INVASION THREAT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 June 1940, Page 5

INVASION THREAT

COOLLY & CALMLY FACED BY BRITAIN «SL.'d'.aK-C-— S BYSURVEY OF MILITARY PROBLEM IMPORTANCE OF THE NAVY & AIR FORCE. RELIANCE ON MOBILE LAND DEFENCE. By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright LONDON, June 23. A. review of the military problems of an invasion of Great Britain was given by Captain Cyril Falls, military correspondent of “The Times. ”

England had saved from the wreck, he said, more than seven-eighths of the men of the British Expeditionary Force, and what was called the second 8.E.F.. and had also saved the personnel of the bases established far down, in the south-west, and a large proportion of equipment. She had saved that part of the R.A.F. which went to France. There were at present in England the largest number of trained and proved troops the country had ever possessed. On the other hand England had lost the heavy equipment and artillery of the first B.E.F. which came off from Dunkirk, and a lot of base stores which could not be withdrawn, some aircraft which were damaged on aerodromes and for which there were no repair facilities, and light craft sunk when carrying out the evacuation at Dunkirk.

The enemy now held the whole of the western European coast from the Arctic in Norway to the estuary of the Loire. He had outflanked England in Norway mid still more in Britany, for not everyone realised that Brest, which the Germans had reached, was farther west than Plymouth and almost as far west as Land’s End. For the first time since the war began the Germans had launched heavy air attacks on Great Britain, but so far without results at all in proportion to their efforts. ATTEMPT ANTICIPATED. It was probable that the Germans would attempt to invade England, but Captain Falls did not think that a large-scale invasion was possible while the R.A.F. and the Navy remained in being, and he expected that attacks would be made on them first of all. It should be remembered, however, that the Germans had recklessly sacrificed their aircraft, and though they might be able to replace a large proportion of the planes they could not replace the pilots so easily. They certainly did not possess the magnificent material which was now being provided by the British Empire, and Germany’s most highly trained pilots were not equal to the British.. So far the Germans had not produced fighter aircraft to equal the Defiants, Spitfires, and Hurricanes. The enemy had a very grim fight in front of him if he depended upon winning supremacy in the air. The fate of the Navy depended to a considerable extent upon that of the R.A.F. The enemy could hardly hope to cripple the Navy unless he crippled its bases, and though he might damage both ships and ports it was unlikely that he would be able to do that while the R.A.F. remained.

Referring to the possibility of an invasion on a big scale or on a small scale by parachutists, troop-carriers, or ships, or a combination of all three, Captain Falls said that it was necessary to look at Great Britain from a strategic point of view. Very roughly speaking, England was a low country with a long chain of hills running from north to south, with another lower chain crossing it in the south, the whole hill structure being like a T upside down. Smaller hills were not included in this general idea. BEACHES AS LANDING-POINTS. From about the Thames Estuary to the Humber the whole coast zone was flat generally, with wide, sandy beaches on which small landings' mighi be possible, but on the other hand large tracts of this zone were seamed with drainage ditches, crossed by sluggish rivers running through heavy ground.

The south-east and south coasts were much more difficult generally, with high cliffs,'chalk in the east and rocks of one sort or another in the west. Wales was a mass of mountains with wide and fertile valleys. Scotland was marked by mountain chains running roughly from east to west, but between the most southern chain and the central chain was a district with only occasional - hills, with Edinburgh, on the east side on the Firth of Forth and Glasgow on the west on the Clyde. Captain Falls said he would not pretend that large stretches of England were ideal from the point of view of resistance to the invader, but England s internal communications were the best in the world and mobility was far more important than mountain ranges and deep gorges. It was not possible to be strong everywhere along a lengthy coastline. It was much better to be quick everywhere. They knew that if they were in the enemy’s shoes strong as he was, they should look upon an invasion of England as a matter of extreme difficulty. They did not underrate his strength, and they knew what he had accomplished already, but they were coolly and calmly preparing' to face it with many advantages on their side.