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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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