INVADING EUROPE

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 21, 20 October 1941, Page 7

INVADING EUROPE

Lord Gort’s Dispatches As

Answer To Query MUST HAVE AMPLE TANKS LONDON, October 17. . The “Daily Express” in a leading article, says: “Lord Gort answers the query, “Why don’t we invade Western Europe?’ His comparisons in regard to equipment in France ought to be enough to prevent advocates of invasion bawling for immediate action before we make enough tanks. Brave men must not be sacrificed without proper weapons- The sending of illequipped expeditions abroad is a bluff which once deceived the British. It has never deceived Hitler.” The “Daily Mail” says Lord Gort’s comments tend to confirm the cynical maxim that the British Army never prepares for the next war, but always for another like the last one.

The publication of Lord Gort’s dispatches has evoked wide interest, and considerable space is devoted by the newspapers both to its text and to comment on it, says British Official Wireless. Some stress is laid on the lack of adequate equipment. More Exacting Standard.

“The Times,” while stating that Lord Gort’s Expeditionary Force, “according to the standards of the times, was not as well found as it predecessor 25 years earlier,” points out that the new standard of equipment is far more exacting and demands longer and more intense industrial preparation—a factor emphasized by Lord Gort himself when he states in his dispatch: “The days are past when armies can be hurriedly raised, equipped, and placed in the field.” The newspapers also comment that the B.E.F. was under the French command and that Lord Gort considered himself to be the equivalent of a French army commander, hence his express statement that it is not for him to comment on the French plans. “This,” says ‘The Times,’ “was carrying subordination further than Haig ever carried it.”

After stating that "Lord Gort had no responsibility for the plans made to meet tlie German invasion of the Low Countries,” “The Times,” summing up the impression made by this history of the B.E.F. during the 22 days’ campaign, says: “The whole record of the retreat is one in which we are justified in taking pride. The B.E.F. proved that the British soldier today is the equal of the best among his ancestors, who so> often have been engaged in desperate ventures all over the world. Leaders Not Found Wanting. "Leaders were not found wanting, and those in the junior ranks especially fulfilled all the hopes which had been based upon them. When all seemed- to be in the melting pot about it, the force fought on determined and steady. Often hungry and sleepless, and exposed in the latter stages to ceaseless attack from tank on the ground and bomber in the skies, it preserved its discipline and integrity. “For what it lacked in equipment, the reproach is to the Government — indeed, to the nation itself —rather than to those who actually equipped it, and who, in the time and with the money and resources at their disposal, performed their task faithfully. The weapon-training was sound. The B.E.F. never failed to live up to its high traditions.”