AXIS IN BAD WAY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 January 1941, Page 8

AXIS IN BAD WAY

IN OPINION OF GENERAL SMUTS NARROWING OF HITLER'S ALTERNATIVES. DESPERATE EFFORT LIKELY AGAINST BRITAIN. (British Official Wireless. • RUGBY. January 1. The Prime Minister of South Africa. General Smuts, in a broadcast speech, said: "The year, a spectre of black at the beginning. ends on a cheerier note, and. as far as Mussolini is concerned, a comic note. One of the two Powers in the Axis is a very sick man. and the Axis is in a bad way. Britain, with her own gathering strength and with that of the Empire and the Commonwealth behind her. is much stronger than she was at the beginning of the year. "Hitler's position has definitely deteriorated. He is rapidly exhausting his own resources and those of the countries ho has over-run. The final upslt—of his victories earlier in the year will be to surround Germany with a wall of implacable hate of all the neighbouring countries which before had been good, friendly neighbours to her —a blockade of hate established by herself more than a barricade by the British Fleet.

"Hitler's initial failure against Britain and Italy’s disaster in North Africa have seriously changed the situation and have narrowed the choices before Hitler. This fact and his own pride and instinct, will in all probability lead him in a desperate plan of winning the war in Britain itself. While other moves will have to bo carefully prepared against, the defeat of Hitler in the invasion of Britain must therefore be. and remain, the pivot of British war policy. BRITAIN'S GROWING STRENGTH. "They say that Hiller will probably seek q decision in 1941. If he is going to stake his force on a successful invasion of Britain, there can be no object in delaying the attempt. I presume that .Hitler is fully prepared. The British war effort is growing rapidly and behind that expansion is the immense effort of the United State of America to provide Britain with war

supplies. The longer the invasion is delayed the stronger the certainty of defeat will become. Therefore he will fight as soon as possible. It may be very soon in the New Year.

"Of course. Hitler may have special reasons for delaying invasion. FL’ may wish to continue the air attacks on British cities and try to destroy Britain's industrial and transport resources and sap the people’s morale. Or he may plan to intensify the campaign against British shipping with U-boats. Or he may intend to give aid to his third partner in the zXxis. to develop her aggressive policies in the Far East, and so deflect American attention and her resources in that direction.

‘ With Italy in mortal difficulties and the internal situation in Germany and her occupied territory deteriorating all the time, it is questionable whether he can afford to wait beyond 1941. A MORTAL ISSUE. "When the attack does come oil'. Hitler will put all the vast strength of his Incomparable war machine into it. For him and his Nazi order it will be a mortal issue-—a question of life and death. But so also it will be for Britain, her Empire, and the whole -British Commonwealth. And so will it be for the cause of freedom throughout the world. "It will be Armageddon, from which will issue either a new birth of human liberation or the eclipse of the human spirit and a fall back to another dark age. "The year may. therefore, be the most fateful year in modern history for the New World as much as for the Old. z\ consciousness of the immer’sity of the issues at stake and their world-wide reach has been rajiidly growing in America. I feel convinced that in the last resource .America will not. as indeed she cannot afford to stand out. Under the great and inspiring leadership of Mr Roosevelt, shi will once more freely and of her own choice dedicate herself to the gr<'ate*t of humane causes. In the spirit . f Abraham Lincoln, she will take herightful place among the champions ■ *’ the free world its against th«- slaw -