Allies Assemble Army
| WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 1939
AN Allied expeditionary force which is variously estimated at between 200,000 and 300,000 seasoned troops has been quietly assembled in the Near East, basing on Syria. It now stands ready to bolster Turkey and the whole eastern front in the event of any major expansion by Russia or possibly Germany, in this area. Information to this effect has reached the United States Government. . . . It checks with reports which have been seeping out of London and Moscow. . . .
It was the failure of the Allies to send troops in force to the Near East which has generally been ranked as their major strategic blunder in the World War. . .
The Monitor is looking back at the events of World War II.
