WAR MANOEUVRES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22198, 27 August 1935, Page 9

WAR MANOEUVRES

ITALIAN ARMY A MOCK INVASION MUSSOLINI PRESENT FOREIGN SPECTATORS By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received August 2fi, 8.5 p.m.) ROME, Aug. 25 The Italian military manoeuvres at Bolzano began at midnight when the " Red Army " took up positions in a chain of divisions from Lake Maggiore to the Brenner Pass, Austria's gateway to Italy. They will launch an attack southwards on the " Blue Army " defending Italy, and after an initial repulse will be reinforced in an endeavour to capture flanking positions at Bolzano. Other less important sectors are in the Alps, north of Milan, Friulo on the north-eastern frontier, and also around Naples. New mechanised, mobile divisions will be fully used in order to test their value in mountain warfare. King Victor Emanuel, and the British and Yugoslav military attaches will attend the exercises, in which regular soldiers, Blue Shirts and Alpini, will take part. The southern armies will outnumber the invaders by two to one and will also possess heavier artillery. Signor Mussolini, prior to taking command, had a wireless conversation with General Debono, Commander-in-Chief, in Eritrea. Altogether 80 foreign attaches were present, including representatives of Austria, Albania, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Russia and Hungary. FRENCH GENERAL WITNESS OF OPERATIONS ACCOMPANIED BY MISSION PARIS, Aug. 25 General Moyran, accompanied by a military mission, will witness the Bolzano operations. He commands the 15th Army Corps at Marseilles, which would be the first to co-operate with Italy in the event of an attack upon Austrian independence. Le Matin regards the Italian manoeuvres as the logical sequel of the Franco-Italian understanding reached when General Gamelin, French Chief of Staff, went to Rome.