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8/13/2019 Weekly Resume 23-28:9:1939
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Catalogue Reference:cab/66/2/10 Image Reference:0001
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T H IS D O CU M E N T I S T H E P R O P E R T Y O F H I S B R I TA N N I C M A J E S T Y S G O Y E RN M E SF T
T O B E K E P T U N D E R L O C K A N D K E Y.
It is requested that special care may be taken toensure the secrecy of this document.
S J L PW a T
COPY NO.
WAR CABI NET.
NAVAL, MI LI TARY AND AI R SI TUATI ON.
APPRECI ATI ON BY THE CHI EFS OF STAFFCOMMI TTEE.
( Pr evi ous Paper No. W P. ( 59) 4 6 ) .
Not e by t he Secr et ar y.
By di r ec t i on of t he Pr i me Mi ni s t er , I c i r c u
her ewi t h, f o r c ons i der at i on by t he War Cabi net , t he
at t ached Weekl y Resume ( No. 4-) by t he Chi ef s of St af fComm t t ee, deal i ng wi t h t he Naval , Mi l i t ar y and Ai r
Si t ua t i on up t o I S Noon, 28t h Sept ember , 1959, ( paper
No. C C S . 39) 5 5 ) .
( Si gned) E. E. BRI DGES.
Sec r e t ar y.
Ri chmond Ter r ace, S. W 1.29t h Sept ember , 1959.
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T HIS D O C U M EN T I S T H E P R O P E R T Y O P H I S B R I T A N N I C M A J E S T Y S G O V E R N M E N T
T O B E K E P T U N D E R L O C K A N D K E Y.
I t i s requested t hat speci al care may be t aken t oensure t he secrecy of thi s document .
^BJV.R.E T
CJL^ ( 5 9 ) 55 COPY NO.
. 7AR CABI NET
C H I E P S O F S T A F F C O M M I T T E E
E E K L Y ^ E U M J NO. 4 OF . TEE M A V A L M I L I T A R YAND A I R S I T U A T I O N 12. 0 NOON, 213T
SEPTEMBER TO 12. 0 NOON, 2STK SEPTEMBER) .
Pr evi ous P aper No. C. O. S. 39) 4 4 ) .
REPORT
The accompany i ng j oi nt Nava l , Mi l i t ar y and
Ai r For ce Resume of t he s i t uat i on f r om 12. 0 Noon on
t he 21st Sept ember t o 12. 0 Noon on t he 28t h Sept ember ,
i s c i r cul at ed i n accor dance wi t h t he r ecommendat i on
cont ai ned i n Paper No. W P. G) 39) 3, and appr oved by
t he War Cabi net on 7t h Sept ember W M. 39) 7t h Conc l us i o
Mi nut e 17) o
Si gned) C. L. N. NEWALL.
DUDLEY POUND.
EDMUND I RONSI DE.
Central War Room
29t h Sept ember , 1939.
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i"
WEE KLY RESUME (NO.4) OP THE NAVAL, MILITARYAND AIR SITUATION J 12 NOON 21ST SEPTEMBER TO
.13 NO ON 28TH SEPTEMBER) " \
NAVAL SITUATION.
Naval Operations. - . "
1 0 Durin g the wee k the outstanding incidents in home waters
have heen those which arose from the escorting home of the
damaged submarine Spearfish. On 26th September when returning
from covering these operations the Home Fleet was engaged by
enemy aircraft. Three enemy flying boats shadowed the Nelson,
Rodney and Ark oyal c Fighters flown off by Ark Royal had
some difficulty in finding the enemy aircraft, but all three
were engaged , one was damaged, and another brought down,
This flying boat was later found by H. M 0 S. Somali, the crew
of four were t aken prison ers and the boat sunk. Three
attacks were carried out on the Ark Royal about 2 e 3 p.m.by single aircraft on each occasion. No hits were secured in
any attack. A little later Hood and Repulse were attacked.
The latter received a glancing blow from one bomb and the
damage was superficia l. About half an hour later a high level
attack at 12,000 feet was delivered by aircraft attacking in
waves on H M Ships Auro ra and. Sheffield, whic h with four
trihal destroyers were escorting the Spearfish. Twent y six
bombs were dropped without effect, the Spearfish reaching.the
Firth of Forth in safety on the morning of 27th September,
Mining.
