Evening star., 1941-04-20
Catastrophe Facing
Greeks on Killers
Birthday, Nazis Say
Mountain Exits Captured
In Fighting and shorp
Pursuits, They Assert
~ the Associated Press.

NaZi Swastika now waves over Mount
Olympus, legendary home of the
ancient Greek gods, and over the
important rail and road junction
city of Larisa, on the plain 40 miles
to the south.
The invariable tone of editorial
comment led political circles to be-
lieye that the general staff con-
siders the fall of Greece imminent
possibly to come as SD birthday
present for Adolf Hitler tomorrow
Oficialdom was more restrained
In its comment, but the high COM
mand declared the southern exits of
the Greek mountains have been
taken in fighting and sharp pur-
suit" thus throwing the way open
for wider use of panzer units in the
more open country southwark.
Planes almost Unhindered."
DN.B., the official German news
agency, said the Luftwaffe was al
most unhindered as it subjected
troops on roads from Larisa and
Trikkala to terrific dive bombing at
tacks.
Roads south of Larisa are blocked
by the burning wrecks of trucks and
bodies of dead horses" its dispatch
said. The road between Larisa and
Trikkala is covered with wrecked
vehicles and the bodies of fallen
British"
British headquarters in
Athens said its line had not been
penetrated and its f1anks re-
NAMED unturned. The lines
eastern anchor previously has
been reported to be Mount Olym-
pus.
Larisa, however, shaken some
weeks ago by an earthquake and
devastated by Nazi bombers, has
been abandoned by civilians.
The city, lying in the plain of
Thessaly, is linked by rail with
Athens, about $50 miles south,
and with the port of Volos, where
some of the British troops
landed)
Parallel with the Nazi editorial
predictions were stories with big
headlines that the Greek govern
ment had fled" from Athens.
This assertion, based on "deduc-
tions from many signs" was coupled
with a statement that the late
Greek Premier Alexandros Korizis
had remained behind in Athens as
the only member of the Greek gov
ernment "in order to make peace,
and that the English had "elimi-
mated" him because they disap-
proved of such an endeavor.
Whether he was murdered or
whether his demise was caused in
some other way. doubtlessly he was
driven to death by the English, y
IL was stated.
(The Greek government Off
cially announced that Premier
Korizis had taken his own life
Friday)
There was no confirmation here,
however, OF reports from Rome that
Franz Won Papen, German AmbaS-
sador to Turkey, was en- route to
Berlin as a Greek Intermediary in an
armistice application.
Fight Hand to Hand in Passes.
OF the days military events,
strategists apparently placed first
the asserted successful break
through the passes between Olympus
and the Pindus range on the West.
For days these experts have been
telling inquirers. once we have
forced our way through the noun
tains, the rest will be easier, for
then we can again use panzers.
THE passes must be taken in
hand -to-hand encounters assisted
by Stukas (dive bombers)."
These warplanes, according to
German reports, are constantly
striking moving British and Greek
columns or retarding their retreat
by damaging roads.
Informed Germans said the Brit
ish we're thrust out of their forti-
fed mountain redoubts and now
were blasting bridges and roads in
attempts to delay the Ger
man advance.
British Transports Attacked.
Another of the German air ef-
forts is in attacking British trans
ports, which the Nazis say are in
tended to take troops from Greece
back to Egypt. The high command
said $4,000 tons of transports were
destroyed by air bombs at Khalkis,
Greek port.
Informed persons said the Ger
man LuftWaffe was apparently car
rying on the same sort of activity
it did in the west when Frances
columns began to withdraw south
ward last June.
Persons "in the know" expressed
no surprise at reports by D.NB.,
Official German news agency, that
the Bulgarian public was waiting
announcement of Bulgarian occu-
patton of Greek Thrace and Mace
donia. DN.B. said Bulgarian troops
already had occupied portions of
taken by German troops.
Hungary, it was recalled, moved
into sections of Croatia under SINH
lar circumstances.
AS if intent on giving Hitler as
many military gifts as possible, it
was reported that in the west the
Luftwaffe bombarded British con-
voys and coastal towns, while in
Africa the German activity around
Tobruk increased.
automatically, Turkey seemed
to be the center of axis efforts, but
rumors here that the British had
quit Turkey could not be confirmed.
Lopez Contrerus Quits