Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1939. WAR OF WORDS.

Greymouth Evening Star, 28 October 1939, Page 6

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1939. WAR OF WORDS.

was, before the actual German attack upon Poland, and the subsequent declarations by Britain and France, described as a “war of nerves,” has now developed into what has been termed in some quarters “a queer war.” The situation at present gives ample justification for the latter phrase, but an even more appropriate description would be “a war of words.” While millions of men. equipped with all the mostmodern of death-dealing appliances. face each other on opposite sides of I lie Western front, there is as yet no outbreak of serious operations, and so far only a little “sparring” has taken place, on a scale which would arouse derision in the rank's of Great War veterans. According to Nazi spokesmen, the refusal of the Allies to talk' peace on Herr Hitler's terms means that the war must be fought to the “bitter finish." Ini! there is a strange relnctauee in ihe Nazi (-amp to carry on in earnest with the attempt to wipe l lie Allies off the map of Ihiropo. and to achieve what, in Hie words of I [err von Ribbentrop. “can only he a decisive German victory.” Herr Hitler is reported to bo holding numerous conl'orencos with his military experts, but the absence of developments is giving rise to the impres-

sion that there may ho dissension in the councils, and Iha.l the lack t of action is due to failure to agree j on the policy to be followed. 'rime and tide wait for no man, ; ’and the same applies to the weather. Winter is rapidly preparing for its offensive on the Western front, and news has already been published of roads sodden with mud, waler-logged trenches, and. movements impeded by heavy rains. When these arrive, snow and slush cannot be far behind. Major activity on land during Winter would seem even less likely than during the Great "War, if only because of the increased degree of merehanisation in. the armies. Some slight experience of these difficulties was met by the Germans in Poland, when the weather broke during the later stages of the campaign. Wintry conditions must also seriously militate against aerial activity, with consequent difficulty in carrying on the reconnaissance work which has become such an essential adjunct of land operations, including the camera-shooting of enemy lines, the “spotting” of troop movements, and the direction of artillery fire. Even if aeroplanes could be used, they would have to fly much lower, thus presenting themselves as much-easiei’ targets to the anti-aircraft gunners. Reports are still being received of German reinforcements moving to the front, and Allied commentators have not yet ruled out the possibility of a major German offensive. For the reasons stated, Herr Hitler cannot much longer delay a decision; a Western front Winter is an enemy which amply proved its strength in 1914 and the succeeding war years. Meanwhile, on the diplomatic front, the “war of words” is being waged with unabated intensity, the verbal bullets flying thick and fast. The Allied and Nazi antagonists are firmly entrenched in the Maginot and Siegfried Lines of their respective viewpoints, however, and the campaign has reached the stage of stalemate. A barrage of condemnation from Herr Hitler or his spokesmen is promptly followed by a counter-attack on the part of Allied statesmen, with mutuallynegative results. The Nazis endeavour to convince the world at large that Britain was responsible for the Avar, Herr von Ribbentrop being the latest to detail alleged British “perfidies,” including the assertion that Mr. Chamberlain is an arch-plotter avlio has systematically and secretly for years been preparing to crush Germany by the force of arms. On the other hand. British spokesmen point out that the Nazi Government’s policy of aggression, consistently followed against smaller European States, with “reckless disregard of its pledged word, and the rights and liberties of other peoples,” has at last forced. Britain and France reluctantly to take up arms in order to prevent the complete domination of Europe. The only pleasing feature of this kind of warfare is the fact that hard words break no bones, but it is about time that a halt was called io useless repetition of the respective arguments. The curtain-rise for the second act is overdue. As they say in Hollywood,—“so what?”