The Evening Star TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1940. GERMANY'S NEXT MOVE.

Evening Star, Issue 23683, 17 September 1940, Page 6

The Evening Star TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1940. GERMANY'S NEXT MOVE.

There is a saying among the football cognoscenti that a team usually plays just as well as its opponents allow it to play. Probably the same idea holds good in warfare. It has never been denied in any country that the German air force is a formidable organisation manned by brave and skilful men. ft was the plain weapon of offence in shattering Poland, in driving the Allied troops out of Norway, and in cutting a swathe through France to the Channel coast. Unquestionably the preliminary encounters went all the way of Germany. But now this Luftwaffe has entered the finals. It finds itself tip against an opposing force which not only refuses to be cowed by the boastings of Hitler aind, Goering and other Nazis, aiding and abetting the most stupendous crime in history, but also defends its territory with disastrous effect on the enemy and at the same time returns blow for blow, if anything with punch more dynamic than seems capab'e of being commissioned by that enemy. In short, the Royal Air Force is fighting on top of the Luftwaffe, which is fighting as well as it is allowed to fight. And as the days pass by it becomes so apparent that our war birds have no intention of taking second place that Britons may be tempted to wonder if the tide of fortune is definitely beginning to turn in their favour.

It will never do, however, to think that the war in the air or, for the matter of that, in any sphere has almost been won. The British Empire is fighting with a cool head, its purpose grim, and its blows aimed with devastating vigour at military targets that include obvious assembly points for forces about to attempt an invasion. There can be no doubt that the regular hammerings received from the 11.A.F. have greatly discouraged the Nazi marauders, causing them to postpone again and again those highly dangerous cross-Channel sorties. Time is now passing swiftly. The weather in Europe is breaking. There are signs that the German High Command is becoming very anxious, if not actually panicky. To risk once more the awful experience of August 15, when 180 planes were lost in daylight raiding over England, savours of desperation and a far too reckless sacrifice of trained bombing crews to fit in with common ideas on sound strategy. Perhaps Goering was not satisfied that the August attacks were properly carried out. It is reported that he is now in personal command of the “ blitzbombing,” and that he himself has made a flight over British soil. If this is trmf, then it can be said that the “ mighty ” presence has had no effect on the issue. In the big raid of September 15 German planes continued to topple out of the sky with slightly more frequency than on the day of the biggest “ bag ” in August. The wastage in life, by comparison with British losses, is appalling. How much longer can the German air force stand the strain ? The output of planes from the factories may still be considerable, but there is every reason to suppose that the workmanship will'not be of the highest quality. What is worse for the Nazis is that the pilots being called upon to fill the great gaps cannot be so good as those sacrificed in the frantic efforts to bring Britain to her knees in the current offensives. There may be some truth in the persistent stories that calls are being made on Italian flying personnel to play a part in the war over Northern Europe. The coming of the hirelings of meddlesome Mussolini would, of course, have no effect on the morale of the 11.A.F. r*

for a proportionate strain would bo lifted from our forces in the Middle East. But what will Hitler do next? it will be agreed that, of strategic necessity, he must transform his forces into the nearest thing to perpetual motion the world has yet seen. if he deems it best not to risk having large bodies of them smashed up on or near the shores of Britain, will ho suddenly hear a message from the Nazi gods urging him to “ protect ” some German minorities in the Balkans, thereby paving the way for closer co-operation with Mussolini in the Mediterranean? Whether or not the Royal Air Force is taking charge in the air, the struggle as a whole is far from being over. Until the Germans are defeated on land, with or without the help of Qpoples at present subjugated, there will be no peace.