2. On the 20th September a British mined area was declared
extending from the Humber to the Tyne, of an app roximate width of
20 miles and about 20 miles off the coast..
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3 he Nort her n part of the Dover Barrage is completed, and this
in effect, covers the Channel from the Goodwins to the French
Coa stal Channel s. The laying of the Southern part of the
Barrage has begun.
e
4. The Minesweepers and Auxiliary minesweepers continue to
search and keep clear the more important coastal Channels and
Approaches to main harbour s. Many of the auxiliary minesweepers
are sti l l wait ing to be relieved by properly equipped vessel s
which will probably be ready about the middle of October.
British Shipping.
5. Duri ng the week ending 1200 Thursday, the 28th September
four British merchant ships were reported lost. Two of these
were sunk outside this period but their loss was not known
earlier. The declin e in percen tage of loss is considerable, as
will be seen from the following tables- Percentageof TotalLosses in
Period By Submarine By Mine Total April .1917 l ?2.- Tonnage. No . Tonnage No . Tonnage No. Tonn age.
6-12 Sept. 15 85,622 2 11,437 17 95,059 44 75
13-19 Sept. 12 44,2 54 1 1,594 13 45,848 33 36
2C-26 Sept. 4 9,198 4 9,198 10 7
31 137,074 3 13,031 34 150,105 29 39
6* At the beginn ing of the war Great Britain had available
2,980 merchant ships of 17,500,000 tons - this may be compared
with the 3 369 ships of 15, 292,9 14 tons available in April 1917 *
the peak month of losses by submarine action in the last war.
Since then 450 ships of 2,750,000 tons have been requisitioned
by the British Government for various Service requirements and
34 ships of 150,000 tons have be en lost by enemy acti on. Thus2,496 merchantmen of 14,600,000 are still available for trading
and cargo carrying.
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During this week 7 000 tons of wheat and other cereals
and 8 900 tons of sugar destined for Great Britain were lost in
British ships sunk by enemy action. However, on balan ce for the
week the British net gain was 43,450 tons of assorted goods
intercepted from reaching the enemy, and since the war began
the net gain is 121,350 tons,, It ma y be noted that of thi s last
figure 60,5 00 tons of fuel oil is included. This counter-balances
the 59,000 tons lost by enemy action and the net gain in iron,
manganese and other mineral ores is 138,700 tons,
8 0 The Roy al Sceptre. Thir ty two survivors from this ship,
which was sunk by a U-boat on the 5th September, have now bee n
landed at Bahia in the British merchant snip Browning.
Apparently the U-boat stopped the Browning after sinking the
Royal Sceptre and instructed her to search for the latter's boats 0
The Master of the Royal Sceptre was kille d and nine of the crew,
wounded by gun firs while abandoning ship e
Neutral Shipping Losses,
9. Four neut ral ships of 6 963 tons have bee n sunk by German
submarines either by torpedo or by the use of explosives? during
this weekc Previou sly, in additi on to one fishing smack tonnage
unknown, six neutral ships of 22,87 0 tons had be en sunk, 5 by
mine, one either by mine or torpedo, thus making a total of
approximately 30,000 tons.
80.. In the cases of one Swedish ship and two Fin nis h ships it is
remarked that they were sunk in wat ers in which the Ge rman Navy
would have found little difficulty in bringing them into ports as
prizes 0 The cargoes of these ships we re either cellulose or sawn
timber, neit her of which are on the Germ an cont raba nd list, jji
any case th is doe s not justi^y-tJae-^inking. of -a neut ra l ship and
there is no case on record during eithe r the last war or the
present, of the intentional destructio n by the Alli es of a neutral
ship. There is no evidence that the German submarine Commanders
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in these cas es tr ied to ascei-tain and es tabl ish the natu re of the
cargo the ship carried.
