ASSISTANCE FOR POLAND

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20911, 16 September 1939, Page 6

ASSISTANCE FOR POLAND

Poland appeals for further assistance from Britain. One of the obvious difficulties of the Allies is to gain access to Polish territory with substantial numbers of men or quantities of war materials. Indeed, no easy route is open, save possibly the Baltic Sea. In that connection it is notable that a Polish message the other day indicated the belief that British warships would within a few days be off the Polish coast in the Gulf of Danzig, but with the censorship in operation it is impossible to verify any movements of the British Fleet. It may be supposed that Germany has taken the precaution to sow the Baltic Sea approaches liberally with minefields in anticipation of a British attempt to send help to Poland by that route. Minesweeping is at best a tedious and dangerous task, and in addition German land defences and the strength of her navy, including the submarine fleet, would have to be dealt with. It is, however, impossible at this stage to assess the prospects of Britain landing a force on the Polish coast, especially in view of the fact that the Germans are reported to have captured Gdynia, Poland’s only open port. In every other quarter Poland is cut off from her allies by neutral territory or by hostile Germany. With the limited information available it seems that Poland must rely for immediate relief upon greater pressure by Britain and France on the Western Front, and perhaps upon some assistance from the British Air Force. It is not improbable that operations on the Western Front will be extended to compel the withdrawal of German troops from the Polish front, but even there the Allies are faced with the formidable defences of the Siegfried Line and progress can at best be slow. Strategy apparently demands, however, that the German advance in Poland should be checked to allow the Poles to strengthen their defences, organise resistance and at least bring about a condition of stalemate, which might well be disastrous to Germany.