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ANNEX.

(uncorrected).

THE GREEK MINISTER called this afternoon and read to me the text of a telegram which his Government had sent to their Minister in Belgrade. It was to the following

effect.

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The Greek Military Attache in Berlin, according to information which the Greek Government were inclined to think was correct, had reported that the Germans had started on 4th January a concentration of troops with the connivance of Roumania and, very probably, also of Hungary along the approximate line Szeged - Szolnok Gradea Alba Giulia Turnu Severin. The size of the force was unknown. There was information that the German Government had requested of the Hungarian Government permission for the transit of 1,160 trains for the transport of twelve divisions. The object of the concentration appears to be action against Yugoslavia and, further, into Macedonia in the event of British troops being landed there. These measures might be considered as merely threatening and preventive, but it cannot be excluded that they are destined for early action,

The Greek Minister in Belgrade was instructed in the same telegram to communicate the foregoing to the Yugoslav Minister for Foreign Affairs, requesting the latter to indicate whether the Yugoslav Government had received any similar information and what measures they would take in case the information proved correct. The Greek Government added for the Minister's own information that Yugoslavia had de- mobilised and consequently if she did not take the necessary measures she was likely to be the victim of a surprise attack.

In a further telegram the Greek Government instructed Monsieur Simopoulos to represent to His Majesty's Government the great dangers involved in this German concentration along the Yugoslav frontier,

the event of Yugoslavia not resisting the passage of German troops and the advance of the latter towards Salonica.

The Greek Govern ent did not know what would be the attitude of Turkey, but they considered that it would be desirable that his Majesty's Government should ask both the Yugoslav and the Turkish Governments what would be their attitude in the event of this threat developing.

It was quite obvious that in the event of those two countries failing to offer any resistance, the whole Balkan peninsula would fall into the hands of Germany. Greece would certainly resist to the end, but this would not alter the course of events.

In reply to enquiries by the Greek Minister I said that we had received reports of German concentrations or preparations for concentration from various quarters. We had also heard of a demand for the passage of 1,100 or 1,200 trains across Hungary during the month of January. As regards the attitude of Turkey and Yugoslavia we had received from the former assurances that they would resist a German advance through Bulgaria, though we had not received such explicit

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