The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-10-30
Britain, Greece Are
Battling Back Axis
Germany, Italy Are Rushing Up ReinfOrcements =
Greek Waters All Mined-Air Fights Over
London Again Today

that Albanian troops were fighting
with the Italians.
Dispatches from half dozen
European points indicated that the
italian thrust into Greece was but
one phase of general winter Of
fensive being inaugurated by the
Axis powers without interrupting the
German-Italian bombing, raids on
the British Isles.
$4,000 Naz1 Troops
London heard that $4,000 German
troops were moving down the Dam
ube river on barges. possibly to
aid in the drive against Greece by
attacking from the east Through
Jugoslavia or Bulgaria) If the Fas-
cist offensive stalls.
Balkan sources said that Ger
many had massed 16 divisions or
perhaps 1000 men in Slovakia and
that the reinforcements en- route
down the Danube came from that
zone. Previously, British military
sources said that Germany had as
many as 10 divisions (from 800,-
600 to 100000 mem available flor
action in the southeast of Europe
if necessary.
The newspaper Curentul at Buch-
Arrest reported that the German
plan was to drive against Turkey
in order to seize the Suez canal
and the Near East oil fields. Tur-
key SO far has given no indication
of going to the aid of Greece unless
more directly menaced and Soviet
Russia has confined reaction to the
Greek war to such generalized state
ments as today's Red Star (army
newspaper remark that it would be
long struggle.
Nazi sources in Berlin agreed that
an Axis offensive was in progress
but insisted that it was largely dip
lomatic and that Germany was OPP
posed to extension of the theater
of war. fl This view was expressed
in support of the argument that
Italy was forced to move into Greece
to beat Britain to the draw.
Rome newspapers, however, were
less reassuring in regard to extern
sio nof the war front. The official
Fascist news agency charged the
Turkish press with being italian
and with bowling to British pres
sure. The agency denounced Turk
ish newspapers for publishing a
headline saying that "Italy trembles
before the British"
British Take Offensive
The FasciSts admitted, however
that British forces had taken the
offensive in East Africa, Rome
communique reporting two attacks
by British mechanical units along
the Eritrean-Sudanese border but
claiming that both were repulsed
British planes again bombed the
italian bases at Bardia and Tobruk
and Assab.
The air war continued over Ger
many and Britain, with the Royal
Air Force again attacking the Ber-
lin area and pounding a dozen other
points in Germany and Holland
with bombs. Big fires were started
in Germa noil and ship centers, the
London Air Ministry reported.
NaziS reported a. Berlin that con-
tinued aerial raids on London had
caused huge fires. A sheet of
flame" covered Waterloo station
the Germans said, and the West
India docks were severely bombed
Liverpool and Coventry also were
repeatedly heavily attacked.
The German high command said
that a Nazi sea raider had sunk
three enemy merchant ships in
overseas" operations.
Many Planes DOwned
London, October 30. - (UP) -
Axis airplanes sporadically raided
British objectives, especially in the
industrial midlands, today and the
air ministry said that 80 German
crafts had been shot down in the
last "a hours.
The total of planes destroyed was
the biggest since German mass raids
were abandoned in favor of isolated
attacks.
Night raiders had made a series
of widespread but seemingly half
hearted attacks over wide areas.