Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1939. THE WAR ON COMMERCE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 36, 22 November 1939, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1939. THE WAR ON COMMERCE.

It does not need Admiral Meurer s statement to convince the Allies that ruthless war on commerce is the chief task of the German Navy, This has been evident ever since the Athenia was sunk a few hours after the declaration of war. But though' the submarines took serious toll of Allied shipping in the first few weeks of hostilities, most of the later victims have fallen not to U-boats but to mines. The Admiral, realising that the submarine is being countered, urges the employment of surface vessels against British convoys. The battle, he says, should be carried out by cruisers, destroyers and heavy units. - As a matter of fact the naval policy of Germany has been framed on these lines, providing naval weapons specifically designed for the breaking up of convoys. These weapons are the “pocket battleships” of the Deutschland class and the new of heavy cruisers, mounting Bin. guns. According to report two of the "pocket battleships,” the Admiral Scheer and the Deutschland, are already at large, but their activities to date have been confined to the capture or sinking of unaccompanied vessels. Yet both these German battleships are heavily armed with 11 in and 6in guns and with this prodigious striking * power, allied with their bigh speed and wide cruising range, they are capable of destroying all the escorting vessels normally charged with the protection of convoys and then levying a fearful toll on helpless merchantmen. If the Nazis are delaying their offensive at sea in order to synchronise it with offensives in the air and on land, they are playing a dangerous game, for the Allies are far better equipped than the impoverished Reich for waging of a waiting war. The initial blow at British merchant shipping has been successfully parried and it is no secret th.at British naval dockyards are now feverishly engaged in the construction of additional fast hunting craft for the prosecution of the anti-submarine campaign. With these vessels available to patrol the narrow seas, more and more of Britain’s larger warships can be freed for patrol work on the ocean trade routes, so that eventually the menace of the commerce raider must be appreciably lessened.