The Wilmington morning star., 1940-10-15
BRITISH QUIT RUMANIA
Reds Constructing Seven
Military Air Posts In
Bessarabia Section
NAILS BOOST FORCES
lass Denies Reports Brit.
ish, Reds, Others Discuss
ing Germany's Moves

BUCHAREST, Oct. 15.-(Thurs-
day)-R-The %precarious peace OF
the Balkans teetered early today
among these ominous devel-
opments:
Hasty Russian fortification of the
new bases in the Danube Delta
and along the Black e appar-
emily in an effort to match Ger
man military penetration of Ru-
mania;
A mysterious fire in the Ploesti
hoil fields which destroyed three
wells before German experts sub
dued it.
British Leave
And departure from Rumania OF
most of the British legation staff,
leaving only Minister Sir Reginald
Hoare and a skeleton staff to wait
an imminent rupture Of diploma
tic relations.
The oil fire was officially blamed
on "a spark from machinery" but
it was recalled that Germany had
moved into Rumania for the de-
clared purpose of protecting these
vital fields from any British sab
otage.
Departure of all the British col
ony from Rumania was regarded
as a foregone conclusion.
Tass Denies Report
Tass, official Soviet news agen-
cy, described as fantastic inven-
tion'' reports from abroad tn
Russia, Britain, Turkey Greece,
and Yugoslavia were negotiating
| on the question of Germany's move
into Rumania.
Well-informed quarters in Buch-
Arrest, however, said Russia was
hastily constructing sever military
air bases in what was once Ru-
manian Bessarabia, rushing squad
rons of warplanes to the half-com-
pleted fields and sending shipload
after shipload of military supplies
into the area.
The Germans, too, were increas-
ing their military establishment in
the area near the mouth Of the
Danube.
Build New Fields
The Russians reported to
be rushing construction on five en-
tirely new fields in scattered parts
of Bessarabia, and converting two
commercial airports, built years
ago, into military air bases.
Hundreds of planes were already
on hand, but additional squadrons
were reported flown to the raw
fields today.
Refugees arriving from Bessara-
bia said ships of military supplies
were arriving daily from Russia
at the Bessarabian ports OF Valcov.
Burnas and Bugaz.
Meanwhile, German general
staff officers yer whisked from
one conference to another in
speedy m%otorcars, making military
plans.
Race To Fortify
Both men and material went IN
to what bore the surface appear.
ance of a race between two pow
ers to fortify their positions, the
Russians on their side of the DAN
ube border of Bessarabia and the
Germans across the river in Ru-
mania.
Picked Russian troops were said
to be mobilizing below the con-
fluence of tn danube and the Prut
and hastily erecting large gun m
placements in that Danube Delta
zone.
Germany, at the same time, was
reported planning to build a naval
air base near C~onstanta, Ru-
mania Black Sea port, and prepara-
tons were made for a German
naval mission to join the Nazi
army and air force general staff
officers already in Rumania.
The Germans, authoritative re-
ports also said, r supervising the
development Of anti-aircraft EN-.
placements between the Danube
and the railroad at the Rumanian
river port of Iurgiu and already
have ringed Rumania's oil fields
with guns, fighter planes, air and
land forces.
British umanian relations, al
ready strained to the breaking
st
| Continued on Page Two; Col. 81