March of Events

Northland Age, Volume IX, Issue 64, 21 May 1940, Page 2

March of Events

Saturday The battle on the Western Front still rages. A salient has been driven into the French line near Sedan and heavy German attacks have been resumed. At the south shoulder of the salient, south of Sedan, the French are holding a German attempt to break through. British and Belgian forces have withdrawn west of Brussels. Germans announce the fall of Bvuisels, Louvain and Malines while Belgians state that'Leige is holding out. The Belgian Government has moved to Ostend. The Allied Commander (Marshall Gamelin) issued the following nder today in Paris : “The fate of our country, our allies and the destinies of the world depend on the battle now in progress . . . Any soldier who cannot advance should allow himself to be killed rather than abandon that part of our national soil confided to him. As always in grave hours of our history, the order today is : ‘Conquer or die.’ We must conquer.” In Switzerland, the League of Nations is closing down owing to the threatened invasion. Only 69 of the 329 employees will go to Vichy. The Secretary-General (M. Avenal) at a staff meeting gave officials the option of resigning or agreeing to the suspension of their contracts when he declared a state of emergency. Bitter fighting continues for the possession of the mouth of the Scheldt in Holland, though it does not appear that the Germans have yet approached the banks of the Scheldt in Belgium. It is stated that the Dutch destroyed all the oil in Rotterdam and Amsterdam before the German occupation. Prince Bernhard, husband of Princess Juliana, heir to the Netherlands throne, is stated to be with the Dutch troops in Zeeland. The Air Ministry states that it believes that Germans have lost over 1000 planes since the invasion of the Low Countries, to which must be added losses in Norway and Poland. The Allied losses are a fraction of the 1462 claimed by the Germans. On the home front in New Zealand, District Manpower Committees have been appointed by the Government in order to secure prompt consideration of cases where men in essential occupations volunteer for active service. The committee will form the integral part of the manpower organisation, and, in addition to the examination of individual cases and the application from employers, they will study and report upon all questions affecting the proper utilisation of manpower throughout the war period. Sunday German shock troops continue to advance through Belgium and France and it appears that the Germans are concentrating on a furious drive to the west. Their new tactics of open warfare on the whole sector between the rivers Aisne and Sambre prevent the formation of battle lines and, therefore, the full effect of the German thrusts cannot yet be assessed. Grave as the position is, some comfort is found in that when the full impact of the Allied reinforcements, which are being rshued up, is brought to bear, it will be difficult for the Germans to consolidate the ground

won in separate lightning thrusts. A new line has been successfully formed in Northern Belgium which the British troops, weary after eight days’ fighting, are stubbornly holding. With their shorter line they are now in a better defensive position, though their mobility is reduced. In London, though there is no attempt to minimise the gravity of the position, comfort is found in that the Allied armies are virtually intact and well equipped for defensive warfare. As the day wore on, it was said that the German advance slackened noticeably and many casualities were inflicted by counter attacks by air. The first raid on Paris took place today when sixteen German bombers operating in two flights of eight attacked the north-west Paris region. Fighters brought down one raider and anti-aircraft batteries accounted for three. All four enemy machines crashed in the suburbs of Paris. Monday Italy’s position still remains obscure and a non-committal reply has been sent by Mussolini to the message recently sent him by President Roosevelt appeali: g to aim ro use his m flucrce to p event ar.y extension of the war. \ systematic plan to stir up opinion against the Holy See is being carried out concurrency wi:h the anti-Allied campaign. So intense is this that the Vatican has ordered the abandonment of the Eucharistic Congress in Rome and the great procession of Corpus Christi, in order to prevent hostile demonstrations. In spite of Italian assurances that there are no aggressive aims in the Balkans, the Yugoslav and Greek Governments have been engaged in a stpek-taking of defences. The Yugoslav Air Force has been completely mobilised and the Government has decreed that all non-mobilised males between the ages of 16 and 65 are

to form a civilian army for the purpose of fighting a possible “Fifth Column.” The Egyptian Government has established internment camps for enemies in the event of war in the Mediterranean. Turkish authorities are compiling a register of all italian residents in Turkey. Marshal Chakman, Turkish Commander-in-Chief, has gone to Beirut with his staff for talks with Allied commanders. Some confusion surrounds the new appointment of General Weygand. A Paris message says that he replaces Marshal Gamelin as Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces, while a British United Press representative -ays Marshall Gamelin remains Com-mander-in-Chief of the Allied forces and General Weygand becomes Chief of the General Staff and Commander-in-Chief of Operations, which is the second highest rank in the French Army. Previously General Weygand was Commander -in - Chief of the forces in the Near East.

Another thousand lumberjacks from Newfoundland have arrived in Scotland to work under the Forestry Commission in tree-felling and preparing ;imber, principally for pit-props. Some of them did similiar work in Scotish forests in the last war. -> & The red attracts the moths. As soon as they come near the ultra-violet rays from the lower blue ring partly disintegrates them. One machine is expected to be sufficient for an acre of trees. _ ** * * Twenty-four hours before the opening of the Centenary Show of the Royal Agricultural Society of England at Windsor Great Park, £15,000 worth of stock mostly cattle were purchased by Russians. * * * The heaviest wheat crop on record was garnered in Australia last season 215 million bushels. In spite of this there is an acute shortage of bran and pollard. Prices, when forced purchases had to be made, reached as high as £7 a ton. The cause of the trouble is said to be a shortage of shipping for the export of flour. Thus huge stocks of flour are left in the mills and gristing is being curtailed, so fresh supplies of bran and pollard are being procured only in small quantities.