Anti-Submarine. O per atio ns,
ll e Only twenty three attackson U-Boats have been reported
during this week, three o f which have been by aircraft. It is
considered that the submarine was definitely damaged in one
of the aircraft attacks 150 S c S.W. of Ireland. In two other
attacks, one by aircraft 70 miles southwards of Land s End and
one by two destroyers off the Tyne, there are possib ilitie s of
success. Two of the above three aircraft attack s were by fly ing
boats from the Coastal Unit and the other was by a shore based
Fleet Ai r Arm unite
12. Six commercial trawlers have now bee n fitted out for an ti
submarine wor k and left their fitting out yar ds. The wo rk of
fitting out these traw lers is pro ceed ing satisfactori ly and.
between 20 and 30 more should be ready by the 8th October.
Convoys.
13 0 Betw een 20 and. 30 convoyn are in operat ion throughout the
world. As this figure does not include a number of Fren ch convoys?
it can be said that the convoy system i t almost in full
operation. In actua l fact the complete cycle wi ll start on the
2nd October.
14. Up to date more than 700 ships have bee n convoyed inwards
and outwards without loss . Among the ships convoy ed so far
there have been 16 Allied and 4 neutral : merchantmen.
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15. The I Tor t h Ger man Ll oyd- St eamer - Mi nden, 4165 t ons ,
whi ch l ef t Ri o de J anei r o on Sept ember 6t h was boar ded
whi l e i n a s i nki ng condi t i on by Rhl VhS, Gal ypso about330 m l es nor t h west of Cape - W at h on Sept ember 24t h.
For t y s i x member s of her c r ew wer e t aken of f as pr i soner s .
15, Si nce t he out br eak of war f i ve Ger man mer chant
shi ps of 23, 649 t ons have sunk t hemsel ves i n or der t o
avoi d capt ur e, Ger man mer chant shi ps ar e movi ng aboutbet ween Sout h Amer i can por t s and. t hr ee of t hem have l ef t
Per nambuco nom nal l y f or t he Panama Canal en r out e f or
Vl adi vos t oc k 0 I t i s bel i ev ed, ho wev er , t hat t hey may be
t r yi ng t o make f or Las Pal mas , wher e t he seadr ome vess el
Os t mar k i s s t i l l r epor t ed ac t i ve. The Spani s h
Aut hor i t i es , however , pr of ess t o be assur ed t hat t hese
ac t i vi t i es ar e pur el y c i vi l i an and c ommer c i al .
Ger man- Navy.
17. The mai n Ger man Fl eet appear s to be s t i l l i n t he
v i c i ni t y of W i hel mshaven. A Ger man Bat t l e Cr ui s e r has
been r epor t ed of f Hel i gol and on t he 23r d. Ger man Naval
Uni t s have been r epor t ed, i n the ar ea of t he decl ar ed
Ger man m nef i e l d on one or t wo occas i ons .
18. The Ger man pat r ol i n t he Kat t egat i s r epor t ed t o
c ons i s t of f as t mot or boat s i n t he L i t t l e Bel t and
t r awl er s and ol d t or pedo boat s bet ween t he Skaw and
Mar s t r and. Dai l y ai r pat r ol s ar e al s o c ar r i ed out up
t he Sound and t he L i t t l e Be l t and. on t he wes t coas t o f
J ut l and, ,
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19 The German submarine activity during the past week
has bee n principal ly directed against neutral shipping.
It is estimated that at least seven large submarines have
been at sea during the last week and may still he out.
Italy.
20. Genera lly speaking there has been no apparent
change in the positi ons of the ma in squadrons. Wirel ess
traffic appears to remain at its normal level activity
is confined to local exercises and movements of escorting
vesse ls and submarines to and from colonial possessions
for relief purposes.
Japan.
21. ITo change has taken place in the general
disposition of the Japanese Fleet.
22. The Russian invasion of Poland has so affected
opinion in Japan that negotiations for the direct or
indirect purchase of German merchants ships are at astandstill..
23. In China the Japanes e have not finally pressed
their demand for the withdrawal of the forces of
belli geren ts but they are obstructing all movements of
gunboats and their stores on the Yang tze and are in a
position finally to isolate them.
U S S R.
24. Soviet Nav al activities continue to be reported in
the Gulf of Finland.
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25. The escape of the Polish S/M Orzel from Talli nn
produce d an immediate Soviet reaction. Unit s of the
Soviet Fleet have been.at sea searching for her forseveral days.
