The Waikato Times WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1939 FORTUNES OF WAR

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20992, 20 December 1939, Page 6

The Waikato Times WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1939 FORTUNES OF WAR

Fortunes of war have favoured the Allies and have gone very badly for Germany in the past week. In that time Germany has lost three naval craft, including a submarine, the pocket battleship Graf Spee and the fast cruiser which was daringly torpedoed at the mouth of the Elbe by a British submarine. On land Germany has gained nothing taut has lost a great deal by the effluxion of valuable time. Circumstances, including Britain’s superiority on the sea, are remorselessly throwing back upon the land and air forces Germany’s only hope of victory in this war, and the Nazis’ lack of confidence in that regard is plainly shown by their hesitation to attack on a grand scale. The whole development of the war so far has been contrary to general expectation. No one, before the declaration of war, imagined that Germany’s armies would remain inactive while its naval forces attempted to break the blockade. Nor did anyone dream that Hitler’s much-vaunted air force would be held in leash. The conviction is forced upon observers that behind all this hesitancy there is a compelling reason which the Nazis are careful not to disclose. In all the German ventures before the declaration of war there was not the slightest hesitation. The lightning stroke that brooked no argument had proved the most effective form of attack. But Germany then was dealing with small nations which individually could not stand up to a single offensive. When Germany forsook those tactics she lost the initiative. How long the Nazi High Command can hold its hand is by no means certain. The longer Germany delays the greater the drain upon her resources. But what is the alternative ? A large-scale offensive on land would not only lead to appalling losses of men and a severe blow to Nazi prestige, but it would unleash forces in Europe of which Germany has a deadly fear. It is tolerably certain that if Germany threw her weight into an attack on the Allies, Russia would surfeit itself on the spoils of territory elsewhere in Europe under cover of the German preoccupation. That is probably one of the very good reasons why Hitler is holding his strength as nearly intact as possible and waiting for the turn of events. If Hitler were sure that his new ally were with him in all things it is hardly likely that even the winter would have kept him inactive. But he is far from certain that the Bolsheviks are not still the Nazis’ most dangerous enemies. The strength that was intended to crush the western democracies might yet have to be diverted to the east, or at least be held intact and in readiness to check the inroads of another world revolutionary. Who is to say that Germany would not be stabbed in the back as Poland was ? But while Germany waits the Allies are slowly sapping her strength. Like the commander of the Graf Spee, Hitler is “between the devil and the deep blue sea.” His sins have found him out. He wants peace, but he will not yet offer terms that would make peace possible. There is no doubt about his military strength, but even that might faces the certainty of defeat whether he chooses to attack or to wait. And Hitler is not great enough ;o adopt the other course and save Germany from a disastrous fate.