Allies Working To Strategy

Northern Advocate, 13 December 1939, Page 6

Allies Working To Strategy

A carefully-thought-out strategy, which takes full account of the lessons learned in the last war, is beingfollowed by the British and French General Staffs in the prosecution of the war on the Western Front.

Governing it is a "policy of making haste slowly, and a desire to save life as much as possible. In many quarters the caution shown has apparently given rise to the belief that Britain lias so far not taken a very active part in the war, and some perplexity has been caused by the fact that there is even difficulty in joining any of the three Services at the moment.

The methods which Britain and France are adopting, however, are the outcome of staff talks which began as long ago as 1936, when the Nazis marched into the Rhineland. Since that time the two General Staffs have been formulating their plans, which are now operating smoothly. The cardinal feature of the strategy which is being followed is that such military tactics which led to the Battle of the Somme and Passchendaele will be avoided like the plague. It is not proposed to undertake big offensives for objectives of limited military value with a consequent enormous loss of life.

No Lightning Stroke

Britain and France are not laying their plans for a “lightning war,” and they are not seeking for quick, spectacular results which might ultimately only result in a very heavy drain upon resources.

To this end, in the past three years, gaps in industrial production have gradually been filled, and the strength of the forces steadily increased. One of the main results is that the British troops, now in France, are generally admitted as being one of the best equipped armies in the world; they form a very different fighting force from that which was so hastily shipped over in 1914. Another point is that there is not an urgent call for men, such as there was at the beginning of the Great War, when thousands were called up.

Then large bodies of men could not be equipped, and for some time they actually drilled with pieces of wood. The steady increase in the Territorials, followed by the decision to double its strength earlier this year, together with the introduction of compulsory service, has meant that an immediate and urgent demand for men is totally unnecessary. These, then, are some of the reasons for the apparent quietness with which Britain and France have begun the war.

As fighting proceeds it can be taken for granted that operations will be conducted on an increasingly larger scale, and that when the Anglo-French fighting machine is in top gear it will go much further than merely achieving a few local successes,

The War at Sea. War on the sea is, of course, following an entirely different policy. The maximum effort to combat the U-boat campaign had to be developed immediately, since the German submarine attack began at its greatest possible strength. The fact that in the fourth week of the war Germany has begun to sink neutral shipping en route for England is taken as an .indication of the success achieved by the British Navy. It appears that the submarines are how mere timid of attacking British ships and prefer to devote their attention to those of neutral countries. The Navy is also playing a most important part in the economic warfare against Germany. There is an interesting contradiction of Germany’s ability to withstand the blockade.

On the one hand is Goering's assertion that the Nazis have stored sufficient, food for four years; on the other is the stream of abuse against Britain for conducting a war of starvation against women and children. ' Whereas it may not have been possible for British and French soldiers to engage German troops on the first day of the war, all German shipping was rapidly swept from the seas by the Navy, resulting in a total reduction of her sea-borne trade.

This has not only meant a loss of fuel, iron and other such raw materials, but also of fats and oils produced ‘in tropical countries, which are most necessary for explosives. Rice, also produced in the tropics, can no longer be imported into Germany, which means a severe blow to its poultry industry, which was a large importer of grain. Russia’s Role. While Russia has promised materials to Germany, there is some doubt she has surplus stocks with which she would be willing to part. Certainly she would require cash, or some agreement that would be remunerative. * In any event, one of the chief difficulties would arise in transporting supplies from Russia to Germany. Communications are so poor that one estimate is that a workable system could not be built up in under two years.

Another suggestion is that a fleet of zeppelins should be built for transport purposes. Commentators on Russia’s entry into Poland are inclined to the belief that she acted quickly in her own interests, and invaded the country before it could be overrun by Germany.

There is also a fairly strong belief that she is prepared to take steps to prevent Germany reaching the Black Sea. Recent reports that Russia has been massing troops on the Bessarabian border to Rumania are interpreted in this light. At present il is not felt that Russia will seek to recover this territory from Rumania.