1939-12-30 — Page 9

FINNISH AIRMEN DESTROY

RUSSIAN RAILWAY

DARING NIGHT RAID

ON AIR BASE

Central Finland, December 13.

FIGHTING IN FINLAND becomes fiercer and more costly in casualties every day. The Russians are bringing up wave after wave of reinforcements to hurl against the Finns.

The latter are, however, putting up a magnificent fight and were able to record several successes to-day.

of

Finnish airmen have flown in bitter weather over the strategic railway Une from Murmansk 70 miles north Lake Ladoga and bombed the track. The rails were torn to scrap metal over a distance of 12 miles.

The Finns have also retaken the town of Suomussalmi after a deter- mined resistance. The Russians oc- cupled the little Island of Mausari, in Lake Ladoga, but have made little progress on the Karelian Isthmus.

Here the Finns are still holding the line of the River Palpalisjoki against one assault after another. Many Rus- sian tanks have been destroyed in this sector during the last two days' fight ing.

of miles in 10 days in blinding snow. The temperature was * 20 degrees Centigrade below zero, and before she arrived at the refugee camp five of the children were dead. Another mother lost her only child in the Polar darkness, swallowed up by a snowdrift.

Despite the amazing stoicism of the run down the Finnish people, tears faces and set jaws of Finnish officers us they relate these terrible details of suffering among the civilian popula- tion.

FIGHT BEHIND LINES According to Russian deserters from the northern front near Petsamo, the Russians are having great trouble in On the northern front the Finnish the Murmansk district, where they Lapp ski troops were hotly engaged have penal colonies filled largely with with Russian Kurghis from Central political prisoners. The prisoners, it is Asia during the few murky hours of stated, have risen in revolt and are daylight between the successive dark-carrying on a guerrilla warfare in the nesses of the Polar night. What roads rear of the Russian troops. exist in this desolate region are com- pletely icebound.

The frontier itself is not properly marked and only the local peasants can find their way from one point to another.

While the Russians have burnt all the shrub behind their front, the Finns are burning any buildings and pro- perty from which they are forced to retreat so that the Russians can find no shelter. The Russian commanders have erected watch towers equipped with machine-guns along their own base to prevent their men from descrting.

lines

tack.

The Finns often hear the tack of Russlan machine-guns as the guard open fire upon deserters. During the last 24 hours the Rus- sians have had several successes on the northern front. They have cap- tured the village of Salla, 27 miles in- side the Finnish frontier, by employ- ing Finnish Communist troops who are natives of the village and have lived in Russia since the Finnish War of Independence.

The road between Salla and Ro- vaniemi is the starting point of the route to the Polar Sea from Lower Finland. The district was formerly much visited by foreign tourists.

HAND-GRENADE RAID

The Russians are now bringing up huge concentrations against the front of east of Rovaniemi in pursuance their aim of cutting Finland in two at her narrowest point. One report gives the figures of 1,500,000 men and 1,000 'planes.

the

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Kandalaksja. and Kirovsk former a relatively large town-have fallen to the Russians who have also established a new air base at Uhtua, 60 miles from Kirovsk.

Last night two Finnish soldiers on skis accomplished an amazing feat of daring in this sector. Laden with hand grenades they crossed no man's land into Uhtua and bombed the two new airfields, destroying several 'planes. Owing to their great speed on skis they slipped away in the darkness and re- joined their comrades.

Heart-rending scenes Are taking place in northern Finland, where the entire civilian population is fleeing in terrible weather conditions from the Russian invader. It is estimated that at least 10,000 refugees are now collect- ed in makeshift camps north of the Polar circle.

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Families have been split up. Many people have been killed or frozen to death on their flight.

14Ons mother, with her seven-ohli- dreh on a sledge, travelled hundreds

Alice Faye and Don Amecha share starring honours in Darryl F. Zanuck's production of "Hollywood Cavalcade," filmed in Tech. nicolour. The 20th Century-Fox picture, coming to-morrow to the of Hollywood from bathing King's Theatre, traces the romance beauties to world premieres.

aivilisation to fight for the Finns. I front. It is understood that she is one hope to get a lot of recruits from of the herds of half-starved Polish re- Britain, especially from Ireland." fugees and prisoners of war whom the The Finnish Government authorities Russions are driving forward in front are now examining a Polish women of their shock troops to explode land

captured on the Karelian mines and to shield themselves.

In an interview at Helsinki to-day the former British Vice-Consul, Mr. | Allen, who has resigned to raise a British brigade for the Finnish army, wald, "I feel it my duty to Western ❘ who was

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