CAN ENGLAND BE INVADED?

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14924, 23 February 1912, Page 5

CAN ENGLAND BE INVADED?

A REASSURING OPINION.

Mb. Archibald Hurd, writing in the Fortnightly Review, endeavours to show from a study of Italy's campaign in Tripoli that England has nothing to fear from supposed designs of invasion:—" Lot it be remembered that Italy transported only 25,000 men, that she enjoyed throughout absolute command of the sea, and that the transports had to cover only 400 or 500 miles, and what must bo the verdict upon Lord Roberts's alarms? In the light of Italy's carefully-planned and long-delayed operation of invasion, what must bo thought of the soldier's nightmare of an England at the mercy of an enemy who is secretly to land on our coast an army of 150,000, or even 200,000 men, without let or hindrance from the British fleets—not one fleet, as nervous soldiers imagine—of greater fighting strength than any two fleets in the world, and superior to the j three great fleets of Europe—Germany France, and Italy. "'' " According to the admission of the military correspondent of The Times, Italy requisitioned 60 steamships for the transport of her force of 25,000 men; what number of transports then would be 1 actually required by Germany to bring to the British shores 150,000 "men? This little sum might provide interesting occupation during the winter evenings for those who have been led by soldiers to behove that the sailors' tasks of embarkation, transportation, and disembarkation are extremely simple ones, andean bo coinpleted in so short a time as to enable an enemy to be on the road to London in a matter of three days from the time oi sailing. The fanciful theories spun by the ' invasion school' have been completely exposed after the most careful investigation, first by the Unionist Government under Mr. Balfour, then by tho present Government under Mr. Asquith, and now by the actual experience of war they are shown to have been idle inventions based upon ignorance o-< all the circumstances that govern one of the most difficult of all naval operationsinvasion oversea. "Although Turkey was powerless at sea, the Italian soldiers were terrorstricken by tho fear of submarines. Let it be well realised," says Mr. Hurd, "what the moral effect of British submarines would be upon any army which tried to invade England."