Evening star., 1941-04-07
Athens
Continued From First Page)

troops who occupied Bulgaria weeks
ago drove across the border and
down the Struma.
First notification of the German
attack came to Athenians on quiet
Sunday morning through handwrit-
ten posters pasted on buildings.
Scenes of enthusiasm which fol-
lowed recalled those which occurred
at the beginning of the Greek
Italian conflict last October %.
The German minister to Athens
notified Premier Korizis at $50 am.
yesterday morning that German
troops would attack Greece because
of the presence of British troops on
Greek soil.
The Premier replied Greece would
resist.
(The British acknowledged for
the first time yesterday that an
imperial force of undisclosed
sizes was in Greece
The German Minister'S action,
a spokesman said, was exquisite
delicacy, especially as we were being
attacked at that moment"
Refuse to Take Shelter.
Frontier posts in Thrace and
Eastern Macedonia caught the first
blows by the Germans.
A little later Salonkia and Athens
had air alarms, but there were no
reports of bombings in the capital
and the people and parading Ev-
zones refused to take shelter. The
intensity of the Luftwaffe attack on
Salonika was not disclosed
The Greeks, who long had con-
sidered conflict with Germany in
evitable, were told by King George
II that the struggle would be a
hard, relentless one, but I'VE shall
not give way before anything.
Victory is waiting for us at the end
of the road.
by our side stand mighty Allies,
the British Empire with its in
domitable will and the United States
with its inexhaustable resources.
I'VE are fighting nand in hand
with our allies the Yugoslavs, who
themselves are shedding their blood
for the salvation of the whole
Balkans and mankind"
Gen. Alexander Papagos, the
Greek commander in chief, issued
an order of the day to his men
calling on the fighters on the Ger
man front Ito show that you are
worthy of your fellow fighters on
the Italian front
Crowds paraded in the capital and
one of their favorite slogans was
the single word: "No"-meaning
refusal to be intimidated. Throngs
cheered at the British and United
States Legations and jeered the
German Legation, guarded by po-
lice. Martial music blared from
loudspeakers and British soldiers
were carried about on Greek
shoulders.
The newspaper Hestia COM
mented:
Sixty million Italians VINO were
unable to defeat the Greeks called
on 100000 Germans to help them.
This is 140,000,000 against 10000.
This makes the Italian at
tack on France look like a noble
deed"
Salonika, apparent objective of the
German drive, is less than so miles
airline from the nearest point on
the Bulgarian border and a Nazi
attack toward it through Thrace
would go directly through an i'm
portant tobacco region where United
States interests have invested mil
lions of dollars.
The taking of the port by the
Germans would deprive Greece and
her allies of an important harbor
for landing men and supplies from
overseas, it would cut Greece OF
from Turkey, potential ally, it
would give Germany a bridgehead
for possible later thrust to the
east toward Turkey and the Suez
and would shut one end Of the
Vardar Valley, historic military ave-
nue. in the Balkans.