The Washington times., 1937-07-12

BY H. r. KNICKERBOCkER
(wOrId Copyright. 1887, by Universal
service. Reproduction in whole or part
strictly prOhibitedD
LONDON, July IA smash
ing air raid by Germany on the
docks. oil tanks and warehouses
of London and Southampton to
strike at the heart of the empire.
An Italian attack on Malta to cut
off the Mediterranean route to
India A japanese attack on
Hongkong to lop off the Far East
ern extremity of the empire.
1t is to prevent any one of these
events that Britain is rearming
with such colossal speed and en-.
.ergy. The possibility of all Of
them happening at the same time
is, of course, even more remote
than the possibility of any one OF
them taking place, and the British
believe that by rearming now they
may put this whole picture into
the realm of nightmares, where 1t
belongs.
But war offices have to deal in
Nightmares, and precisely because
the British Empire is so far-flung,
the British Ministry for the CO.
ordination of defense has to take
into conside alton the possibility
of Nightmares more complex In
their potentialities than those
which harass almost any other
government.
Italy Formidable
Britain is resolved now to make
herself able to meet a combined
German-I allan attack. even
though she does not believe those
two nations actually will remain
allies when the time comes.
Italy's forces are considerable.
Her standing army is supposed to
number 100000. and behind 1t
Mussolini declares he has 100000
reservists. But her navy and air
force are what Britain has to con.
slider.
Afloat she has around 100000
tons, or one-third of Britain'S, and
is building $4,000 tons, compared
with Britain'S $4,000 tons build
ing. But that is not the way to es-
innate Italy's navy, which is
mainly defensive. She has just an
nounced that 20 new submarines
are to be laid down this year.
which will give her 10S undersea
boats, the largest submarine fleet
in the world.
What this means may be esti-
mated by the fact that the Ger
mans at the height of their sub
marine campaign, which nearly
brought Britain to starvation and
defeat. had but 100. In addition
to Italy's 108 submarines, she has
specialized in the new type TORPEDO
speed boats, carrying two toFpe-
does each and capable OF from 80
to so miles an hour.
Finally. she has her air fleet
which she officially announces
at 1000 first-line planes Torpedo
planes, regarded as much more
dangerous to naval vessels than
are air bombers, are another
speciality of the Italian armed
forces.
Submarines Effective
In the narrow Mediterranean,
submarines are especially eftec'
tive. Liddell Hart records that
one U-boat alone baggeG a total
of 100000 tons of shipping in
that sea.
Equally because Of its narrow
ness, nearly the whole length
of the Mediterranean IS within
range of Shore-baSed war planes.
Italy's big bombers today have
a range of from 400 to 500 miles.
which puts them within striking
distance of shipping for nearly
three-quarters of the Medlter-
ranean route.
Insurgent GeneraliSsimO
These dangers have row been
enhanced by the events in Spain.
If Franco wins. and if Italy and
Germany as a reward for help
ing him are given strategic foot
holds, Gibraltar could become
useless to the British while the
Balearic Islands as a submarine
and air base for Italy would ex.
tend her striking power over the
last quarter of the Mediterranean
and thus threaten it's entire
length. A German submarine
base in the Canaries also would
threaten the British ships d.
verted from the Mediterranean
to the route to the East around
Africa.
Taken together. these combined
threats under water, on the water
and in the air are serious enough
to have persuaded the British that
should war come with Italy they
would have to abandon the Medi-
terranean as an artery for mercan
tile traffic. BY shutting out mer-
chant ships they would relieve
the navy of the duty of protecting
them, and could concentrate on
the job nj destroying the Italian
navy and attempting to blockade
the peninsula.
To Face Any Odds
In other words, for the first
time since the battle of Trafalgar,
Britain is faced with the POSSIBLE
ity that the Mediterranean would
be difficult to hold. Yet it is the
best indication of her "erewed
spirit that she has set out to hold
It against all odds. Malta, her
principal naval base there, is so