A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 282, 23 August 1940, Page 8

A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Nazi Invasion Project AN OPINION AND A WARNING

That Germany would find it au impossible task to invade England with her present equipment is the opinion expressed by one of the greatest living technical authorities on aircraft, Alexander de Seversky. Writing in the “New York Times” just before the 'recent large-scale aerial lighting began, he said: —

“The murky winter weather is strategically advantageous to Britain in an offensive, as well as defensive sense. Germany has more Hying days in the late autumn and winter than the British Isles. The British warplanes can, therefore, take off in the obscurity at home, strike at enemy objectives in clear weather, and return to the shelter of their shrouded bases. It is at the target end that visibility is important, and German attempts to pierce the fogs would only result iu aimless bombing. Winter’s Help

"Thus, the advantage of winter operations will be decidedly on the British side. The invasion must be undertaken soon or postponed till next spring, and it cannot- be undertaken with any real hope of success unless British defensive air power is broken down. This the present German equip ment cannot achieve.

“Germany must replace its present Messerschmitts, which are inferior to the British Spitfires and Hurricanes, with pursuit machines of greater speed, longer range and more efficient armament. In addition, it must improve its bombers, the present Junkers and Heinkels being deficient, both in armour and in armament, for the task of invasion. New Pursuit Plane

“True, we have heard rumours of a new Focke-Wulf pursuit machine, similar to our own (American) Bell Airacobra,” adds the writer. “But, as nearly as we can judge, that model has only just been put into production, and presumably cannot be made available in large enough numbers for the purposes of an immediate invasion. Unless this model, or some other, capable of meeting the British pursuit craft on equal terms, has been secretly prepared in mass quantities, England’s first line of defence cannot be pierced.”

Beware Of The Sea An unsigned article which appeared in the Hearst newspapers late in June and was generally attributed to Mr. William Randolph Hearst, warned Hitler not to attempt the conquest of the British Empire. Likening the Nazi hordes to the lemmings, the “rats of Norway,” which swim out into the North Sea in a vain attempt to reach the shores of Scotland and drown ou their way, Mr, Hearst wrote: — Herr Hitler —Chancellor Hitler —General Hitler—-Imperator Hit-ler—-beware of the sea! You have inarched successfully across the lands, over hills and dales, overcoming all difficulties. You are a victor as far as you have gone. You arc one of the great conquerors of the world. But beware of the sea! The sea is a greater conqueror. It can engulf armies, as it engulfed the hosts of Pharaoh. It can swallow up the invaders of its isles, as it swallows up the foolhardy little lemmings. The might of Spain wrecked itself upon the sea. The power of Portugal sank itself into the sea. The forces of Holland and of France beat themselves to froth and fragments on the wave-worn chalk cliffs of England. The sea protects its own. Ancient Defender Beware of the sea! It has been for centuries the defence of the maritime nations. It has been not only the main defence of the British Empire, but of America as well. Those nations which have ttimed the sea have made it part of their dominion. Urging Hitler to make peace—a peace of generosity and justice, long and stable—the writer said that Hitler should not make another war certain by terms that were harsher than those imposed at Versailles, and concluded: “No victory of force will last a thousand years. No peace of injustice will endure even a generation. March no more across the land with brutal tread; crush no more with iron heel the helpless nations of the earth! Stand firmly on the ground of peace and equity; turn back from further venturing! You have reached the sea.” Pig Clubs In ... . Parish councils, young farmers’ clubs, women’s institutes and other rural organizations are co-operating in the British Ministry of Agriculture’s efforts to establish village pig clubs on a co-operative basis to utilize household and vegetable waste. By forming clubs, allotment holders, owners of large and small gardens and smallholders can make a valuable contribution to tiie nation’s food supplies. Specialist pig breeders are being forced to reduce their herds through lack of imported feeding stuffs, and the dulls could provide an alternative source of pig meat besides giving the specialists an outlet, for their young stock. .... British Villages It is estimated that if one out. of every five allotment holders and rural householders fattened only one pig a year, half a million pigs would be available for food annually in addition to those fed on farms. .Mr. Alee Hobson, secretary of the Small Pig Keepers’ Council set up by the Ministry, said that there had been a most encouraging response to the scheme. People all over the country were seeking details about it. Small pig-keeping has great advantages in war-time. The clubs can feed their pigs largely on waste food and vegetable matter which they can arrange to collect from householders. The little meal needed is being made available by the Ministry of FoodFormation of pig clubs round "the large towns will receive a fillip by the lifting of restrictions on ipig-keeping imposed by local authorities. “Out Of Sight—!” A bronze reproduction of the famous Cnpitoline wolf presented to the town of Rome, in the Stale of Georgia in 1929 by Mussolini lias been removed from its marble* base on order of Hie i City Commission and replaced by a i United Slates flag. The statue was placed in storage. This action of the city officials is described as a protest against Italy’s declaration of war against France and Great Britain.