NEEDS OF VICTORY

Evening Star, Issue 24037, 8 November 1941, Page 11

NEEDS OF VICTORY

TANKS, PLANES. AND SHIPS GENERAL DE GAULLE REVIEWS ALLIES' PRODUCTION POWER (British Official Wireless.) (Eec. 11.5 a.m.) RUGBY, Nov. 7. General de Gaulle, speaking in London, said : “ If Germany is able to bring to bear in the near future an air force, armoured divisions, and a fleet twice or three times the size of those she now has at her disposal it would then be possible to imagine that she might snatch the only kind of victory which is worth anything—final victory. But we do not in any way foresee the probability of such an increase. Several months nave already passed since the German war industry attained its maximum output, and since the Reich mobilised all possible man power and drew upon armaments factories for everything they could provide on land, on sea, and in the air. But the state in which the enemy found a great many mines and factories, the various difficulties and prolonged delays necessitated' by, the adaption of industries to arbitrarilyimposed conditions, and, in short, indifferent output of recalcitrant labour, lead us to believe that victory could not derive more than a mere contribution from conquests without a long and peaceful period of organisation.” “ The first condition of victorious action in the present war was the_ production of tanks, planes, and ships,” General de Gaulle went on. “ From the_ moment, the free peoples have at their disposal sufficient superiority by way of tanks and_ aircraft, as_ they already have in, ships, there will be no doubt as to their victory. In this war the secret of victory is henceforward public property and can bo defined by the simplest child in the street as well as by a statesman or army leader. Most certainly a gigantic effort is necessary to have at least tanks and planes, as well as a sufficient number of those articles, installations, and accessories which will enable proper use to be made of all these tanks and planes. ‘‘lf we estimate the extent of the battle zones on laud, on sea, and in the air where fighting is now going on, as well as those where some day men will have to go into action in Europe, Africa, and Asia, if we gauge the bulk of the means which our enemies already have, or may have, and, lastly, if ■we take into account their central position, which is much more favourable for rapid concentration of effort than that of the free peoples separated by immense distances, we are led to believe that we need such quantities of material as would once have, been considered astronomical, but which are only commonplace when compared with the area involvedj the issue at stake, and the possibilities. ‘ ■ It will perhaps be the action of 100.000 tanks, combined with that of 100.000 planes, and supplied by 50.000,000 tons of shipping which will cause the enemy mechanised system to crumble, and with it the whole edifice of German tyranny. It is obvious that such an effort for production is within the realms of possibility for a group of nations which still possess a vast majority of the world’s resources. Let us take as a basis the production figures for the principal war materials in 1938, even supposing that the free peoples are not able to increase them and that the Germans are in a position to obtain from the conquered territory exactly what they furnish in place. There is no' doubt that as far as iron and aluminium are concerned the balance is practically equal. But America, the British Empire, and that part of Russia which has escaped invasion produced 400,000,000 tons of coal in 1938, as against 100,000.000 tons by the Axis Powers and the countries subjected to them. The figures for oil are 266,000,000 tons, as against 9,000,000 tons, and for nickel 110,000 tons, as against 3,000. For tin the figures are 2,000,000 tons, against 20,000 tons, for copper 2,000,000, as against 190,000, for rubber 1,000,000 tons, as against nothing, and for cotton 1,000,000 tons, as against nothing. ‘ “ The capacity of the plants in the countries which are still free is at least 100 per cent, greater, and the number of skilled workmen is more than twice as great. As for unskilled labour, the resources are practically inexhaustible. In short, if by some extraordinary chance the free peoples refrained from crushing Hitler, they would be like a giant who prefers to submit to a dwarf rather than stand erect.”