February 9, 1940; ALLIES RUSH ARMS, AID, MANPOWER TO FINNS:

THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1940:

French Give Reds Peek

At Near East Army;
Reject Protest by Kremlin

PARIS, Feb. 8 (AP)—France Thursday night gave soviet Russia a warning glimpse of the French manpower which stands ready to defend the near east against a red army thrust,' turned down a soviet protest against seizure of Russian documents during a Paris police raid and saw a Polish expeditionary force off for the Finnish battlefields.

The day's developments:

1. Authorized persons asserted France has 275,000 troops concentrated in the near cast as a precaution against the possibility, among other things, of any Russian military activity there or against the Balkans.
(After publication by American  newspapers, a London Dispatch that the total allied concentration in the rear cast numbered about 500,000 men was canceled by the British censor.)
2. Reliable reports said the government rejected a protest by Soviet Ambassador Jakob Surits against a police raid Monday on the Russian commercial office a raid some sources said was part of a campaign against communist propaganda In France.
3. An expeditionary force of Polish veterans of the losing fight in Poland against Germany and Russia, augmented by Polish- American volunteers, was sent to Finland to aid in the fight against the Russian invaders.
4. French parliamentary support for Finland spread to the senate, where the democratic left approved a motion congratulating the French government on the "important effort it has accomplished in favor of Finland."
5. Phiilippe Rogues, Propaganda chief of the ministry of colonies, wrote in the publication Our Fight that French colonies by the end of 1940 will have sent 700,000 native and black troops to bolster France's war machine, leaving behind an additional 2,000,000 reserves. These figures included only troops from territories under the ministry of colonies, and exclude North Africa and Syria.

 

British Military Leader

Urges Naval Attack
On Russ in Arctic Area

LONDON, Feb. 8 (UP)—Great Britain and France Thursday night rushed to fortify Finland with armed aid and manpower, as diplomatic reports from Helsinki said that the Finnish army is "suffering reverses" in its attempts to beat back the Russian invaders.

  The extent of the reported "reverses" suffered by the Finns was not indicated but British military experts believed that the Russians would be unable at this time to force a decision in their eight-day-old offensive against the Mannerheim line on .the Karelian isthmus.
  Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain told the house of commons Thursday that further British aid is en route to Finland and asserted that the Finns' valiant defense of their homeland "has evoked the admiration of the world."

6      Friday Morning- Salt Lake Tribune February 9, 1940

Finns' Heroism

Encourages
Help by Allies

French See

Chance to
Merge Wars

By Kirke L. Simpson
Associated Press Staff Writer
The belief is apparently growing in France and Britain that little Finland can withstand the attack of Russia's red armies long enough to become a vital sector in the French-British-German war. Whether it is the opinion of Franco-British military leaders or is merely a popular reaction to the Finnish stand, is not clear. But it is stirring both the Paris and London governments to action which might result in the merging of the two wars into a single conflict before spring comes.
Raiding of Russian nondiplomatic missions in Paris by French secret police creates the impression that French policy is already crystallized. It looks like a possible preliminary to formal military assistance for Finland, even at the price of a declaration of war against Russia.
Demands on Press
The raids synchronized with demands by powerful elements of the French press, close to the Daladier government, for complete French cooperation with Finland.
That is a distinct change from the caution with which both the French and British press approached the problem when the red army attack started in November.