FORTIFYING THE RHINE

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 July 1936, Page 6

FORTIFYING THE RHINE

GERMANY'S DEFENSIVE SYSTEM While the Nile, one of the oldest of mankind's battle, grounds, has again become a centre of world politics, all is quiet along the Rhine, one of Europe’s oldest battle grounds, wrote Otto Tolischus from Germany to the York Times” recently. Moreover, it is likely to remain quiet as iong as Great Britain has not. made up her mind whether to choose France or Germany as her sword-bearer on the Continent to check the latest challenger to her world rule, Fascist Italy. in tho competition for British favour. Germany thinks she holds trump cards, especially since his Britannic Majesty is inclining his heart and mind towards her. Therefore she is not likely to do anything to turn Britain against her. There is little doubt in military minds on either side that, if the worst comes to the worst, Germany already is in a position to hold the French at the ' Rhine. Readjusting rumbles along the Danube are cited as proof that this realisation is beginning to spread. This is accepted as a truism, despite tho fact that the German forces in the formerly demilitarised Rhineland zone are insignificant, compared with those facing them across the border, and taken by and large, tire ztmc is still without fortifications of any real military importance. Close behind tho advance troops in the Rhineland stands the whole new German army, and the World War showed that a virtually impenetrable defensive trench system could be thrown up within a few days. For the present the military status of the Rhineland is governed by Hitler’s pledge proffered in a moment of anxiety over possible results of his coup, not to increase his troops there pending further negotiations and by his steadfast refusal to give a pledge not to fortify the zone during that period. Inasmuch that tire well-informed French Secret Service has made no charges so far that the first of these pledges has been violated, it may be assumed that it is being kept. The French have made charges, however, that the zone is already being fortified and this charge has not only been denied but has been supported by hints in German official quarters about “digging ditches” ami “properly employing troops” in the zone. The readiness with which such hints are advanced arouses suspicion, however. They have .the aspect of a “build-up” to make the Rhineland fortifications, if any exist, appear more important than they are, with a view either of restraining the French or of increasing the value of the “contribution” to peace demanded of Germany, if she should decide to make it. The assumption regarding the first pledge checks with all available information about troops stationed in Hie Rhineland. Officially they are put at 36,000 men, but they may reach 40,000, in all, made up as follows: -' Thirty-nine battalions of infantry of 700 men each, including twenty battalions of the former “State Police” that were in the Rhineland all the time and have now been incorporated in the army. Thirteen artillery battalions with twelve light, medium calibre guns, and 500 men each. Two squadrons of pursuit aeroplanes with twenty-seven front-line, nine reserve aeroplane, and 300 men each. Two battalions of anti-aircraft artillery with twelve guns and 500 men each.

TOTAL KEPT SECRET

These troops are accompanied by the necessary auxiliary forces, such as signal corps and engineers, whose total has not been divulged. It is definitely asserted, however, that only three battalions have been placed on the border itself—at Trier, at Saarbrucken, and around Speyer. There are said to be neither tanks, bombing aeroplanes, nor heavy artillery in the zone itself, although concentrations of these are just outside the zone. As far as equipment is concerned, interest centres in the fact that the German Army has revolutionised all artillery theories by abolishing the 7.5-centimetre gun, which has played a. dominant role with all armies in the world in the past thirty years. They have substituted as a light artillery weapon the 10.5-centimetre howitzer, which can be manufactured by mass production. As regards fortifications, official quarters freely state that Germany is determined to fortify the zone sooner or later and never to surrender the right to do so. For the present, however, fortifications are still invisible oven to the sharpest eye. The traveller is unable to detect anything except perhaps a few suspicious appearing farmhouses and chicken coops that may or may not have military significance.

As a matter of fact, military logic suggests that, before starting real fortifications, the Germans would first move in sufficient troops to hold them and avoid the risk of presenting them to the French. When additional troops begin to move westward, therefore, it may reasonably be taken as an indication that fortifications of the Rhineland has begun.

For practical purposes Germany is concerned only over the small but open section of frontier between Luxembourg and the Rhine. South of this the Rhine Itself constitutes a most formidable fortification, and to the north lies Belgium, which, by drawing away from France, becomes v, buffer State for Germany. But from Trier to Karlsruhe, Germany is determined to erect just such a bulwark against invasion as the French have in the same section in their Maginot line.

What form the ultimate German fortifications will take naturally is a military secret. But if hints of military writers in the German Press may be believed, they will not take the French form, with its steal turrets and underground barracks, but will rather constitute a flexible defence line similar to the trench lines of the World War, which an enemy must capture inch by inch and which are expected to smother all attacks.

The first line of defence in the exposed section is expected to be the Saar River. The projected Saar I’b’ne canal, which would erect a water barrier along the rest of this frontier, has started more than economic speculations. But the real fortifications are expected to arise in the Hunstueck and Hardt Mountains,

which are ideal for that purpose. In any case, until a future war proves the contrary, France and Germany appear to have checkmated each other along the Rhine—or if they have not, it appears they soon will. Even the strong probability that they have done so is sufficient to change the political map of Europe, for it overthrows the political system of Versailles, shakes France’s hegemony on tho Continent, and again opens up Central Europe to German penetration —and this time without Russia’s shadow-cutting across her path at| Belgrade. This eliminates the military necessity of Germany’s marching into Belgium and France, as in 1911.