

GERMAN REINFORCEMENTS

(Recd. 10.40 a.m.) LONDON, Dee. 14. The British United Press Zurich correspondent reports that all available German reinforcements, including air force personnel which otherwise would have gone to Italy, also war material destined for the Russian front, are being rushed to the Balkans. It is estimated that 40,000 troops are moving through Bulgaria and Greece from Austria. The German Overseas News Agency stated important German reinforcements had reached the Balkans. It added that all indications point to immediate operations on a large scale, aiming at a thorough mopping up ol the Balkans.