LONDON'S ORDEAL

Evening Star, Issue 23693, 28 September 1940, Page 12

LONDON'S ORDEAL

MENACE OF INVASION MIDDLE EASTERN MOVES From the days of the first Bcerhall Putsch, 17 years ago, the Hitlerites have never learned to balance spirit against matter. The civilians of London are teaching them that lesson, with the eyes of the world upon them; apd, lest they should prove incapable of assimilating the lesson, they are receiving material counter-blows as well (writes Professor S. H. Roberts, in the ‘ Sydney Morning Herald’ of September 14). There are few things more inspiring in history than a civilian city resisting brutal attach. Paris in 1870, Warsaw in 1939, Rotterdam in the summer of 1940, and London in the autumn —this is the very stuff of human endeavour. It is the collective expression of that spirit which leads individuals to stand up against the tortures of Nazi concentration camps. MILITARY FAILURE. From a sheer military point of view Hitler’s new tactics have failed, just as his long-continued August offensive against the aerodromes and coastal towns of south England had failed. The first three nights were the worst, for each saw almost 1,800 casualties, about a sixth of them fatal. By the Tuesday night the people of London had accommodated themselves to the new conditions, and new hope was given them when it was learnt that, although 300 planes had come over for hours on end, only 18 people were killed and 280 wounded during the night. On Wednesday night the psychological change was still more marked, because the anti-aircraft guns of London’s defences blazed into the heaviest continuous barrage ever known in air warfare. All commentators agree that it was the noise that brought heart to the Londoners in their shelters, because this time it was the noise of British guns, not enemy bombs. As a result of this unexpected counterblast the' raids were less severe on the Thursday night, when the new type of barrage was once more employed against the raiders who got through to the capital. In the midst of a week of ordeal Mr Churchill broadcast to the world, reiterating Britain’s determination to fight on “ inch by inch in every street of every village,” and warning the people that the raids on London were part of Hitler’s greater plan for an invasion which might come at any moment. The combination of movements of small ships in German-con-trolled waters and various troop concentrations made Mr Churchill think that zero hour might be close at hand. But when everything is considered, invasion remains a hazardous project, and in view of Hitler’s failure to shake Britain’s control of the sea or to dominate the air, it seems a measure of desperation. All of the preliminaries have gone wrong if,they were intended to pave the way for a successful invasion. Hitler has not devastated the south coastal belt, he has not broken the spirit of London, ,he has not impeded British organisation by driving the population of London out on to the highways, and he has certainly not found a way to crush the R.A.F.; and now he finds a British offensive by air and bv sea against the Continental ports from which his armadas would have to set out. ATTACKS ON GERMANY. Calais, Boulogne, Hamburg, Stettin, and the Norwegian ports have been specially singled out as targets, and his factories, his forests, and his capital haye all felt the weight of the Bomber Command. Whether he attempts his last great gamble depends on the measure of his confidence in the power of his air force to strike a more shattering blow than anything Britain has hitherto felt; and it cannot be said that the events of the last week have increased his hopes of success. With a man of Hitler’s type, however, the purely strategical position is complicated by the element of frustration. A military or a political setback brings in its train a psychological resentment which may impel him to hit out, whatever his technical military ad-’ risers may think of the scheme in question. In the past, Hitler’s military coups have been well-timed, but then he has never before been subjected to such striking reverses as his air force has endured over England in the last two mouths. . Whatever his decision may be in the next few days, there is no doubt that he is 00- the horns of a dilemma. This is demonstrated by the growing cumbrousness of his propaganda machine. Dr Goebbels seems to find it difficult to make up his mind whether the British bombers over Germany are so completely ineffective as to be doing no damage at all or whether they are doing so much damage that the present raids on London are reprisals. _ To solve this problem, he alternates his answers. Similarly the invasion of Britain is at times represented as the smallest of footnotes to the story of the summer s land campaign, while at other times the German people are told how terribly strong British resistance is and thus how there must be delays and heavy losses. The obvious conclusion is that the Reich Ministry for Propaganda and Enlightenment is in a position to tell any story but the truth. THE MIDDLE EAST.. The final complicating factor is the position in the Middle East. Although Italy has been at war for over three months now, the only credit item on her balance sheet is the occupation of British Somaliland. Roman agencies are no doubt interpreting Monday s raid on Tel Aviv, as a glorious victory, for the attack entailed a breach of faith on Mussolini’s part and caused the deaths of 55 children arid 57 adults, and the maiming of 150 more; but nobodv outside the Axis countries will see in this brutality anything more than an unwillingness to strike at defended military objectives. . As a visible expression of Italian impotence, great British reinforcements’of warships, men, munitions, and even planes reached the Middle East. The largest convoy ever gathered in the present war sailed openly from one end of the Mediterranean to the other. They could not have been undetected by the Italians in the narrow seaways; but they were certainly not hampered in any way. The diversion of such strength from the British Isles, especially the bombers, was an unmistakable gesture of British confidence in the general situation; while the convergence of other troops was a sign to the world of British unity. * , The whole episode was a clear indication that, however crucial may be the position in the Battle IV® Britain, there are other theatres of war in which major developments may occur. If it is undeniably true that the war may be lost in the fight now going on for the possession of England, it may equally

be won, as other wars have been won, in the Mediterranean ztme. There ara renewed rumours of a “ threepronged ” Italian offensive againsti Egypt. There may be something iq them, for, if the Italians ever entertain any ideas, of aggressive action, they should attempt it now, when tha weather conditions, which are so vital a factor in Egypt, favour large-scala fighting. It may be presumed, too, that Hitler is trying to induce tha Italians to undertake a local pffensiva in order to secure a diversion of mora British forces; and it may well ba that, if thwarted in Britain, Hitler will himself be compelled to retrieve his reputation by southerly ventures in tha direction of the oilwells and the canal* JOINT DEFENCE BOARD. The rallying of oversea forces against Hitlerism was also seen recently in tha speed and efficiency with" which tha United States and Canada began tha work of the Joint Defence Board. Tha chairman of the board announced thatj plans had been completed for pooling the resources of the two countries in the event of attack; and it was significant that, after the board had corn-* pleted its three days’ session at Washington, it was announced that the service members were to go to the Pacifia coast nest week to inspect defence facilities there.

This followed closely on Mr Cordell Hull’s two warnings to Japan that any, change in the status quo of the French and Dutch colonies in the Far Eas# would be a matter of concern to ..tha United States. The most immediate crisis is in French Indo-Ghina, where a strong Japanese delegation is endeavouring to secure concessions. While the position is extremely confused, it seems clear that the Japanese are asking for transit rights across Tonkin, the most northerly province* Whether this implies some kind of occupation or policing of the railway zona is not certain; but the head of tha Japanese naval delegation said a fevf days ago that the Japanese Navy waa definitely interested in securing naval bases and the use of aerodromes in Indo-China. Following reports of minor border clashes earlier in the week, a Chinesa agency message stated that Chinesa troops were fighting two regiments of Japanese across the Indo-Chinese border. If this is true, Japanese forces are already in Tonkin; and the intriguing question arises whether tha transit of Japanese troops, under an agreement concluded voluntarily ‘by. thd French authorities at Hanoi or Vichy, constitutes a “ change of status,” o| the kind to which Mr Cordell Hull’l Notes were meant to apply._ The very prolongation of the Indo-Chinese negotiations over another week, still without finality being reached, is evidenc* of the ticklish nature of the situation. Perhaps here, too, events may be waiting upon the outcome of the battle for Britain.