Evening star., 1941-03-24
YuqosIovs Take Stern Measures
To Bar Outbreak Against Axis;
Nozi Move on Greece Reported
Special Train Gets
Up Steam to Take
Leaders to Vienna
EACKGROUND-

BACKGROUND
Germany has occupied Rama
mia and Bulgaria and has been
pressing YuooSlauiG to Join the
tripdrtite driS pact in prepdra-
ton, presumably. for an attack
on Greece in support Of italy,
tphich has suffered little but re-
verses since its inrdSion OF the
Hellenic kingdom last October.
Greeks tUdrn they 1Cill resist any
German inUaSion from Bulgaria.
Bv tire Associated Press.
BELGRADE, March 24.-All set
for full-hedged Junior partner
ship in the axis military alliance,
the YugoSlav government tonight
ordered stern military and police
measures to cope with any out
break when the three power pact
is signed.
A special train got up steam to
carry Yugoslav emissarieS to Vienna
tonight. now that patchwork job
of smoothing over Yugoslavia's cab
inet crisis had been completed.
A semi-offcial announcement
said special train carrying gov
ernment leaders to Vienna to sign
UP with the axis would leave Bel
grade at 10 pm.
1n London, Reuters, British
news agency, reported from Bel
grade that an important move
ment of German troops in the
Struma River Valley was under
way through Bulgaria toward the
Greek frontier. Large forma-
tions have been seen advancing
rapidly southwark since yesterday
afternoon, the dispatch said
Hundreds OF thousands OF
British troops were in Greece TO
bolster Greek resistance to any
German thrust across the frontier.
The start of the battle of the
Balkans seemed to be drawing
nearer by the hour0
Premier Draglsha Cvetkovich
rounded out his arrangements for
departure by ordering police on "a
y
and by forbidding all public meet
ings.
Starting at midnight tonight all
army leaves will be Cancelled and
troops in large towns were instructed
TO keep their arms in readiness.
(Authorized sources in Berlin
i1timated that an important Off
cial communique on the Yugo-
slav-aXis situation could be eX-
pected tomorrow afternoon. This
was taken by trained observers
to mean that by then, at long
last, Yugoslavia would be men,
Der of the axis
Reservists were being called to the
eolors.
British Warn Yugoslavia.
Meanwhile, Britain, in a formal
representation. warned this nation
tonight that she is "deluding her
self if she believes that joining the
axis will be condoned by the British
government"
The note, referring to British
Yugoslav friendship, sealed as allies
in the World War, expressed aston
ishment" at Yugoslavias drastic
change from the long established
policy of strict neutrality"
The British minister, Ronald Ian
Campbell, delivered the note to For
eign Minister Alexander Cincar-
Markovich.
Whether it contained any allusion
to possible British retaliation could
not be learned officially, but diplo-
mats expressed belief that it pointed |
to British action, as threatened in
the case of now German occupied
Pumania and Bulgaria.
The British had declared that
those countries would become liable
to r. A. F. bombing attacks. There
have been reports of such retalla-
ton in the case of Rumania, but
without confirmation.
Yugoslavs Join Greeks.
With opposition to the alliance
growing hourly, there were reports
from the Greek frontier that Yugo-
slav officers were crossing the bor-
der to offer their services to the
Greeks. They were said to include
four generals and three high Off
GERS of the royal guard.
Pamphlets calling for a mass meet
Ing of protest tomorrow in a Bel
grade public park flooded this capl-
tai. Police declared, however that
the meeting would be broken up.
The patriarch of the Serb Ortho-
dox Church called meeting of the
Holy Synod for Thursday, at the
request, it was reported, of Chief
Regent Prince Paul. to try through
the church to quiet increasing re-
sentiment of Serbs over the prospec-
tive alliance
A government decree dissolved the
board of directors of the Belgrade
Radio Corp. and named the chief
censor of the press bureau as COM
n1issar to run the company.
A communique announced that
the cabinet split over prospective
adherence to the axis had been set