The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-04-08

Nl4AHkY Aukc1 m Qfeeco mas not yet made contact with the German troopa, indicating that 1t has taken tefenslve positions along this north- south line.
 This defensive plan underlined enc danger of Q German move into the vadar valley. If the Nazis reach that river they would be in n position from which the proposed n0fth-south defense line might be turned from the rear.
 There was no authentic report of Fighting in central and northern Jugoslavia.
 German Reports Vague
 The German reports were vague. One report from Budapest, how ever, indicated that no important advances have been made and that the German air force still was bear- ing the brunt of the attack, .con- { centrating softening-up raids upon nirdromes and communications cen- ters.
 The Budapest report spoke of the blowing up of Q bridge across | the Drava river by Serb troops i This is on the Jugoslav Hungarian ! border and If 1t Is only now being dynamited there can have been no Important advance in that neigh. b0rhood.
 The RAP and presumably the yugoslay air force were active in attacks behind the German lines in both Bulgaria and Hungary.
 At least three towns in Hungary reported air alarms and the RAF was active all along the Bulgarian front.
 British troops were reported ad- vancing into Bulgaria, Jugoslav troops slashed into Albania and \ Hungary and Greek troops threw back one German attack after an- other.
 But there were Nazi gains, too. German troops were reported on the Aegean in the thin finger of east- ern Macedonia which apparently was being evacuated for strategic reasons by the Greeks. Two im- portant forts guarding the Struma gateway to Greece fell after holding out to the last Greek.
 Bad Greek Report
 The British Exchange Telegraph reported a possibly ominous break from Greece. The report said that the Greek left flank had been uncovered by a retreat of the Jugo- slav forces in South Serbia.
 The item was not expanded but It might mean that the Jugoslav forces guarding the vital approaches to the Vardar valley, chief route of communications between Greece and Jugoslavia, had been forced to re- treat.
 If the Germans can win foot hold in the Vardar Valley they may be able to slash communications be- tween the two countries and pre- vent reciprocal assistance by the Greek and Jugoslav armies.
 The German high command was cautious in it's claims. That, 1t was recalled, followed the pattern of German announcements in previous offeflhves into Poland Norway, the low countries and France.
 A statement by British military authorities today that Salonika, the great Greek port on the Aegean, may have lost some of It's import ance, was construed in unofficial quarters to be a possible preparation for san announcement of Allied withdrawal from the Salonika area.
 Military informants said Salonika "may have lost some of it's import ance since the last war because 1t is within close range of air fields in Bulgaria"
 They said they had no confirma- ton of Turkish reports that the Germans had reached the Aegean Sea at some points in eastern Greece.
 Italian African Report
 The Italian high command how ever, reported possibly significant Item from Africa. In special bul- letin 1t anonunced that the Italo- German column in Libya, driving with unprecedented speed, had en- tered Derna, 160 miles northeast of Benghazi.
 The British, however, displayed no particular nervousness about the Situation in Libya. Their forces have almost completed the conquest of Italian East Africa and 1t was bee lieved that already many thousand troops employed in that theater are being rushed back to Egypt to coun- ter the new Axis threat.
 Withdrawal of British advanced troops in Libya was proceeding, in- 9crmants said.
 They added that action there was no unnecessarily finished. This was believed to mean that further re- tirement was possible before the drive of German and Italian forces.
 Massawa, the big port of Italian Eritrea, is still holding out In East Africa, military authorities said.
 The British Empire forces which took Keren, the stronghold of Eri- treA, and then took Asmara, the capital, has been split, informants disclosed. One part of the force has marched toward Massawa, the other southward toward Dessie, Ethiopia, at was said.