A SUMMARY OF THE SITUATION

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 196, 15 May 1940, Page 10

A SUMMARY OF THE SITUATION

Today's news of the war in the Low Countries indicates that in several sectors the German drives have not yet been halted. At. tlie same time the full weight of the Allied intervention has yet-to be felt, and the inspiring Order of the Day issued by the British commander, Lord Gott, suggests that, while advanced units pi the B.E.F. have been in contact with the enemy, the main body is now awaiting the moment when it will fight with all its strength. ItVllolland the defenders appear to have been substantially withdrawn to their principal water defences, with a considerable part of the north of the country now in enemy hands, .these defences enclose a comparatively small part of the country containing the large cities. A German attempt to penetrate into this “enclosure’ across a dam over part of the Zuyder Zee is said to have been frustrated. In the southern part of Holland the German drive toward the sea has made progress, and the Germans claim an important joining-up of their mechanized forces and the parachutists dropped about Rotterdam, thus menacing the inner defences. Ihe Dutch, on the other hand deny this.

The latest French communique says there is nothing to report from central Belgium, but refers to the increasing violence of German attacks in the south of that country, where enemy forces are apparently Irving to catch up on those making the more northerly thrust toward Brussels. The Germans have reached the Meuse, where the Belgians have fortifications, but there is no mention of their having crossed it in this area. Enemy attacks just over the French border in the region just south of Belgium and Luxemburg tire also intense and the town of Sedan has been evacuated, with fierce fighting raging from there upward along the Meuse into Belgium. While mechanized forces are being used on a great scale on land, in the air the battle of the air forces goes on unabated, with all reports —except those of the Germans —agreeing that Allied airmen are giving an exceedingly good'account of themselves. Ihe count of Nazi planes destroyed in three days is given as 400. A report from Rome says plainly that hatred for tile Allies and enthusiasm for entering the war against them are being whipped up by the Fascist Party. There have been violent anti-Allied demonstrations, and 500 troops are guarding the British and French Embassies. The Italian signs do not look promising for the maintenance of peace in the Mediterranean. Repercussions of the German invasion of Holland and Belgium tire echoing round the world. In the United States Mr. Cordell Hull has had something to say about frequent treaty-breaking while, on the other side of tiie Pacific, Japan appears to be satisfied that no efforts are to be made to change the status quo of the Dutch East Indies. Yugoslavia is taking additional precautions to guard against the possibility of attack if Italy enters the war, and Bulgaria is making a move for closer friendship with Greece. British and Egyptian forces in Egypt are at emergency stations. In the House of Commons Mr. Winston Churchill, who spoke frankly of the magnitude of the task facing the Empire, received a unanimous vote of confidence, in his Government as’ an impressive demonstration of national unity.