COMMENT ON THE WEEK

Evening Star, Issue 23421, 11 November 1939, Page 11

COMMENT ON THE WEEK

General amazement and a good deal of apprehension have been caused by the unexpected tardiness of the war to attain momentum. Where everyone looked for a sudden blaze, shock tactics in excelsis, vast movements of mechanised troop units supported by bomber planes, a rain of incendiary bombs over England, and a hecatomb of victims, there have occurred little more than skirmishes on land and sea, minor air encounters largely in the nature of repelling reconnaissances and the like, some submarine actions with merchantmen and warships—all accompanied by a vast deal of talk and propaganda.

Naturally enough, the timid (and the not-so-timid) envision an impending stroke of devastating magnitude, a paralysing blow fulfilling the arrogant avowal of the “ divinely-inspired ” Fuhrer, as expressed in the Nazi song, ‘ Morgendie Ganze Welt ’ — to-morrow, the whole world I

This is highly unlikely. Much more possible is it that we are witness of "another Gotterdammerung —a twilight of this Nazi god, accomplished at the first real challenge to his claim of omnipotence. His has been a fantastic realm of shadows, of word and boast, and, as with his predecessor the “ all Highest ” of the last war, he is probably finding that his word counts for little in the realism of battle strategy. In short he is at the command of the General Staff, and by all the portents, immobility of the German armies has been a compelled immobility rather than a staying of the hand for delivery of a coup-de-grace.

Reports from neutral sources indicate, however, the possibility of an early and violent disruption of this immobility, and as soon as the well-intentioned, but futile intervention of the Sovereigns of Belgium and Holland is officially disposed of, a general attack can be expected on a scale bred of Germany’s desperation. Will it be an attack on the centre, the great fortification line that France has prepared, or on one of the flanks by way of neutral territory? Readers are referred to a map in this issue, demonstrating four possible routes of attack through the neutral countries on the northern flank, each of these routes leading to gaps in the fortified lines. In an illuminating survey of the possibilities, the military correspondent of the ‘ Sydney Morning Herald ’ writes;

Turning the northern flank seems the most likely. A massed attack by tanks and shock-troops might conceivably secure the provinces east of ‘ the water defences ’ and paralyse Dutch resistance; or a thrust through the Maastricht gap might violate the neutrality of both Holland and Belgium. In both cases the military position depends on the capacity of the Dutch to resist and on the attitude of the Belgians. Hitler may adopt ‘ piecemeal tacticshoping that he coidd overcome the Dutch before the Belgians made up their minds to allow the passage of Allied troops; and thus he could present the world with the fait accompli in the occupation of so much of Holland as would provide him with air bases against Britain, only 100 miles away.

“ The answer to this problem depends, in turn, on whether an invasion of Holland alone would constitute such a military threat to Belgian neutrality as to justify the Allies in moving immediately to support Holland through Belgium, And would Belgium dare do nothing, from the pure military point of view? Apart from, political considerations that her turn would come next, a large section of her frontier defences, especially those in which the waters of the Meuse are conceYned, are inextricably linked with those of Holland.

"It would thus appear, for a variety of reasons, that Hitler’s scheme to isolate Holland from Allied support has no hope of succeeding, quite apart from the difficulties which the Dutch could impose, both by a land resistance in their eastern provinces and by flooding the land in the centre and the west. Briefly, although Hitler may try the gamblers hazard, and although he may achieve a few initial successes, the inescapable facts of the situation are as much against him on the northern flank as in the centre or the south.” Meantime, if there is not much action, there is plenty of wordy warfare, much of it emanating from an obviously disgruntled Germany. The episode with which last week closed—'the return of the City of Flint to her American crew —is the prime joke of the war, and has exposed the Nazis to a ridicule that ill consorts tvith their pretensions. The American vessel was captured on the high seas by the raider battleship Deutschland, which placed a prize crew in charge, made the American crew prisoners, and despatched her via the Scandinavian coast for a German port. Her entry to the latter would have been lovely propaganda of Germany’s might and successful challenge to the British Navy, but, unfortunately for Dr Goebbels the prize crew put into a Norwegian port without orders, and suffered internment at the hands of the Norwegian Government, while the City of Flint, with her American crew reinstated, was given clearance. Germany’s angry outcry has been drowned in the world’s laughter.

' The sensation of the week has been the abortive attempt on the life of the Fuhrer at a Munich beer-hall gathering. This essayal of retributive justice at the hands of Hitler’s awakening and disillusioned vassals failed only because he, Goebbels, and Hess had left the hall before the explosion occurred. It would have been a “ good bag.”