NAZIS IN LIBYA

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21357, 27 February 1941, Page 7

NAZIS IN LIBYA

CLASH WITH BRITAIN LANDING AT TRIPOLI JUBILATION OF ITALIANS (United Press Assn.—Elec Tel. Copyright) (Received Feb. 27, 11.30 a.m.) LONDON, Feb. 26 A German communique states: British an/ German patrols met on February 24 south-eastwards of Agedabia, on the Libyan coast. Our units destroyed a number of British lorries and armoured observation cars and captured prisoners. There were no Germr#i losses. The Rome correspondent of the Frankfurter Zeitung says the news that German motorised forces were landed at Tripoli despite the British blockade has caused the greatest enthusiasm. The Italians are concentrating their hopes on German motorised forces taking the offensive against Sir Archibald Wavell. German motorised units have been concentrated in the south of Italy. This was the reason for the recent overburdening of the Italian railways. An Italian communique says that the Italians are resisting enemy pressure at Jarabub and Kufra, and also are resisting eastwards of the Juba river. TENSE EXPECTANCY GERMANS IN BULGARIA PREPARATIONS COMPLETE MOVE WITHIN THREE DAYS (Official Wireless) (Received Feb. 27, 11.0 a.m.) RUGBY, Feb. 26 There is tense expectancy in Sofia, relieved only by the knowledge that the weather is unfavourable for a German move. Refugees are arriving in Istanbul from Constanza aboard the steamer Dacia, in which the Egyptian Minister and members of the Legation left Rumania. Observers say that German troops in Bucharest do not attempt to hide the fact that German troops are entering Bulgaria and declare that preparations are complete. They expect to move within two or three days. Refugees saw more German troops in Constanza than in Bucharest. Officers, mostly the Luftwaffe personnel, fill all the principal middleclass hotels at a Black Sea port. Strong detachments are guarding a vital bridge linking Bucharest and Constanza. “WE ARE READY” BRITISH IN THE BALKANS NEW ZEALAND INTEREST ATTITUDE OF TURKEY (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) LONDON, Feb. 25 “ There is no question of the Germans swooping unexpectedly through the Balkans as they did upon Norway and the Netherlands,” says the Cairo correspondent of the Daily Express. “We are ready for them.” The agreement between Britain, Turkey and Greece was much closer than was thought, and is now known to have existed for months. A series of important conferences has occurred in the past 10 days in Ankara, Cairo and Athens. The New Zealand and Australian leaders and General Catroux, head of the Free French in the Middle East and Balkans, were drawn into these consultations, when a close study was made of the whole question of the Aegean Islands. The German push into Bulgaria has converted places like Lemnos, Chios and Andros into potentially vital bases. Hard Facts of Situation The Times says Mr Eden’s and General Dill’s journey to Ankara is concerned with the hard facts of the Balkans situation, rather than with eleventh-hour agreements. It was arranged some time ago, when the German menace to Bulgaria sharply increased, bringing with it the probability of a German advance to the Turkish and Greek frontiers. A Turkish military thrust into Bulgaria, to meet the incoming Germans, once seemed probable, but strategic and other reasons suggested that the Turkish armies might serve the Allied cause better by awaiting events than by committing themselves to action across their northern frontiers beforehand. The Turks realise that there are other ways of safeguarding their own security and honouring their promises to the Allies. SEIZED BY BRITISH TWO FRENCH STEAMERS REPORTS FROM ENEMY (Official Wireless) (Received Feb. 27, 11.0 a.m.) RUGBY, Feb. 26 The Italian and German radios declare that the British Navy seized the French steamers Lorient and *‘Plm 13,” which were going to Dakar with cargoes of coal and cement, and have now been escorted to Gibraltar. Chinese gunmen shot and wounded a Japanese naval officer, also a member of the Greater Shanghai police.