FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

Evening Star, Issue 23381, 26 September 1939, Page 5

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

LONG WAR ENVISAGED NO RASH OFFENSIVES BY ALLIES NEW YORK, September 24. The Paris correspondent of the New York ‘ Times ’ states that the first three weeks of war indicate that a German military move can be expected. The Allies argue that events have modified the early Anglo-French strategic conceptions, of which the most urgent consideration was to relieve the pressure on Poland by initiating activity on the western front. It was soon realised that the Poles, to quote a French spokesman, “ had not chosen the course of prudence.” It is evident that even large-scale operations on the western front would not have retrieved the situation in Poland, and Russian intervention settled the point conclusively. It is not likely that the eastern front will develop in another form, although the Soviet’s policy is obscure and may cause surprise. Consequently the time factor is most important. Official and semi-official declarations insist that Britain and France will refrain from rash offensives. Time favours the Allies. Earlier there was a possibility of a short war, but the probability now is that there will be a long war, in which the Allies will settle down to lay siege to Germany, arguing that the Nazis cannot be better prepared than when they attacked Poland. Therefore, if the Nazis f£ar a long war, they must endeavour to achieve an early ending by an important move. Their choice, however, is limited. They must either break the Maginot Line or outflank it through neutral countries, which action would not improve the position internationally. The Maginot Line can be reached only by attacking, as the French have established positions of their own choosing.