The Wanganui Chronicle THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1941. PETAINS PROBLEM

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 85, Issue 31, 6 February 1941, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1941. PETAINS PROBLEM

MARSHAL PETAIN is confronted with the complex problem of resisting Hitler’s further demands from the outside and circumventing Laval’s machinations from within unoccupied France.

Petain’s object is it is to preserve France from further depredations and to do everything possible to ensure the revival of the national life of his country. When the greater portion of France has passed into the control of the invader and the army has been liquidated, the dual object is by no means easy of attainment. Petain cannot threaten to resist force by force, and consequently the threat of occupation of the whole of the country does, and will continue to, hang overhead like a sword of Damocles, which was sustained by a single thread. To enable France to be in a position to revive, however, Petain must avoid as much damage as possible, and consequently he must treat, with Hitler.

Hitler holds one trump card which is of high denomination, but once played its value will be exhausted: it cannot be used twice. The value of the ability to invade unoccupied France, therefore, is retained so long as it remains a threat, and such value as it possesses disappears immediately the threat is put into operation. Hitler’s hand, though strong in his dealings with Petain, lias obvious limitations.

The territory occupied by Germany includes the whole of the Atlantic coast, the industrial north, and the central plain, with Paris as its centre. From a strategic point of view Hitler has enough of France, and to increase the area in occupation would do little more than add to the German task of garrisoning the country.

Hitler was early to appreciate the desirability from his point of view, of gaining the co-operation of France, and he found in Laval a ready instrument. Laval is an astute lawyer who, like Mussolini, moved up through the extreme left of Communist polities, through the Socialist movement to the centre, and then gravitated the right. When France fell, being a Socialist, and for that reason no democrat —like Mussolini—Laval saw in the situation an opportunity for winning to a position of power. The Lavals and the Mussolinis should not be regarded as traitors to their past when they go to the Extreme Right, because in fact they are consistent in their motives. Men of their kind are Socialists because a Socialistic regime places in the hands of the elected person tremendous power, and it is power that they require. In this respect Hitler's Socialism is a real thing. It gives him power, but to get rid of elections he invented the Nazi neo philosophy of leadership. To Laval a position of power without the necessity of conducting elections would be just as attractive as to Hitler and Mussolini so that these three Socialists are now in league against democracy should occasion no surprise. Laval has declared that American aid of Great Britain is simply prolonging the war. He has no faith in the survival of democracy.

But while Laval may have a following in France, and particularly in Paris, the navy of France is in the Mediterranean, and it is that navy which is Hitler’s first objective. With such a navy, and the remnants of the Italian navy, together with U-boats sent in sections to Marsailles and assembled there, Hitler could be possessed of a fairly good escort for transports going to North Africa, and a German base could be established in Tunisia. From this base bombers eould z aid the Italians in Tripoli, and harass the British shipping as it passed through the narrowest portion of the Mediterranean Sea route. If it achieved nothing more than the retention of a large British naval force in the Middle Sea, such an operation would be worth while. But with luck the British sea superiority in this area might be reduced, in which case the chances are that the French Colonial Empire would throw in its lot with France and cooperate with Germany to establish the “new order,” which is the latest name for the disorder of tyranny. The French in Syria might also be induced to take an active part in a campaign to clean up the situation if the Vichy Government could be induced to give the appropriate lead and assure Frenchmen overseas that Britain, “the ally which deserted France,” was the only obstacle to the return of some sort of peace which would allow France to rise again.

But just as the invasion of unoccupied France would leave Hitler no forcing card in his hand, so the handing over of the navy of France would divest Petain of any forcing cards, and he would then be completely at Hitler’s mercy. Petain, therefore. has stood firm on this essential element: the navy of France is to remain under purely French control. Hitler’s next move therefore must be to contrive the removal of Petain, so he promotes a new Popular Front, a movement which has no front and is not popular, consequently it is bound to fail.