TWO-FOLD DRIVE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20047, 20 September 1939, Page 5

TWO-FOLD DRIVE

POSSIBLE HITLER MOVE THREATS; CAJOLINGS OVERTURES TO NEUTRALS OFFSETTING BLOCKADE (Reed. Sept. 20, 10 a.m.) LONDON, Sept. 19. The Independent Cable Service states that well-informed circles in London believe that Herr Hitler may shortly launch a two-fold offensive with threats.and cajolings, firstly against neutrals in order to offset the British blockade and secondly against the British and French peoples in the hope of forcing London and Paris to agree to Nazi peace terms. It is becoming plainer that Britain will not fall into the trap of declaring war on Russia, but will confine her action to a strong protest and allow Herr Hitler to worry about the Soviet advance. The threat of German mechanised forces transferring to the Rhine from Poland is believed to be greatest for Holland and Belgium, but when Herr Hitler’s peace efforts fail the German General Staff will be faced with the momentous decision as to whether to strike in the Low Countries in an effort to outflank the Maginot Line and ease the pressure on the Siegfried Line in order to save the Ruhr.

The German paper Boersen Zeitung sounded a note for the German Government-inspired press in calling on Britain and France to end hostilities now that the Russians and Germans have over-run Poland. Editorials in other German papers said that the democracies were faced with the “necessity of revising their opinions in regard to a continuation of the war.”