26 A Moscow broadcast claims that the Russian Mine-
sweeper Metall ist has be en sunk by an unknown submarine
in the Gulf of Finland.
27. There is now reason to suppose that the Soviet is
pressing Estonia to agree to the establishment of a
Russian naval base on the Estonian coast and to subject
Esto nian f oreign trade to Russian control.
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MILITARY SITUATION.
GERMAN WESTERN FRONT.
General.
28. During the period under review the German armies have
shown little activity apart from local patrols and artillery
harassing fire. Acti vity has bee n mainl y confined to the
air. Germa n efforts to dislodge the French from positions
they have gained in the Saar area have been unsuccessful.
Evacuation of certain villages in the Trier area by
the civil populati on has be en reported, and in Aachen, in
addition to invalids and children, -plant and stocks of
certain factories have, bee n transferred to less vulnerableareas.
Troop movements.
29. The number of divisions definite ly identified in
Wester n Germany has increased during the last week fro m 1 2
to 1 3, by the iden tific ation of a new divis ion. There hasbeen also a slight change in the location of these divisionsj
one div isi on from oppos ite the Dut ch frontie r and one or two
divisions from the Trier area have moved to the area about
Aachen.
In addition there are units opposite the Belgian and
Luxemburg frontiers, which according to their numbering
belo ng in peace time to divisions which are believed, to have
be en engaged, in the fightin g in Poland. The Germans have
been at great pains to conceal the identity of these u nits
and. therefore it has be en impossible to discover if they are
active or reserve. Until this has been ascertained itcannot be established whether these units are advanced parties
of active divisions to be moved from Poland to the Western
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Front or whether they are reserve units which have never
been in Poland,
30, Numerous rep orts have be en received of the imminence
of a Gentian attack on Belgium and Holland, but on the
evidence available it appears that there has been so far no
larg j scale transfe rence of troops from Bast to West, There
are, however, the following troops within easy distance of
the Belgian and Dutch frontiers(a) Twelve infantry divisions,
(b) Elem ents of twelve other divisio ns, some ofwhi ch m ay be mechanized.,
(c) Three to four tank regiments, totalling 800 to900 tanks, north of Karlsruhe and presumablyavailable for operations.
Fortification work.
31. Fortificati on work has been actively continued in
the following sectors of the German Western Defe nces :-
(i) Opposite the Dutch frontier,
(ii) Opposite the Luxemburg frontier,
(iii) In the Saar sector,
Communi ca ti ons.
32. Improvements to roads leading towards the Dutc h
frontier have continued.
GERMANY.
Calling up of^personnel.
33. It is believ ed that personnel of classes whic h have
so far not carried out any military service have now been
called up for training, A start has bee n made with the
1911 and 1912 classes containing men of the classes which
Germany could not conscript because of the provisions of theTreaty of Versailles ,
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GERMAN EASTERN gRONTIER.
General .
3k. German forces are reported to be withdrawing
according to pl an to the line of demarcat ion see parag raph
38 below),
Troop moveme nt
35, The onl y confirmed t r o o p movement reported on this
front is the withdrawal to Prague of one Austrian division
kkth) which is known to have suffered numerous casualties
in Poland,,
36. There have been reports of considerable troop move
ments by rail from Sillein towards Bratislava and Vienna.
No details of this movem ent a r e however, yet known. It
is possible t hat some of these moves have been necessitated
by the internal troubles in Bohemia and Moravia,
POLAND.
37. The Pol i s h Government and t he Conuiander-in-Chief
entered Roumani an t er r i t or y on 17th September. Polish
military action daring t he period under review has therefore
been limited to the defence of the Warsaw area and of the
Hel Pe ninsu la, together wi th guerilla warfare- in other parts
of the country. Repo rts of 27th September indicate that
negotiat ions for the surrender of Warsa w are in progress.Open opposi tion in Poland is unlike ly GO last much l onger,
except possibly in t he Prypet marshes where the country is
most favoxirable f o r t h e operation of guerilla bands . The
hostility of the Ukrainian and White Rus s i an peasants towards
the Polish governing classes should greatly facilitate the
task of the Soviet forces in cleaning up Eastern Poland.
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SOVIET RUSSIA.
