The Northern Advocate Daily “NORTHLAND FIRST” Registered for transmission through the post as a Newspaper THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1940. Germany, Russia Menace Balkans?

Northern Advocate, 25 January 1940, Page 4

The Northern Advocate Daily “NORTHLAND FIRST” Registered for transmission through the post as a Newspaper THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1940. Germany, Russia Menace Balkans?

iN the present apprehensive state of Europe, with the nations endeavouring to anticipate thd moves that may be made early in the northern spring, there is a general sensitiveness to new manifestations of Russo-German collaboration.

Accordingly, the Danubian States, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria, are paying lively attention to reports that German troops have entered' the southern portion of Sovietised Poland, which includes two oil-bearing districts and reaches almost to the Rumanian frontier.

In return for this concession, Germany, it is believed, has agreed to assist Russia in the Finnish campaign. That this assistance .may go beyond provision of expert advice and the hampering of Finland's operations by preventing transport of war materials, is indicated by the massing of large troop concentrations on the Baltic coast.

This, coupled with the stoppage of leave in the German navy and the mysterious embarkation and disembarkation rehearsals being carried out, can be construed only as a direct and immediate threat to the Scandinavian Powers, particularly Sweden. „*.* Bullying Gesture ? Whether this is simply another bullying gesture on the lines of those to Holland and Belgium, to frighten the Scandinavian Powers into curtailing their trade with the Allies, and their aid to Finland, or whether Hitler, running short of foreign exchange, is contemplating the burglary of Swedish iron as well as Rumanian oil, it is difficult to say. What is more apparent, however, is that the two dictators are being drawn even closer together by adversity. The entry of German troops into South Poland is a development which may profoundly disturb the present balance of power in the Danube area and the Balkans. And, it may be added, the German approach to the Rumanian frontier, would interfere with the Danubian security plans of Italy and Hungary, finalised recently at Venice at fhe meeting between Count Csaky and Count Ciano. But all these carefully prepared plans are rendered obsolete if Russia, has, in fact, permitted German troops to approach the Rumanian frontier near the south-east corner of former Poland, Pressure on Rumania German military pressure could then be exerted against Rumania, east of the Carpathian barrier and over territory admirably suited for the rapid advance of mechanised units. Rumania proper lies within these eastern plains, including the rich oilfields of Ploesti, north of the capital, Bucharest, and a German drive towards the Black Sea would strike at the very heart of Rumania. And although 'ltaly might give material aid to Rumania to resist a Russian invasion, the surviving links of the RomeBerlin Axis might prevent the same aid being given against a German invasion, which Mussolini might regard as erecting a barrier against Russian ambitions in the Balkans. In confirmaton of this view comes a report from Yugoslavia that Italy would not oppose a German move against Rumania, provided her own interests in Hungary and Yugoslavia were not touched. That is part of the background to the important rearrangement of Russian and German relations in Southern Poland. When the complex history of the past four months come to be written, it may be found that this new deal between the BerlinMoscow collaborators has been made necessary by Italy’s firm resolve to help Hungary and to prevent the development of aggressive Bolshevism in the Danubian countries and the Balkans. Italy’s Consistency Field-Marshal Goering’s meeting with II Duce next month may be to ascertain just how far Germany can go in bringing pressure upon Rumania, what assurances the Nazise can give against European or Balkan Bolshevisation, and how conflicting Italian and German attitudes towards Finland can be reconciled.

In the politics surrounding these issues Italy can, at least, claim, consistency, and it will be for Germany, if the slender links of the axis are not to be shattered, to show that her ambitions, territorial and economic, in Danubia and the Balkans do not endanger the “vital rights” of Italy in the same area. Strong Russian troop concentrations along the River Dniester to the Black Sea add to the vulnerability of Rumania and lend credence to the belief that a joint attack is premeditated.