The Evening Star FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1940. DAKAR WITHDRAWAL.

Evening Star, Issue 23692, 27 September 1940, Page 6

The Evening Star FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1940. DAKAR WITHDRAWAL.

If the slightest advantage has been gained from the wars that have afflicted, the world during the past five or six years—and few people will be willing to acknowledge such a possibility—it lies in the fact that all people of an age and disposition to follow the sequence of conflagrations intelligently have been given many a practical lesson in geography. Unsympathetically they kept in touch with the advance of Mussolini’s cohorts into the strange land of Abyssinia, reading of places not previously known to them. Then the towns of Spain mentioned in the course of the Civil War were brought to their notice, some of them for the first time. The Japanese also opened up a kind of correspondence course in ’ geography through their now very much prolonged “incident” in China, and finally the most macabre master of all, the unspeakable Hitler, after drawing attention to various parts of Europe with his preliminary sparring, plunged the Continent into major warfare, thereby making the pointer hover over Poland, Scandinavia, and the more westerly countries. Meanwhile Mussolini has made us aware that such places as Mersa Matruh and Buqbuq actually exist. And so to Dakar—probably through the machinations of both dictators and the weak-kneed Vichy Government of, France.

There is no need now to explain where Dakar is, nor to stress its importance in the hideous form of chess being played over Europe and countries beyond its boundaries. Dakar has been described as the keypoint of widespread schemes envisaged by the Rome-Berlin Axis, and its fate is not without great interest to both American continents. The story of General de Gaulle’s failure, under (British sponsoring, to take possession of the place in the name of the Free French forces is a disappointment, but inasmuch as the operations were undertaken in the best ohfaith and in accordance with information which held out every hope of a successful rallying of the inhabitants and garrison to the cause, there should be no recriminations. Plainly enough the reason for the necessity to withdraw was that the cunning German aggressors, who so far have managed to pro;) up the Vichy Government effectively, forestalled de Gaulle by many weeks, and to a more influential degree than was imagined. No one can doubt that the bulk of the population of Dakar were, with de Gaulle in spirit, and most likely a fair proportion of the French troops on shore had similar leanings. The Nazis, however, have obviously succeeded with their infiltrations to an extent enabling them to carry out their familiar terrorist tactics over the natives and at the same time exert their influence over the French garrison. They have cultivated to a diabolical degree the practice of getting what they want from French soldiers and sailors by threatening all manner of reprisals against members of their family circle at home. The position of such French forces is unenviable, and when this is kept in mind Britons should not be tempted into bitter comment at the expense of their old allies. The situation is still complicated and confused, but Great Britain, with her tremendous sea power and her accumulating air and land power, will eventually find a triumphant solution to all the problems set by the Axis. If at Dakar “ the bus has been missed” it can in this case be regarded as only a temporary misfortune. Germany is not in such a good position for dominating this corner of the world ns she has been in regard to tlu- Scandinavian countries. If it is considered essential to Britain’s campaign to take charge of the coast thereabouts we ran await the outcome of future moves with confidence.