Operations in Po land 0
8 It was announced on 23rd September that the Soviet and
German Governments had agreed that the line of demarcation
between thoir two armies should be from Forth to South:-
The River Pissa up to its confluence wi th the River Narew
thence along the Narew to its confluence with the River B u g
thence along the u g to its confluence w ith the Vistula
thence along the Vistula to its confluence wit h the River San
and thence along that river to its source. This line of
demarcation does not however necessarily represent the
final political solution.
39. In their advance towards this line the Soviet forceshave encountered very little res ista nce . The latest Soviet
communique states that on 2bth September their troops had
reached the general lin e:- Suwalki-Osoviec-Brzesc-Cheln-Zamosc-
Rawa Russlca-Sambor.
It is genera lly agreed that abou t 30 infantry divisions
12 cavalry divisions and 10 mechanized brigades are at
present operating in Poland.
Activit ies in the North.
hG. It was reported on the 22nd and 23rd September that
17 milita ry trains left Leningrad for Murmansk. The
Norwegian Government are said to be apprehensive of an
attack against Norway across Finnish territory which near
Murmansk is only 20 miles wid.e at its narrowest point. There
are howe ver no Norwegian objectives of any importance
within striking distance o f Murmansk and. it is more probable
that these movements were precautionary measures to strengthen
the defences of Murmansk in view of the possibility of
hostilities with Great Britain.
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Activity on the Baltic States Frontiers.
hi. Repor ts indicate considerable military activity in
the neighbourhoods of Kingisepp, Pskov, Vitebsk, andPolotsk.
Activity on the Roumanian Frontiers.
h2. Reports of considerable military activity along the
Roumanian frontier have be en received. The existing Soviet
fortifications are apparently being strengthened, and agentsare reported to be actively collecting information about the
communications on the Roumanian side.
Soviet Mobilisation.
4 3 It has been officially announced that those called up
for service during this month will be considered asmobilised until further notice. This means that the Soviet
Government will have ready mobilised some 70 to 80 divisions
in ad.dition to those engaged, in Poland.
BALTIC STATES.
Estonia.44. Reliable reports of Soviet troop concentrations near
the Esto nia n fron tier , combined, with an outburst of anti -
Estonian propaganda in the Soviet press, have caused
considerable anxiety as to Russia s intentions, in spite of
the Soviet Governments recent reiteration of i ts intentions
to respec t the neutra lity of the Baltic Stat es. Estoni a
has no t, ho weve r, ordered, any general mobili sation.
Latvia.
45. The influx of Poli sh refu gees has ceased, since the
Latvian-Polish frontier was closed by the advance of the
Soviet troops.
There is at present no confirmation ofa report that the
U.S.S.R. intends to occupy the Daugav pils area which controls
the railways to Riga and Wilno.
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L i t huani a.
1 6. Cont ac t wi t h Sovi et f or ces has been es t abl i shed al ong
t he gr eat er par t of t he f r ont i er . I t i s r epor t ed f r om
L i t huani a t hat r el at i ons bet ween t he t wo ar m es ar e c or di al ,
ROJ J MANI A.
1 7 Ther e ar e no i mpor t ant changes t o r ecor d i n t he
gener al s i t uat i on as gi ven i n Weekl y Resume No 3 The
pos s i bi l i t y of hav i ng t o meet an at t ac h f r om Rus s i a had
caused t he Roumani ans t o const r uct a f ew hast y f i el d def ences
i n Bessar abi a at t he end of August . The change i n t he
s i t uat i on s i nce t hat dat e has appar ent l y l ed. t o a dec i s i on
t o c ons t r uc t a f ur t her l i ne of def enc es .
BULGARI A,
1 8. Ther e appear s to have been no r ecent i ncr ease i n t he
s t r engt h of t he Bul gar i an Ar my, whi ch has not yet exceeded
5 of i t s war s t r engt h. Bul gar i a c ont i nues t o r ec ei ve
cons i der abl e quant i t i es o f war mat er i al f r om Ger many.
TURKEY.
1 9. Rumour s have been cur r ent t hat consi der abl e
r ei nf or cement s , amount i ng t o about t wo ar my cor ps, have been
moved, f r om Anat o l i a t o Thr ace. No conf i r mat i on has been
obt ai ned, and. t he 2nd Ar my Cor ps i s be l i eved t o be s t i l l i n
Wes t er n Anat ol i a.
