France Will Not Budge On German Re-Armament

Wanganui Chronicle, 1 November 1950, Page 5

France Will Not Budge On German Re-Armament

Western Ministers Unable To Agree On European Defence Force

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (Rec. 11.5 pm).—The Defence Ministers of the 12 North Atlantic Treaty nations today failed to complete plans for a West European defence force and they adjourned their conference until tomorrow.

The Associated Press said the Ministers were unable to agree on the German rearmament question. The “New York Times” Washington correspondent said the meeting was stormy. France stood alone in putting forth the idea that a collective military force should consist of units no larger than regimental size. Mr Jules Moch, French Defence Minister, explained that Franco thought this necessary to prevent German militarists from regaining control of substantial forces. The correspondent said this idea met immediate opposition from other Ministers. One Minister told Mr Moch bluntly that France would have to get over its uneasiness and act lyThe correspondent said some Ministers considered the French view short-sighted and selfish, because it

was conceived with the defepce of France as the core and without any real appreciation of what might happen if Western Europe were attacked. An American official said atter the meeting that the French plan for regimental size units would be unthinkable for the United States, since it would disrupt basic army planning, training and the operational concept of a divisional size troop unit. The correspondent quoted a highly qualified source as saying that the Ministers necessarily would have to pass over the German question because Mr Moch had no leeway in his instructions. If the Defence Committee was to wind up its sessions without much delay, appearances would best be served by side-stepping the German issue and announcing unanimity of views on other decisions. The source said the German problem probably would be assigned to an interim committee for further study.