War News

Northern Advocate, 6 September 1939, Page 6

War News

WHEN the gigantic scale upon which the war will probably develop is taken into consideration, it may fairly be urged that people should take little notice of references to retreats or advances unless it is definitely stated by those in authority that such movements have taken place. A retreat may be, and very often has been, the foundation of decisive victory. In the Peninsular War, for instance, Napoleon eventually admitted that if he had not followed Sir John Moore, whose retreat on Corunna is historic, the war on the peninsular would have ended differently. In the same way, the retreat from Mons in the opening days of the Great War was one of the decisive factors in the eventual defeat of Germany. Those who were of mature ago in 1914 will remember the distress with which they read day by day of the continued retreat of the British Expeditionary Force, and of the rapid approach of the German armies upon Paris, Then, when all seemed lost, the Allies made their stand, and the German host swung away from Paris, never to return.

In the war which has begun reports of the same character may be expected. There will be temporary successes and setbacks by the rival armies, but it would be folly to be unduly elated or unduly depressed by news which, after all, may prove to have been built on unstable foundations. When listening in to broadcasts from enemy or neutral countries it should be remembered that the British way is to understate victories and give full weignt to reverses, whereas other broadcasters are inclined to exaggerate both. If these facts are borne in mind, there will be more likelihood of forming a reasonable interpretation of the news which comes over the air and through the press.