YUGOSLAVI A.
5 The s t r engt h of t he Yugosl av Ar my cont i nues t o i ncr ease
and. i t i s t hought t hat t he nuc l eus of some r eser ve di v i s i ons
may have been f or med. .
GREECE.
51 The act ual measur es t o be t ahen as a r esul t of t he
r ecent I t al o- Gr eek accor d, have not been announced. . I t seems
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pr obabl e t hat t hey wi l l not be br ought i nt o f ul l ef f ec t i n
Gr eece unt i l some t i me i n Oct ober
I TALY.
Tr oop Move S o
52 The onl y t r oop movement s wor t hy of not e ar e m nor
r ei nf or cement of t he l and f r ont i er s whi ch may however be
ei t her s i mpl y r el i ef s or al t er nat i vel y t he r epl acement as a
pr ecaut i onar y meas ur e of f or mat i ons sympat het i c t o nat i onal s
of ne i ghbour i ng power s
New f or mat i ons .
53. Ther e i s s t i l l no c onf i r mat i on of t he dupl i cat i on of
f or mat i ons l ocat ed i n Al bani a Meanwhi l e t her e ar e
i ndi c at i ons t hat a new di vi s i on whi c h was down t o be f or med
a f t e r t he r e- or gani z at i on of t he I t al i an Ar my t owar ds t he end
of 1938 may now be l oc at ed i n Sar di ni a. Some addi t i onal
Al pi ni bat t al i ons have been f or med
Li bya.
5k. I t appear s pr obabl e t hat t he r ei nf or cement of L i bya
may now have been compl et ed. The expl anat i on of t he i ncr ease^
whi ch i s of f i c i al l y st at ed t o be a def ensi ve meas ur e i n vi ew
of t he F r ench concent r at i on of t r oops i n Tuni s i a and not a
t hr eat agai ns t Egypt appear s pr obabl e
Al bani a.;ft ;; \;vfejf f ' v ;h
55. The wi t hdr awal of I t al i an f or ces f r om t he i mmedi at e
vi c i ni t y of t he Gr eco- Al bani an f r ont i er i s conf i r med. A.
r epor t t hat one or t wo f or mat i ons had r e tu rned t o I t al y has not
been conf i r med but t he re ar e def i ni t e i ndi cat i ons t hat r el i ef s
of per sonnel may be i n. pr ogr es s .
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Dodecanese.
56. Accord ing to Italian official information the
Army garrison consists of one infantry division at war
strength and the despatch of extra units or formations
has be en denied. It seems probabl e, however, that
military units of the garrison are maintained at a strength
between 20 and 5Cf above the normal war establishm ent.
Italian East Africa.
7 Some Bl ackshirt units are believed, to have b ee n
r ep t r i t ed coring the first half of the month, The
general situation remains unchanged.
Genera l a
8 Although defensive measures have been completed
there is rel iabl e evidence that some reservists recently
called up have b een permitted, to retu rn h ome, leave h as
been granted to soldiers for seasonal agricultural work,
and. some impressed, animals and vehicl es have bee n retur ned
to their owner s. It is also reported, that some an ti -
aircraft perso nnel (militia) have be en discharged.. In
general, the military measures appear to have been some-
what relaxed.
IRAN.
59. Iranian posts on the Soviet Cauca sian frontier
have b ee n reinforced as also on. the So uthern Iraq, frontier
and in the oil area. 1
CHINA.
6 Major operations have developed, in central C hina
during the past week.
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f
Following recent operations in northern Kiangsi,
which appear to have been in the nature of a diversion or
holding attack, the Japanese on 22nd September launched an
offensive further west, in northern Hunan. The object
of these operations may be confined to inflicting a
heavy defeat on the Chinese forces in north east Hunan
(estimated at approximately 100,000 me n) or may b e
extended to the capture of Changsha, the provincial capital
and an important road, rail and river junction. Japanese
naval units, operating on the river approaches, are
already r epor ted to be wi thin 25 miles of the city.
