Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-01-02
Yugoslav King Leaves
Cairo on Secret Trip:
Balkan Moves Hinied
By the ASSOCIATED Press,

BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, Jan. liking Peter
exiled monarch of Yugoslavia
who has been disavowed by the
Partisan leader, Marshal Josip
Broz (Tito), was reported today
to have left Cairo for secret
destination" and reports arose
Immediately that some Balkan
development was imminent.
1t was recalled that a spokesman
for King Peters government said
recently that the Yugoslav regular
guerrilla army under Gen. Draja
Mihailovich probably would not be
thrown into the current battle
against the invading Germans until
an Allied army invades the Balkans
The possibility was not overlooked
also, that the young Kings trip
might foreshadow an effort to settle
the tangled affairs Of his kingdom.
Parleys Recalled.
Although there was no definite
hint as to the purpose OF the trip,
1t was recalled also that Peter con-
ferred with Allied leaders during last
months Cairo conferences. Unofi-
cial Yugoslav sources here said they
doubted he was returning to Yugo-
slavia in an effort to unite the rival
guerrilla armies.
Presumably these sources based
their belief on the December 20
manifesto Of Tito's National Coun-
Gil OF Liberation which deprived"
Peters government of all rights and
forbade the King to return until
his homeland has been liberated.
Both the United States and Brit
ain, however, still recognize the
exlled government although most of
the recent Allied aid to Yugoslavia
has gone to Tito's armies because
they have been doing the heaviest
lighting against the Nazis.
Greek Unity Urged.
King Peters move came in the wake
OF an effort of the exiled Greek
Premier, Emmanuel Tsouderos, to
achieve greater unity in his home
land where rival guerrilla armies
also have been at swords points
Tsouderos, who conferred with Allied
leaders at Cairo recently, in a New
Year message appealed to Greeks to
unite and constitute a single army"
and said Allied liaison officers were
authorized to act as Intermediates
to settle differences.
Meanwhile contradictory reports
came from Berlin and Tito's head
quarters on the bitter fighting rag
ing along the 4OO-mile Yugoslav
front.
Berlin, claiming the sixth major
Nazi offensive to crush the guer-
riallas finally had turned to Ger
man victories, said Partisan activity
In Bosnia and Montenegro as well as
in Albania had been thoroughly
liquidated."
Iito's daily broadcast communique
gave no hint of defeat, claiming in
stead that his Partisan bands were
maintaining their offensives in
Herzegovina, Montenegro and parts
of Bosnia and registering new sue
cesses elsewhere.
1880 Slain, Nazis Claim.
The Germans claimed 37,790 Par
tisans had been killed and 1859
captured since September. This as
sertion came little more than "a
hours after an official royal Yugo-
slav government statement from
Cairo had declared that guerrilla
forces had suffered irreparable
losses. were deprived of all possible
outside support and that many
bands were disintegrating.
But Tito's headquarters said the
Germans had been forced into new
defensive positions in the Livno-
Dunno sector of Bosnia where the
most bitter battles have been rag
ing, and had been thrown back from
the town of Ljubinje in Hercego-
VIVA and from Bella in Slovenia.
Other Partisan bands continuing
their stabs at Nazi supply routes
were reported to have derailed a
train on the Archaeological rail-
way in Croatia and destroyed the
Klagenfurt Maribor railway at i
Dravograd along the Croat-Austrian