ON THE WESTERN FRONT

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20952, 3 November 1939, Page 4

ON THE WESTERN FRONT

PARIS, Nov. 2 Z* - The Germans* threw”’shock ’troop£_ into daring raids on the Western Front. Simultaneously their longrange guns repeated the spasmodic shelling of French roads and villages behind the lines. The frontier town of Forbach and the main roads from Metz to Saarbrucken were heavily shelled. The Germans made a determined attempt to pass the first French line of resistance and succeeded at one or two points. They concentrated their efforts on a village about eleven miles in advance of the Maginot Line, but the latest dispatches emphasise that no German troops are on French soil. These developments have injected new vigour into the operations. They •re steadily againing momentum efter a respite from the autumn storms. There is considerable patrol activity in the Moselle and Rhine sector. A German attack on a village in this quarter was repulsed. A company of infantry succeeded in reaching French outposts west of Saarlouis, but was thrown back with heavy casualties. SOVIET DEMANDS LONDON, Nov. 2 The Helsinkr correspondent of the American Press states that the Russian claim for a naval base at Hanko has been reduced to a claim for the island of Utoc. The Copenhagen correspondent, of the Times states that while Berlin officially sanctions Russia’s demands, many people, including military officials, in responsible quarters openly assert that Finland does not threaten Russia, therefore the Russian drive really is aimed at Germany. NEUTRALITY BILL WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 By a majority of 62 the House of Representatives supported the repeal of the arms embargo, ensuring the swift enactment of Mr Roosevelt’s Neutrality Bill. The conferees will meet on November 3 to compose the differences between the Senate and House Bills, the main variance being that the House Bill contains a modification of the present arms ban, while the Senate Bill removes the ban. Both measures include a cash-and-carry provision. Tho three hours’ debate preceding the voting epitomised every argument offered in the two months of national disoussion. The administration brought influential speakers, including Messrs Bankhead, Wadsworth and Rayburn, who said: “The United States is not verging on war. It is nowhere near war.” Mr Wadsworth said; “Tho people of the United States will not go to war unless* they are subjected to a studied and persistent series of overt acts of violence, which is not expected.” The tenor of all the speeches was the necessity of keeping the United States out of the war. The repealists argued that the new legislation decreased the danger, and the nonrepealists considered the urgent danger by lifting the arms embargo would be increased. Mr Tish argued that the repeal would tell the world that the United States was taking sides and actually participating in the war. WHANGAREI RACES Spring Plate: Miss Valerie, 7.9, 1; Royal Son, 8.0, 2; Nyola, 7.9, 3. Scr.: Stonehaven, Te Wharau.