LONG FRONTIERS

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21187, 9 August 1940, Page 5

LONG FRONTIERS

BRITISH TASK IN AFRICA 3800 MILES TO WATCH EFFECT OF FRENCH COLLAPSE (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) LONDON, August 8 In Africa the British in their operations against the Italians havefrontiers totalling 3800 miles to watch, stated a General Staff officer in a broadcast today. He urged people who asked why had the British lost posts in Kenya, the Sudan and Somaliland, to think of the size of the forces that would be required to hold an advanced line along 3800 miles of frontiers. The Italians, he continued, had larger forces than the British,- because Britain had counted on French support. In Abyssinia in peace-time the Italians had to keep a large garrison to hold down the Abyssinians; Britain’s garrisons had been small, because there had been no rebels to deal with in her territories. In the undeveloped countries of Africa there were not many military 1 objectives of value. The abandonment of territory in which one could not operate was no drawback, and might be an advantage. On the Kenya frontier the British had captured some of the enemy’s posts, and the Italians some of the British, notably Moyale. The enemy’s attack in Somaliland ' was apparently directed against Ber- i bera, but even if they took that port, j they would not be able to use it without command of the sea. It j would have been stupid for the British to make their line of defence on the frontier, for the natural line of defence was in the mountains, some of which rose to 6000 feet, behind Berbera. To some extent, the officer concluded, the war in Africa would be a war of attrition.