The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-06-18
Germans Shift Attention
to Eastern Mediterranean
for Invasion Clues
TURKEYS POSITION
STILL WORRIES AXIS
Syria Turkey Travel Bar
Lifted; Enemy to Curb
Peace Coup
BY j. EDWARD MURRAY
UNITED Press Staff Corresponding

UNITED Press Staff Correspondents
London, June Is. - (UP)
= German propagandists,
seeking a clue to Allied in
vasion plans shifted atten-
ton to the eastern Mediter-
ranean today where Greek
sources reported that guer-
rillas had ignored a Nazi ulti-
matum to lay down their
arms and had seized almost
all Of the Province Of Thessaly, in
eastern Greece.
The Greek claims of New Guer-
rilla successes conceded with Ger
man Trans Ocean Agency broadcast
specializing on why British atten-
ton was being centered more and
more on the eastern Mediterranean,
The dispatch quoted Swedish cor
respondents or Stockholm sources
and added Everything now IS
pointing to coming Balkan Of
fensive in an attempt to conquer
Crete and the Dodecanese QtalianD
islands"
Greek sources said that guerrilla
forces in Thessaly, which lies north
west Of the Dodecanese invasion
| path to eastern Europe, had ignored
a GcSman ultimatum to lay down
arms last month and the guerrillas
| i,,to i,,o Ax-ie
For the first time, they asserted.
the guerrillas control the plains as
well as the mountaCs of Thessaly.
Their grip is so strong that any
person passing from one side Of the
province to the other must have
special permit from the guerrillas, it
was claimed.
The shift of NaZi attention to the
eastern Mediterranean followed
series of enemy broadcasts that AL
lied ships, landing barges, thou
sands Of airplanes and huge army
was massing in North Africa for an
attack on Sicily or the Italian
mainland. Except for an Italian re-
port that Axis air attacks on these
concentrations continued the Sicil-
ian threat was not emphasized to-
day.
The Axis was, however, still show
ing some concern about Turkeys flu
ture position, asserting that both
Vichy and Ankara had officially de
MED reports of break in relations
as a result of Gestapo seizure of
Turkish diplomatic pouches at the
French-Swiss border
The Nazis also publicized a Ru-
manian denial that peace feelers
had been put out by Bucharest.
(Radio Moscow quoted Bern quar-
ters as saying that German author
tiles had closed the Bremen Pass
between Germany and Italy to all
traffic. The broadcast, reported by
U. S. government monitors, Specu-
lated that the action might have
been made in preparation for the
evacuation from Italy Of Industrial
equipment, capital and other valu-
ables.'D
The ban on travel between Syria
and Turkey was lifted at 6 a. m.
Thursday, it was disclosed, and the
Taurus express, an International
train from Syria and Iraq, was eX-
pected to arrive in Onkara Saturday
morning two days behind schedule.
Both the British ninth and tenth
armies are in the middle-east and
presumably would participate in any
invasion Of AXis-held Crete or the
Dodecanese Islands, stepping stones
to Greece. Axis broadcasts have re-
ported large American attachments
also are in the middle-east, but
there has been no Allied conforma-
ton of this.
Germany is known to maintain
espionage headquarters near the
Turkish-Syrian frontier for the sole
purpose of keeping a watchful eye
on Allied troop movements in the
middle east. Their field agents, in
GLIDING dissident Syrian elements
Continued on Page A.