Failure on the Meuse

Manawatu Times, Volume 65, Issue 121, 23 May 1940, Page 7

Failure on the Meuse

Reynaud Reveals Sensational French Blunder

But “ Allies Cannot Be Beaten ”

United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright

LONDON, May 21

The Prench Prime Minister, M. Reynaud, in addressing the Senate to-day, stated: “Since this morning the Germans have occupied Arras and Amiens. The country is in danger. General Weygand is actively commanding the front. Britain and France cannot be beaten, cannot die. If people say ‘A miracle is needed to save France,’ I say that I believe in miracles because I believe in France.”

M. Reynauld added: “My firs 'is to tell you the truth.

“You know that the fortifications protecting the country can be divided Into two parts—the Maginot Line, from Bade to Longwy, and the lighter line of fortifications from Longwy to the sea.

“Belgium, Holland, and Luxemburg having been invaded, the French left wing advanced from the fortifications j between Sedan and the sea, pivoting on | Sedan, and entered Belgium in a line J running from Sedan to Antwerp and i even to Bois le Due, in Holland. ! “In the face of this situation, which he had foreseen and taken into account, the enemy launched a formidable attack on the crest of the French Army established behind the Meuse between Sedan and Namur. “The Meuse had been wrongly considered as a redoubtable obstacle for the enemy. That is the reason why the French divisions which were entrusted with its defence were few and spread out over a great area along the river. In addition to this, General Corap’s army, comprising divisions not so well officered and less well-trained, was put there, the best taoops | forming part of the left wing marching into Belgium. | “Over half the infantry divisions of General Corap’s army have not yet reached the Meuse, although they had a very short movement to make, air.ee they were nearest to the point. “That is not all. As a resnlt of increased mistakes, which will bo punished, the bridges over the Meuse were not destroyed. Over these bridges the German divisions passed, preceded by planes, which attacked our divisions. These were scattered. “You now understand the disaster of the total disorganisation of General Corap’s army. It was thus that the hinge of the French Army was broken and a breach 60 miles wide opened on the front.”

fence against the vital interests of the country at a time when our soldiers are dying. There will be no more dilatory procedure in regard to traitors, saboteurs, or cowards. There is no longer a place for any vested interest. “Let us rise to the misfortunes of our country,” M. Reynaud concluded. “We are proud,” said M. Reynaud, “that two men who had the right to rest on their laurels have placed themselves, in these tragic hours, at tha service of their country: Marshal Petain and General Weygand—Petain. the conqueror of Verdun, a great leader who knew how to be human and who knows how a French victory can come from the abyss, and Weygand, Foch’s man. who stopped the German rush when the front was broken in 1918, and who knew later how to change our destinies and lead us to victory.

M. Reynaud continued: “The German Army, composed of motorised divisions, poured into this breach, after which It caused a large bulge in the direction of Paris and then turned west towards the sea, taking our entire fortified system along the French-Belgian frontier in the rear and threatening the Allied forces engaged in Belgium, to whom the order to retreat was not given until the evening of May 15. “Last Sunday, an armoured division reached a line from Le Quesnoy to Cambrai to Peronne and the Somme as far as Ham.

“I have thanked both in the name of France.

“General Weygand took command yesterday. He is to-day on the battlefield. The conduct of military operations falls on him alone.

“There is complete understanding between Marshal Petain, General Weygand, and myself. “I have told you the truth because it alone can save us, giving us strength to act.

“The German advance has been going on in the past 48 hours. The High Command this morning informed me that Arras and Amiens had been occupied.

“We have confidence in the great leader who has taken over the command of our armies. We have confidence in the soldiers of France. Our airmen are covering themselves with glory, and I thank the admirable Royal Air Force for the total help which it is giving France. “These two great peoples, these two Empires united as one, cannot bo beaten!”

“The moral value of our army is not in doubt. The truth Is that our classic conception of the conduct of war has come up against a new conception, at the base of which there Is not only the massive use of heavy armoured divisions and the co-operation of planes, but the creation of disorder in the enemy’s rear by parachute raids, which mainly caused the fall of The Hague and seized the strongest Liege fort.

“We must think of the new type of warfare we are facing and take immediate decisions. This surprise is not the first suffered and then overcome in the course of our history. During the last war we overcame rude surprises and treacherous weapons and ended masters of the situation.

“It will be the same thing to-day if each wills it, if every soldier understands the immense role he plays, if each worker bends over his machinery with more intense energy, if every man and woman understands the greatness of the hour in which we are living. “Failure will not be tolerated. Death is the mildest punishment for an of*