Evening star., 1943-06-30
Invasion
Continued From First Page

tions centered in Athens and Salon
ika, on which American air raiders
last week showered thousands of
leaflets containing an encouraging
message from President Roosevelt,
and Volos and Larisa, near the
east coast.
Meanwhile-other reports to An
kara said the Axis was preparing for
an Allied thrust into the Balkans.
A German motorized division was
said to be taking up posts along the
Salonika Peninsula, and a German
news agency reported the Rumanian
cabinet had decided on partial
evacuation of Bucharest as an air
raid precaution. All persons who
have recently moved into the capital
from the provinces will be forced to
leave, this report said.
New strengthening Of the Axis
lines was reported, too, in Southern
Italy and its adjoining stepping
stone islands of Sicily and Sardinia,
as we'll as in France. where Field
Marshal Erwin Rommel was said to
have concentrated some 350,0OO
troops in the Rhone Valley. In a
Moscow broadcast heard by the So
Wet monitor, the Russian news
agency Tass reported Italy has or
dered mobilization Of every able
bodied resident of Sicily because of
the "lnevitabilty of Allied inva-
sion" and has suspended private
telephone and telegraphic communi-
cations between the mainland and
Sicily and Sardinia.
Unrest in Italy has become preva-
lent. Moscow reported, declaring
approximately $1,000 workers had
struck at Is Turin factories demand
ing release of Fiat factory employees
arrested in March for participating
In a strike. The broadcast said
troops had taken over some plants
The Nazi-controlled Paris radio
mentioning again that there is
great naval activity" in the Mediter-
ranean, said nobody believes any
longer that Italy will be the sole
target" The Germans apparently
backed this view, for Tass said they
were continuing to clear the Belgian
coast of every one who might aid
invasion forces.
Bern dispatches quoted Lyon ad-
vices to the Tribune de Geneve as
authority for the report that Rom
mel has taken charge of the de-
lenses in France. Rommel was de-
clared to be stationed at Montdore
from where he is said to set out fire.
quently down the Rhone Valley to
inspect vast aviation fields under
construction"
In the same area, unending lines"
of artillery and tanks were reported
on the move.
The Fascists, trying to step up
1taly's defenses, have been forced to
resort to their old-time castor oil
cure, the German Transocean corre-
spondent in Rome reported in a
broadcast heard by the Associated
Press. A purge of the Fascist party
also is wide open,' he said.
The morale of the Italian people
has been strengthened after a few
weeks Of this action" the CORE
spondent declared.
A Berlin broadcast of a Rome dis
patch, recorded by the Associated
Press, declared that Italian newspa-
pers today expressed the opinion
that Italy is on the eve of being in
vaded.
The same broadcast declared that
according to the general opinion
in Rome neither Germany nor the
Soviet Union will begin an offensive
in the East and quoted Popolo di
Roma as saying:
There's no reason for the Axis
attacking the Soviet Union again,
and under the prevailing conditions
the Axis powers will attain their OBJ
ject, namely, annihilation of enemy
forces, much sooner than by running
after the enemy into the desert or
steppe"