AIM TO TERRORISE THE SMALL NATIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 14, 17 January 1940, Page 7

AIM TO TERRORISE THE SMALL NATIONS.

I NAZI TACTICS. Threat To Holland Similar To November Scare. FALSE STATE OF ALARM? British Official Wireless. I I (Received 11.30 a.m.) RUGBY, January 16. The sinking of the Netherlands j steamer Arendskerk is related by ! some commentators to the tension which, although somewhat relaxed, still persists in the Low Countries, owing to the threatening situation on the Dutch and Belgian frontiers. There is a strong general belief that the underlying purpose of the German action at sea, no less than her bullying tactics on her land frontiers, is to terrorise the small nations, if for no other reason than to keep them in a false state of alarm and, possibly, to attempt to force them to suspend commercial relations with the Allies. In the view of military experts, there is no single incident wholly accountable for the frontier tension, Lut evidence . from various quarters accumulated durj ing the week-end undoubtedly arouse:! anxiety, particularly in Holland. Certain features of the activities on - the German side of the Dutch frontier, it is noted, bore close resemblance to the elaborate scare manufactured by Germany last November. An increase in the number of divisions facing the Dutch frontier south of the Rhine and remarkable activity on road making were observed. Both were factors in the November crisis, and in Belgium warnings that a new crisis was impending led, as in Holland, to increased precautions. New Light On Intentions. The sinking of the Arendskerk is regarded in some quarters as an event : which may throw' additional light on th-; Germans' intentions. The "'Yorkshire Post," after stating that the Arendskerk was on her way from Antwerp to South Africa, says: "This looks rather like a new move in Germany's longstanding campaign of terrorisation against her neutral neighbours. Our military correspondent suggests that this campaign is aimed at building up a system of Continental exchange under German orders. "The neutrals are to forego their sea- | borne trade and consent to serve as i suppliers of Germany's enonomic needs jby land. Hitler hopes, perhaps, by this means to reach a position which would enable him to laugh at the British blockade, and so once more to suggest a means, !of continuing the war. He may well te i reluctant still to engage in a 'blitzkreig' against the Allies together or j separately. The Allies' Task. "If he does start a campaign now against Holland or Belgium he will en counter a. resistance resolute and prepared. The task of Britain and Franco during this period of renewed tension is to take all* necessary precautions, and then to stand quietly on guard, neither ignoring Hitler's threats nor playing into his hands by nervously taking them at their face value."