The operations, whilst giving active expression to
Japan's determination to concentrate her main effort on
finishing the China campaign, are probably designed
politically to impress the Chinese with the futility of
further resistance and to influence waverers among the
Chinese leaders to side wit h the puppet government of
occupied China which they are hoping to proclaim.
Meanwhile underground activities for peace are not being
neglected by the Japanese.
6l. The Press reports renewed fighting in the Canton
area. The situa tion at Tien tsin shows some improvement,
whilst at Shanghai the Japanese have not pressed their
friendly advice for the withdrawal of foreign garrisons.
In Manch uria notwithstanding the Russo-Japanese
agreement to cease operations on the Mongolian-Manchurian
border , Japan is still taking precautions. There are
reliable reports of several thousand troops landed
recently in the Port Arthu r-Dai ren area. It seems probable
that these troops have been sent direct from Japan, as there
are no indications that the strength of the Japanese forcesin China has been seriously reduced.
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AIR. SITUATION.
Distribution of the German Air. For ce.62 . Duri ng the last week of August the Germa ns
reinforced their North West area by 4 00 long range
bombers bringing the total bomber strength within
immediate striking ran ge of this country up to about
850 aircraft. Since 1st September they have gradually
withdrawn these reinforcements and about 12th September
several Gruppe moved to the East.
It is interesting to note that this move coincided
with reports from neutral sources that the Germans had
transferred a whole air division from East to West.
A further reduction of the air strength in the N.W
area took place about the I7th September and was again
accompanied by circumstantial reports of a large
concentration of German bombers in the West in
preparation for air attack on England. The last of
the reinforcing uni ts have now been identified at their
home stations in South Germany and the long range
bomber force in the N.W. area is back to its peace
establishment of some 460 aircraft.
63. There is no reason to suppose that the return
of these units indicates more than the desire to carry
out the necessary maintenance which must now be
necessary on aircraft which have been operating in the
open for a month. Moves back to the North-West area
can be made in a few hou rs but it is normally some days
before the signs of such a redistri bution are sufficiently
sure to amount to confirmation.
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The Germans have undertaken no bombing operations
against objectives behind the French line, and there has
been only limited activity in their reconnissance and
fighter operations on this front.
Italian Air Force.
64. No fresh mov es of squadrons have been reported-.
U.S.S.R. Air Force.65. Reports indicate that the Russians have two
Groups of air forces in Northe rn Poland and another
two Groups in South ern Poland.
Operations by French Ai r Force.
66. French aircraft have made day and night
reconnaissance flights behi nd the Siegfried Line . The
aircraft were old types and they have not been well
match ed against mode rn German fighte rs; up to the 18th
September the French had lost eleven aircraft. They
have brought down two German fighters, one, whic h is
of latest type, having been secured intact. We have
no reports of any French bombing operations.
ROYAL AIR FORCE OPERATIONS.
Reconnaissances in North-West and Wes ter n Germany.
67. A number of daylight reconnaissances have bee n
made by Bomber Command units in Engl and and by the
Advanc ed Air Striking Force in Franc e. Roads and
railways leading from N.E . Germany to the West, the area
behind the German line, aerodromes and balloon barrages
have be en reconnoitred.
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En em y fighter opposition was slight and
although on certain flights anti-aircraft fire has been
intense up to 23 000 feet in general it has not b ee n
accurate. We have suffered no loss es
Operations against the German Fleet.
68. A force of 12 Hampden aircraft made a
reconnaissance of the Heligoland Bight to attack German
naval surface vessels which might be observed in that
area 0j No suitable targets were found.
Propaganda.
69. The Wa r Cabinet at their 17th Meet ing decided
that leaflet dropping should be continued not -necessarily
at regular intervals but when thought desirable Duri ng
the period under review leaflets were dropped on two
occasions during reconnaissance operations.
70. It is expected that a balloo n unit which is
located in Prance for the despatch over Germany of
propaganda leaflets attached to ballo ons will be ready
for operations within a few days.
Naval Co-operation
-71. Routine patro ls searches convoy patr ols special
reconnaissances and intensive anti-submarine patrols
particularly in the Western Approaches have been
mai ntai ned throughout the week. Seve n enemy aircraft
have been sighted during the.last four days resulting
in four combats. One flying boat was compelled to
land in Iceland and was interned.
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