REVOLT REPORTED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23829, 3 December 1940, Page 7

REVOLT REPORTED

NEW SOVIET PROVINCE GERMANY MAY MARCH IN SITUATION IN RUMANIA By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright LONDON. Dec. 1 A revolt is reported to have broken out in Bessarabia, which was recently annexed by Russia from Rumania. It is expected that Germany will march in t,o "restore order," enabling Hitler to control and reorganise Rumanian oil and grain production under a strict military diet atorsh ip. The Sunday Express says the disturbance in Bessarabia may have been engineered bv Hitler against Stalin, who is believed to have backed up Bulgaria to resist any German move southward. It is reported from Bucharest that 100,000 Iron Guards have gone to Albalulia to demonstrate for the return of Transylvania to Rumania from Hungary. A message from Bucharest says the Iron Guards are meeting at Alba-lulia to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of Rumania's acquisition of Transylvania. They are pledged to fight for the reunion of Transylvania with Rumania. The Rumanian Prime Minister, General Antoneseu, in a speech, pleaded that he was entitled to give orders to the Iron Guards because he had been prosecuted with them. He vaguely referred to the comprehension by the Axis Powers of Rumania's feelings. General Antoneseu added that Rumania was no longer alone. "The day is coming when you will know what 1 did at Rome and Berlin," he said. "We must work and make sacrifices to regain our rights." Reports from Bucharest state that 30 Iron Guards, who were among those responsible for the mass murders last week, committed suicide after the reburial of Codreanu. They took revolvers from a table and fired bullets into their hearts. YUGOSLAV UNREST CROAT PLOT ALLEGED ATTEMPT ON POLITICIANS (Received December 2, 6.10 p.m.) LONDON*, Dec. 1 While Prince Paul of Yugoslavia w;vmaking a speech appealing for solidarity, Croat Separatists are believed to have attempted to kill three leading Yugoslavs in Zagreb by means ol bombs placed outside their homes, says

a message from Belgrade. Ihe intended victims were the chief and deputy-chief of the province of Croatia, and also the Vice-Premier, Dr. Machek, who if-' leader of the Croat Peasant Party. A few windows were broken but there were no casualties. Prince Paul has reaffirmed his country's determination to maintain her neutrality. The Prince referred to the effects of the war, and emphasised that Yugoslavia was more united than ever before. On the anniversary of Yugoslav independence, a German broadcast said that Germany was resolved to carry the new European order into effect, in spite of the ignorance of a few people.

DESPERATE PLIGHT ITALY'S POSITION "COLLAPSE NOT IMPOSSIBLE" NEW YORK, Nov. 2V) The New York Herald-Tribune, under the headline "Major Eliot Says That Italy's Plight Is Desperate, Perhaps Hopeless," gives exceptional prominence to an article by its noted military expert. In the article Major Eliot says that, Italy's army has been routed, her fleet lias been battered, and her supply lines are being constantly harassed. Her prestige has gone, and her total collapse is not impossible. He adds that this .state of affairs was brought on very largely by the ill-considered offensive against Greece. The writer analyses Italy's extraordinary difficulties on every front, and adds: "It is very probable that consideration of these circumstances greatly influenced Bulgaria in her decision not to join the Axis, and stiffened Yugoslavia's determination to resist Axis pressure; it unquestionably has been under consideration b.v the Vichy Government's representative in Africa. General Weygand, and the Chief of the Spanish State, General Franco. "Another Italian reverse, especially the expulsion of the Italians from Albania, might bring General Weygand in on the side of the British. ]t might also have such repercussions in the Balkans as to confront Italy with necessity to sue for German aid or to acknowledge complete defeat. The position of Italy after being rescued from defeat by her Axis partner could not fail to become one of even greater subordination than that of Austria-Hun-gary during the last war. It would amount to the loss of Italian independence."