The Evening Star THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 1941. THE WAR SITUATION.

Evening Star, Issue 23862, 17 April 1941, Page 6

The Evening Star THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 1941. THE WAR SITUATION.

It is the opinion of Colonel Knox, United States Secretary for the Navy, that the decisive period of the war has arrived. Inasmuch as it has long been a fairly general belief that this phase ■would be reached when our land forces were again called upon to face the German army the views expressed by him will find ready endorsement. Colonel •Knox will also have in mind the fact ■that the belligerents are ip the throes ■of the Battle of the Atlantic, and in his statement, “ Step by step I sec my country gradually being encircled and isolated,” can be discerned his watchful interest in developments in the,Far East. Without a doubt there has never been a darker or a more sinister era in the history of the world than this period of bloodshed and of threat and intrigue on a mammoth scale. It is a time for great faith —stronger than this careless generation has known—in the ultimate triumph of good over evil. It oannot.be doubted for one moment that the Allied cause is good. It is defensive and protective, and it represents the ideals of the masses of the people in all democratic nations. When the whole situation as it stands at present is reviewed calmly there are no grounds for pessimism. Both the British Empire and the United States are supporting their faith in victory in ai vigorous and practical manner which will eventually bring about the downfall of the (Nazis. In the waging of warfare successes and reverses seem inevitably to come in cycles. For the moment the formidable German army is making its pressure felt by land, might of the Royal Navy is undiminished, and the striking power of the Royal Air Force, which more than once in the course of this war has seriously hampered enemy progress, is increasing steadily and remorselessly. Always the battles in the air go in our favour. The position in Yugoslavia gives most cause for concern. There the familiar Nazi blitzkrieg strategy, incorporating the deep-driving Hitler wedge, appears to be having an adverse effect on organised resistance. Yet the Yugoslavs, always a brave and determined people, can still occupy large enemy forces by the judicious use of guerrilla tactics in the mountains. The news that German troops have had to be transferred from occupied France to the Balkans front is a heartening indication that the -generals of the Reich are under no misapprehension as to the magnitude of the task confronting them. In the meantime the swing of French popular feeling towards the do Gaulle movement will most likely be accentuated if, as has been reported, Italians arc being sent to France in the endeavour to keep the people under the Axis yoke while the Nazis are being thrown into battle elsewhere. One of the ugliest stories that has come to baud is the report of the 1 Daily Mail ’ suggesting that the Germans, with the permission of Admiral Darlau, are using the coastal defences of the French protectorate of Tunisia to got their forces into Libya. If there is any truth in this report, it is inconceivable that Marshal Retain, much less the French nation, is conversant with all that is going on. Unfortunately Darlau himself has been under suspicion for some time, and, more unfortunately still, he seems to have full control of the French navy. But the situation in Libya calls for no expressions of serious alarm. By now strong British land reinforcements, helped by Poles, Czechs, and Free French troops, must be in the vital zone barring the way to conquest of Egypt. In addition, the Royal Air Force is continually taking its toil of the dangerous German mechanised units and, to augment the difficulties being faced by the enemy on the escarpment near the frontier of Egypt and Cyrenaica, warships of the Mediterranean Fleet are busy pounding his positions from the sea. In the Balkans no direct help can be expected from the Russians. It is sufficient, however, that the Soviet Union will not stand in the way of the Turks if they have to defend the Dardanelles against aggression. Whatever happens in Greece, the Germans cannot achieve a major success unless they subjugate Turkey and break through into the Middle East proper by the northern overland route. Meanwhile the. Graeco-British line holds firm. The Nazi assault on it will prove most expensive to Hitler.