Evening star., 1940-02-04

rounded by bitter enemies-Hungarian
Bulgarians and Russians-and with only
one sympathic neighbor on his bor-
ders, Yugoslavia, he knows that his
army cannot oppose a German inva-
sion successfully. In order to prove
that they mean business, the Germans
have obtained Tovarich Stains permis-
sion to establish military police on the
former Rumanian-Po border (now in
Russian hands,. This police force"
with tanks and an air force amounts to
something like 10000 men and could be
increased in a short space of time.
The allies Army of the Levant" has
been pointed out to the Rumanians as
a likely savior. That army, under
Frances able general, Maxine Wey-
gand, former chief of staff for Mar
shall Foch, is a powerful organization.
Gen. Weygand was f1shed out of re-
tirement as soon as the war broke out
in the Near East with an eye on de-
veloping front there in the event that
the Poles collapsed earlier than was
expected and the western front became
stalemated. Both these provisions of the
allied staff have materialized.
Can Have 100000 Men.
This army, based on Syria, is COM
posed at the present moment Of some
100000 men well equipped with all the
paraphernalia for modern warfare. So
long as Italy remains neutral, French
to Beirut and other ports of the Eastern
Mediterranean under French and British
control large quantities of war material.
The army is composed of first-line
French troops, excellent Moroccan and
Algerian troops, large elements of the
famous Foreign Legion-hard, WE'LL
trained fighters-and local Syrian forces.
1t is likely to be increased by Egyptian
and Arab forces and also with native re-
Inducements from Indo-Chin and In
dian soldiers. It is estimated that in
case of need Gen. Weygand can have at
his disposal close to 100000 men.
The Turks, for the time being, are still
determined to keep faithfully to the
terms of their alliance with the British
and the French. They have promised
their unequivocal assistance to the Army
of the Levant, granting those troops free
passage through Turkey and all the ma
terial help they need.
The lines of communication between
the Syrian border and Asiatic Turkey
are satisfactory The Weygand. army
would not have much trouble in crossing
the Golden Horn from Haidar Pacha to
Istanbul, thence making its way north
toward the Balkan mountains
Despite the bitter experience of Sa-
lonika during the last war, the high COM
mand of the allies feels that the Balkans
must be their new front. That with the
number of men they have at their dis
posal who cannot be used on the western
front, the chances of creating an i'm
portant diversion and an entirely new
front in Southern Europe are more than
good. Unlike the conditions of the last
war, they have unhampered control of
the lines of communication between
Gibraltar and the Black Sea-so long as
Italy remains neutral. The picture would
change materially, of course, if II Duce
were to throw the weight of Italy's power
effectively to the side of Germany.
Military Men Dubious.
There are many military experts who
doubt the ability of Gen. Weygand to
penetrate far into the Balkans. The Ger
mans are close to that base of operations
and Rumania could be overrun by Ger
man, Russian, Hungarian and Bulgarian
forces before the army of the Levant had
reached the Tchataldja lines behind
Adrianople.
But these are purely military considera-
tions which the allies seem to wish to
discard. They know they need new
front to draw the Germans into the
open. They believe that the new front
must be along the Danubian Valley
where they have potential acolytes-the
Rumanians and the Turks probably-and
possibly the Yugoslavs if military de-
velopments turn in favor of the French
and the British. But even at the risk Of
a difficult and not wholly successful cam
paign, it is felt in London and in Paris
that this spring must see some real fight
ing on front where movement is pos
sible.