INVASION POSTPONED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 295, 20 September 1940, Page 5

INVASION POSTPONED

BRITISH DEFENCES TOO STRONG. REPORT IN SWEDISH PAPER. LONDON, September 18. The Berlin correspondent of the Stockholm newspaper “Nya Dagligt Allehanda” states that tho German plan for tho invasion of Britain has been temporarily postponed as a result of the efficiency of the anti-air-craft defences and, the Royal Air Force fighters, but the systematic destruction of Britain’s south-east coast is continuing, especially the bombing of ports and airfields. Meanwhile the gale has dropped over the Straits of Dover, blit a big sea is still running. The Russian newspaper “Pravda” states that the present raids on .London are only a stage in the attack on Britain. A German invasion depended on Germany attaining air superiority, and the Royal Air Force Was still holding off the German aeroplanes. The damage caused in Great Britain was not decisive. Germany had not succeeded in consolidating her numerical superiority in the air, or crushing Britain’s air defences, especially the British fighting aeroplanes. The time was coining when the Germans must make up their minds to attempt the crossing of that fatal *25 miles of sea that has guarded Britain for many centuries, and then the British Navy would enter the struggle.

Neutral military attaches and correspondents who experienced bombings in Warsaw, Barcelona, and Madrid, agree that London has already taken more punishment than any city, not excluding Rotterdam. They express the opinion that the Luftwaffe has failed to achieve the main purpose of the raids because its bombs have not disorganised London’s communications. Thus supplies and reinforcements can still he sent to areas where the Germans planned to invade.