ALLIES’ STRATEGY

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 November 1939, Page 10

ALLIES’ STRATEGY

MAKING HASTE SLOWLY

LONDON, September 29.

A carefully-thought-out strategy which takes full account of the lessons learned in the last war, is beingfollowed by the British and French General Staffs in the prosceution of the war on the Western front. Governing it is a policy of making haste slowly, and a desire to save life as much as possible. In many quarters the caution shown has apparently given rise to the belief that Britain has so far not taken a very active part in the war, and some perplexity has been caused by the fact that there is even difficulty in joining any of the three Services at the moment. The methods which Britain and France are adopting, however, are the outcome of staff talks which began as long ago as 1936, when the Nazis inarched into the Rhineland. Since that time the two General Staffs have been formulating their plans, which are now operating, smoothly. The cardinal feature of the strategy which is being followed is that such military tactics which led to the Battle'of the Somme and Passchendaele will be avoided like the plague. It is not proposed to undertake big offensives for objectives of limited military value with a consequent enormous loss of life.

Britain and France are not laying their plans for a “lightning war.” and they are not seeking for quick, spectacular results which might ultimately only result in a very heavy drain upon resources. To this end, in the past three years, gaps in industrial production have gradually been filled and the strength of the forces steadily increased. One of the main results is that the British troops, now in France, are generally admitted as being one of the best equipped armies in the world; they form a very different fighting force from that which was so hastily shipped in 1914. Another point is that there is not an urgent call for men such as there was at the beginning of the Great War when thousands were called up. Then large bodies of men could not be equipped, a’nd for .some time they actually drilled with pieces of wood. The steady increase in the Territorials followed by the decision to double its strength earlier this year, together with the introduction of compulsory service, has meant that an immediate and urgent demand for men is totally unnecessary.

These, then, are some of the reasons for the apparent quietness with which Britain and France have begun the war. As fighting proceeds it can be taken for granted that operations will be conducted on an increasingly larger scale, and that when the Anglo-French fighting machine is in top gear it will go much further than merely achieving a few local successes. THE WAR AT SEA War on the sea is, of course, following an entirely different policy. I be maximum effort to combat the U-boat campaign had to he developed immediately, since the German submarine attack began at its greatest possible strength. The fact Hint in the fourth week of lh<.' war Germany has begun to sink neutral shipping en route for England is taken as an indication of the success achieved by the British Navy. It appears that the submarine;-; arc now more timid of attacking British ships ami prefer Io devote their attention Io those of neut ral count l ies. The Navy is also playing a most important part in the economic wm - -

fare against Germany. There is an interesting contradiction of Germany s ability to withstand the blockade. On the one hand is Goering’s assertion that the Nazis have stored sufficient food for four years; on the other is the stream of abuse against Britain for conducting a war of starvation against women and children. ; Whereas it may not have been possible for British and French soldiers to engage German troops on the first day of the war, all German shipping was rapidly swept from the seas by the Navy, resulting in a total reduction of her sea-borne trade. This has not only meant, a loss of fuel, iron, arid other such raw materials, but also of fats and oils produced in tropical countries, which are most necessary for explosives. Rice, also produced in the tropics, can no longer be imported into Germany, which means a severe blow to its poultry industry, which was a large importer of grain. While Russia has promised materials to Germany, there is some doubt whether she has surplus stocks with which she wold, be willing to part. Certainly she would require cash, or some agreement that would be remunerative. In any event, one of the chief difficulties would arise in transporting supplies from Russia to Germany. Communications are so poor that one estimate is that a workable system could not be built up in under two years. Another suggestion is that a fleet of Zeppelins should be built for transport purposes. . Commentators on Russia s entry into Poland are inclined to the belief that she acted quickly in her own interests and invaded the country before it could be overrun by Germany. There is also a fairly strong belief that she is prepared to take steps to prevent Germany reaching the Black Sea. Recent reports that Russia has . been massing troops on the Bessarabia border to Roumania are interpreted in this light- At present it is not felt that Russia will seek to recover this territory from Roumania.