ADVANTAGE OF UNITY

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21198, 22 August 1940, Page 2

ADVANTAGE OF UNITY

LESSONS FROM HISTORY ALLIES SELDOM TRIUMPH The lesson from history that a single nation will triumph where allied nations might fail is drawn by a writer in the publication Meat and Wool. Recorded history extends back a long time, the writer says, but during the whole of its course there is hardly one instance of victory in war going to any combination of Allies in a major campaign. One apparent exception was the war of 1914-18, but this was more apparent than real, as the Germans did not feel the weight of invasion, nor did they later feel the weight of any financial obligation in the way of war indemnities; one result of this evasion being the armament used in the present conflict. But history is full of instances where the single State, apparently outnumbered, has the advantage of unity of purpose, cohesion in all its operations and singlemindedness on the part of its citizens. There is no fear of treachery or of half-hearted assistance, leading to disaster; when an ally exists it is natural to allow him to do half the work, and the two halves, unco-ordinated, do not makes the 100 per cent successful whole. Differing Standards Jealousies and differing standards are also big obstacles in the way of successful military operations by allies of nearly equal military strength. A few historical instances, recent, mediaeval or pagan all point the moral. Paraguay successfully waged a war against the republics of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and Columbia. Against one opponent, Bolivia, neither combatant made progress. France under Napoleon revelled against any combination of Allies—it was left to Britain to defeat him (Blucher with his Prussians playing the part of Italy and coming in when the work was done). The American colonists defeated British and Hessian allied troops. The Allied War against Russia last century cannot be called a victorious operation. Sweden in the past has defeated Russia, though when allied with others she has been defeated. British history in India is a long list of unsuccessful combinations of allies against the English. Defied Might of Europe

The Saracens, in the times of the Crusades, as a unit successfully defied the might of Europe, every nation in which helped to swell the forces against Palestine. Even the buccaneers in the West Indies were too strong for the alliance of Spain and France and occasionally with them England, though England by herself later on had no trouble in extirpating them. Old Rome herself constantly triumphed against large combinations of powers arrayed against her; Rome never accepted an ally, although she constantly used auxiliary troops belonging to subject nations, a very different matter. It is interesting, indeed, this search for a successful instance of permanent allied success in the pages of world history. Failure to find one points to the permanent moral—men count more than machines in the finish; equipment being approximately equal, it is the spirit of independence, of proud acceptance of a hard fight that makes for victory; freedom from treachery and jealousy, and full self-reliance, are a better basis for endurance than any agreement to share the burden with others.