RAIDS ON LONDON

Hokitika Guardian, 17 September 1940, Page 5

RAIDS ON LONDON

LATEST PHASE CAUSES MUCH COMMENT. (Per British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, Sep. 15. Both in,the Press, and among the general public, the latest phase in the oattlo for Britain —the savage attack on the people of 'London —is the subject of much speculation, both as to its purpose and the reason it has been adopted by the German authorities. A number of conclusions are generally reached.

First, the new tactics of scattering bombs indiscriminately over ■, the metropolis, which no one can imagine to be an important target in a purely military, -sense, is taken to be a confession of failure on the part of the Luftwaffe to do substantial damage to the main centres of Britain’s war'production, to be a confession that .the attacks ( which have been attempted on Britain’s military targets have been too costly, and that the Geiman, air force is beginning to feel the strain oi such heavy losses.

Second, tliat, having lamentably failed to’inflict serious damage to Britain’s war machine Germany has now turned the force of her attack against what she hopes will prove to be Britain’s weakest point, namely civilian morale.

At the same time, London is the centre of communications and the centre of political life, and is representative of tho nation in a. way which is true of the capital of no other country. By destroying London, the Nazis might well hope that the rest of the country would be paralysed, and that the way for an invasion would be rendered easy.

But the morale of London is so far untouched, and everywhere the opinion is confidently ’expressed that it will require bombing on a scale vastly more widespread and more intense, before the nerve of Londoners can be crushed ; on a scale which the London defences will never permit the Nazis to achieve, without inflicting terrible losses. ■ Many different weapons have been brought to the defence of London against the constant night raiders. There are night-flying fighters, of which informed correspondents ■ -suggest that a superior new type is already in production. There are, antiaircraft -guns capable of putting up a formidable- barrage of fire and steel, and there are searchlights and barrage- balloons of an improved new type, which have already claimed one victim.

Damage to London has certainly been done, and much suffering caused. Many of her prominent buildings which form the chief target for the Nat-i bombs, have been damaged. These include some dozen famous old churches, St. Paul’s Churchyard, the House of Lords, Buckingham Palace (three times hit), the Law Courts, Somerset House, three of the' largest hospitals and a number of smaller ones, and two newspaper offices. Some 2000 of her civilian population have been killed and many moie injured or rendered homeless. Act the general life of the capital proceeds uninterrupted and the capacity of the people to adapt themselves to the, new mode of life is astonishing. Confidence is widespread in the -power of Britain to defeat this last, as she bus defeated former methods of Nazi attacks.

Tlie battle of London as an incident. but a supreme incident, in the preliminaries of the battle of Britain, is the -subject of Sunday newspaper editorials. Mr J. L. Garvin, in the “Observer,” says be is quite confident that there will be no flinching an paying the unavoidable price of success and salvation. Thrccquarters of the huge region covered by London and its suburbs shows no serious trace- of the enemy attack, and only a minute percentage ol its millions of inhabitants have been struck. It would take more than the Nazis possess or conceive to wreck this wonderful city, much less daunt its soul.

The “Sunday Times'” writes: “Ever since France went out of the war, and the British Empire was left to wage it alone, two things have been evident to thinking men, The first i s that Britain can win, and the second is that, on the way to victory, she must face and surmount a supreme ordeal. After months of waiting, the ordeal is now on her. Beyond it lies victory, if she holds last.” Ibe paper adds that over many harrowing scenes witnessed in the past week has risen the bravery of the common English folk, refusing to be conquered, and blossoming under trial into the flower of self-sacrifice and mutual aid, such as only a very great people indeed can compass.

MONDAY’S REPORT. HEAVIER CASUALTIES. (Received this day at 12 noon;. RUGBY, September 10. Details of last night’s enemy raid on London form tile substance of an An .Ministry. Home Security communique in which details of to-days air acli\ities are also included. The communique* states tin' reports so far received show the number of casualties in last night’s attacks on London were a little greater than on recent nights, but ltiiieh less than in the best attacks oil the capital.