FRENCH ARMIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23931, 5 October 1939, Page 9

FRENCH ARMIES

IN EXCELLENT SPIRITS ALL RANKS DETERMINED "READY FOR ANYTHING" (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegrahp—Copyright) NEW YORK, Oct. 3. (Received Oct. 4, at 9 p.m.) Mr Philip, the correspondent of the New York Times with the French armies on the German frontier, states that the German list of killed and wounded so far numbers about 3000 and between 100 and 200 prisoners. The French casualties are smaller. The figures represent only a tew minor operations, compared with ah offensive in the Great War Each side is testing out the other! with the French doing most of the testing, with the hope of saving precious lives That does not mean that they are not ready for a real test A high officer said: "We are ready tor anything we meet or to make an off en- ' sive. That is not a boast but may be an understatement. All ranks are filled with a determination to see the business through. They know they have the means to do it as well as the spirit." Maginot Line Fortresses '' We were shown one of the fortresses of the Maginot Line, and what we imagined fell far short of what we saw. Imagine a battle fleet with all the intricate machinery and supplies for a long voyage and equipment for self support sunk in the ground, only steel and concrete turrets showing, so forged and tested that no shell or bomb yet made could destroy them, even by a direct hit. The fortress we visited was one kind of battlecruiser in an entire fleet, from the capital ships and cruisers to destroyers and little gunboats. There is even the equivalent of submarines in the system of defensive mines, which can be touched off from the commander's bridge. " The commanding officer said no conceivable attack could penetrate this line, and it would be suicide to attempt it. We were entertained in the officers' mess with such heartiness and good humour as one rarely finds The officers, who are chiefly reserves, admitted quite frankly that they were enjoying themselves They have their own ideas as to whether it is going to be a major war or not All are intrigued at the consideration Fritz is showing them while torpedoing British and neutral ships. The same spirit was found among the men. Astonishing Confidence " It isn't going to be a comfortable winter, but wherever we went we found laughter, good humour and most astonishing confidence in the war. When it begins it will prove that Hitler.- with 50 to 55 active divisions and the country far from solidly behind him. is no matclr for free people. No one doubts that when the Fuhrer decides to attack it will be launched like an avalanche, but there is plenty of ground for the belief that it can be broken. British and French pilots have more than held their own. There has been an average of five or six fights a day. The French, flying American machines, have outspeeded and out-manoeuvred the Messerschmitts. The French artillery has proved its worth and the tanks and the defence against tanks have shown that any rush by a mechanised army can be parried. Meanwhile the order along the front is to be prudent, calm and avoid wasting lives." THE ALLIED FORCES NO POSSIBILITY OF DEFEAT NEW YORK, Oct. 3. Mr Roy Howard, writing in the World Telegram, quotes Mr Herbert Hoover as saying that Britain and France cannot be defeated. Inis opinion was expressed in answer to the writer's view that the idea that Britain and France were facing defeat unless the United States enters the war was spreading rapidly in certain sections of the United States. Mr Hoover analyses the situation as follows:—" The war is only a month old, but major factors are already emerging. Britain and France can, and will' control the eeas, despite submarines and aeroplanes They can sit there until their enemies are exhausted The Allies, bv their sea power, can protect England and all its outlying possessions. The man-power of both Empires can defend France unless there is a blunder in taking wild adventures and military offensives exhausting that man-power Aerial warfare may be destructive, but it works both ways, and is not conclusive of any war If one surveys the entire front—on sea. land, air, and economic resources —I am convinced the Allies can defend the Empires The end may be a victory for them At the worst, there might be a stalemate I do not see any possibility that the Allies can be defeated." GERMAN RAIDS REPULSED MANY PLANES SHOT DOWN LONLDON, Oct. 3. The Paris correspondent of The Times states that the Germans made unsuccessful local attacks south of Saarlauten Their artillery fired heavily on the positions which the French recently captured The French officially claim to have shot down 24 German planes and to have lost eight in the course of the month's warfare. The Paris correspondent of the Exchange Telegraph Company states that a communique announces that German raids were repulsed east of the Moselle and east of the Saar SWISS-GERMAN FRONTIER NAZI CONCENTRATIONS LONDON, Oct. 3. The Zurich correspondent of the British United Press states that the Germans are concentrating on the Swiss-German frontier between Basle and Schaffhausen. Army leave has been cancelled and the frontier fortifications are being strengthened.