ANGLO-FRENCH UNITY
JOINT WAR ACTIVITIES
COMPARISON WITH 1914-18.
[BRITISH OFFICIAL WIRELESS.]
(Received November 20,11.20 a.m.) RUGBY, November 19.
The early attainment of complete British-French co-ordination in the sphere of joint war activities receives approving notice in the Sunday papers. The “Sunday Times” comments that co-operation in such matters will help to determine the result of the war no less than the disposition of ships and troops, and points out the absurdity resulting from competitive functions in munitions and raw materials*. “Nevertheless,” the editorial continues, “such needs are easier to see than to meet, and satisfactory co-operation machinery could not have been so quickly established but for the last war experiences. Working on that, the Allies have succeeded, atfer two months, in reaching a point which took them about three years to attain. Then, the greater difficulty was the attainment of unity of military policy, which was not solved until March, 1918, but it has now existed from the beginning of the war. Preparation, again, was much advanced as the fruits of experience. Athough 200,000 men were recruited in 1914 in two months, the clothing and equipment problem was not solved until much later, and the departure of the Expeditionary Force almost denuded England of troops.”
Turning to the present war, the editorial continues: “But, this time, the first week of war found us with something like 1,000,000 men under arms in this island, and the first batch of militiamen, who had been embodied six weeks earlier, were already getting oh well with their organisation and •training, and more than outnumbered the first two. Kitchener contingents taken’ together. Since then, others have been called up, and there has also been a large intake of volunteers. Again, on the naval side, economic warfare did not begin until three years after the outbreak, whereas in the present war German cargoes, which in 1914-15 were allowed to enter Germany, thereby prolonging the struggle, were intercepted from the beginning by the Navy, working at concert pitch. “Unity,” the editorial concludes, “is a form of strength, and we have done well this time to cultivate it early.” TRIBUTE TO FRANCE. The “Observer,” in a commentary on the importance t of the arrangements, takes the opportunity of appreciating the immensity of the French action. “The main war actions, so far, have been at sea, and this may have tended to make the British people take for granted the magnificent part played by the French. Not sufficiently appreciated is the effect on civil life of a mobilised army of 5,000,000 men, but the effect of this magnificent army is apt to be lost behind the reiterated ‘quiet night’ of the French communiques.
“When in the last war massed German forces battered at Verdun the whole French people answered, ‘Us ne passeront pas,’ and proved it by formidable strength in action. To-day, the reiterated French communiques about a ‘quiet night’ prove them more formidable in truth. For ten wee.-ts the massed German forces have not launched an attack. The Maginot Line has presented a ‘quiet’ deterrent. “In the air and at sea, France has shown as great a spirit. Even greatei is the moral unity, which,” concludes the editorial, “may be summed up in the words of M. Lebrun on greeting the new British Ambasador, ‘The two nations have pooled all their sons and a. their resources, in a conflict which has been forced upon them.’
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Greymouth Evening Star, 20 November 1939, Page 7
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567ANGLO-FRENCH UNITY Greymouth Evening Star, 20 November 1939, Page 7
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