FRENCH POLICY

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25084, 23 December 1944, Page 7

FRENCH POLICY

TIES WITH BRITAIN GERMANY'S FUTURE CESSION OF TERRITORY (Reed, fi.3o p.m.) LONDON, Dec. 22 Opening the debate in the French Consultative Assembly on the Franco-Russian pact the Foreign Minister, M. Bidault, said: "Neither our Allies nor ourselves intend to separate from America or Britain. Neither France nor Russia would think of creating a bloc in which America and Britain were not associated." Referring to Germany, M. Bidault said: "In order to deprive Germany of all possibilities of aggression we have agreed to the cession to Poland of Silesia and Pomerania as a compensation for the provinces Poland has had to cede to Russia, Germany must be deprived of the industrial basin of Silesia, also of the Rhenish Westphalian basin and the Ruhr. "Germany must not ever have the power to concentrate troops in Cologne, and the factories of the Ruhr must no longer work for the Prussian war machine, but to repair the damage the Germans have caused." The Assembly cheered wildly when General de Gaulle, closing the debate, said: "France today does not conceive of victory or the reorganisation of the world tomorrow without alliance with Britain." The British United Press correspondent in Paris, reporting the utterance, said: "General de Gaulle thereby strongly implied that a new FrancoBritish alliance is to be made." There was further sustained applause when General de Gaulle referred to Britain's example in resisting the Germans. General de Gaulle added that the French-Russian pact would be the basis of all France's future international treaties. ONE DRIVE HALTED CHECK IN THE NORTH FORTUNE WITH AMERICANS (Reed. 9.30 p.m.) LONDON, Dec. 21 A correspondent with the First Army, writing today, reports that, through amazing good luck and its heroic exploitation, the German forward drive in the north was halted, but in South-east Belgium and Northwest Luxemburg the situation appears to have become worse. Enemy tanks are running wild. The offensive in the north, which within a few hours developed into a major break-through, started from about ten miles south of Monschau. Until it was halted, late on Wednesday, it had been rolling west at_ a highly dangerous pace. American infantry were unable to stem the surging tide of S.S. troops and a large part of the entire panzer army which had been assembled and equipped tor this battle. The correspondent said lie could not disclose what the stroke of good fortune was, but he added: "Credit must also go to the troops who were rushed in to halt the enemy drive. The big steel pincers which the Germans clamped across, well inside the Belgian border, in a direct westerly line, were blunted three days after they began to reach out. Some enemy forces were halted at the village of Stomont, five miles west of Stavelot. Unable to exploit the position further, the Germans concentrated on strengthening and widening the northern flank of their salient." Another report says that after repulsing several enemy counter-attacks in the Monschau region, the Americans again entered several villages, including Rocbcrath, nine miles south-east oi Monschau. The situation in this sector seems to be largely restored. NORTHERN SECTOR (Rerd. 5.35 p.m.) LONDON. Dec. 21 Except for normal patrolling there have been no movements on the BritishCanadian northern front in the past 24 hours, states the Exchange Telegraph's correspondent with the Second Army.