HIGHLIGHTS from THE CABLES

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 301, 21 December 1939, Page 7

HIGHLIGHTS from THE CABLES

VIGIL OVER NAZI HORNETS' NEST.

JN the phantom war now being waged in the blizzards and cloudbanks of the desolate North Sea, the Royal Air Force lias been assigned a task nevor attempted before. Patrol's, described as "security patrols," are being maintained continuously over German mine-laving bases, and also over German naval bases to give timely warning to the British Navy of new offensive moves against Allied and neutral shipping. This vigilance work involves keeping close watch on a cluster of German anchorages and fortified points which lie within 400 miles bombing and mine-laying of London, Hull and Newcastle. It is°a wicked corner of the turbulent North Sea, where the gales from the Arctic and east winds from the frozen marshes of

BRITAIN'S TRADE EXPANDS IN WAR.

great significance to the Dominions v and to Britain herself is the wonderful improvement in trade which occurred in November. After the first shock which came with the outbreak of war, Britain has succeeded in building up imports and exports to a point where the figures in some instances are the highest for nearly two years. Particularly important are the increases in imported foodstuffs, including meat and dairy produce, and in materials essential to the armament industries. Such an early development in trade is bound to have far-reaching effects in assisting Britain in her huge war effort, and at the same time promoting a rapid economic advance in New Zealand, Aus-

MOUNTING TOLL OF U-BOATS.

by week the incessant Allied » » offensive to clear the seas of U-boats is recording new successes. According to the latest tally, over 50 U-boatß have been accounted for, which is three quarters of the total estimated number when the war broke out. Even if a considerable addition be made to cover Germany s intensified construction during the past three months, it is clear that Hitler's submarine campaign has been caught in a vice-like grip which has

Prussia meet, in a whirl of sleet over tlie Gulf Stream to lay a swirling blanket, of fog. In this area are the German bases of Heligoland, the island of Syit (near Denmark), Borkum Island (near the Dutch coast), Wilhelmsliaven. Emden and a dozen inlets in the est'iaries of the Elbe and the Weser. To maintain an aerial blockade of this hornets nest is a feat of the first magnitude. Among the worst enemies at this time of the .year are storms and numbing cold. The ice often damages the machines and stiffens the fin<;ers of muffled pilots and observers, and clou-l-banks reduce visibility to a mere few hundred feet, taxing to the utmost the skill of aerial navigators, yet in the*e conditions gunners must be ever rea lv for instant action against the enemy.

tralia, Canada and other parts of the Empire. Early indications of the effect upon Ne\'r Zealand of the heavy buying have been seen in the rise of the London funds of the Reserve Bank. This week the rise is over £2,000,000. This trend is likely to continue, and as the export season is just getting well under wav, it is reasonable to expect that trade restrictions here may be gradually eased. _ Uiere is another point, just as significant, though in a different way. This great trade expansion gives a most effective lie to Germany's boast that her "blockade" of 'Britain w*as strangling Britisli trade. Trade figures are not ]ik~ German propaganda. They cannot lie.

virtually paralysed its striking power. Hitler realised this weeks ago when launched his. desperate magnetic mine campaign, which, in turn, the Allies quickly met by counter measures. Now the aerial torpedo against shipping, a further Hitler weapon, has been brought out of the loc-ker. But none of these devices is new to science or to the technique of modern war, and when the first surprise is past they cease to be a major menace.