The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES" GISBORNE, THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1944. WHEN AND WHERE?

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21384, 20 April 1944, Page 2

The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES" GISBORNE, THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1944. WHEN AND WHERE?

In northern Europe the war of nerves is reaching its highest pitch of intensity and it is generally conceded that the war of weapons is at hand. The Germans, who naturally are as keenly interested in the invasion portents as we are, regard Britain’s clamping down on any possible leakage of vital diplomatic secrets as one of the surest signs that zero hour is near. Berlin, also considers that the tides and weather should soon be suitable for big operations. It may be argued that, since the air offensive includes a large proportion of raids directed against objectives in France, particularly railway targets, French territory is bound to be the scene of the initial fighting. This View could be supported by the 8.8.C.'s new instructions to Frenchmen based on the

"coming liberation” theme. Certainly the French coast offers the shortest lines of communications, and it may be that its inevitable line of fortifications and bristling guns would be largely matched by heavy artillery firing across the Straits of Dover and by British American aircraft operating continuously from nearby bases. The Shortest water route, moreover, would ' give swarms of naval units and troop transports every opportunity to. land the huge forces that will be essential for the formation of a beach-head adequate for pouring reinforcements of men and heavy equipment into the prospective Allied wedge. But. if the Straits of Dover provide the shortest "water jump,” it is also a fact that the shortest passage, to Germany, whose soil should be the main objective of the whole tremendous campaign, lies through the Low Countries, Holland in particular. The task of maintaining communications against strong opposition probably rules out Denmark as an invasion area for the time being, alth’ough the outflanking of the Siegfried Line thus made possible could be regarded as an ultimate inducement to the Allies to venture out on the longer and more hazardous sea journey. This conception would hinge Wholly on the extent of our preponderance of naval and air power. Norway would be less easy for the Germans to defend than Denmark. Speculators in London recall Mr. Churchill’s statement: ‘‘To deceive and baffle the enemy there will be many false alarms, feints and dress rehearsals.” What seems reasonably certain, however, is that the main attack will not be far behind the feints. Once the first warning is given of the impending assault, the jbig« operation will .'have to be sharp and, os far as winning a substantial beach-head is concerned, decisive. Meanwhile it is a wise move to seal up all possible sources of a leakage of information, for even the west coast of France, especially if strong French underground aid can be counted upon, must not be ruled out as the focal point of the offensive. It is all these alternatives which are contributing to an effective war of nerves.