Evening star., 1939-08-27

of Britain and France in the Far East
was changed for the outright annexation
of the Baltic states and many other
conditions which have not yet been
clarified.
Popular feeling in Britain and in
France clamored for an immediate al
lance with Russia "at any price. Mr..
Chamberlain, who plays first fiddle in
the Franco-British concert, made up his
mind to temporize. He told the French
Baltic states could not be approved by
any decent government But as the de-
mands grew for immediate action from
the ranks of the opposition and most of
the Tory members of the House, the
British Premier decided to adjourn the
unruly House and lead Great Britain
single-handed.
AS soft soap to the representatives of
the British nation who reluctantly agreed
to leave government business in the
hands of the cabinet, Mr.. Chamberlain
offered the consolation that ION August
4" he would make an official announce
ment regarding the British-Russian-
French treaty. But the Soviet govern
ment had agreed only to general staff
talks, with no meaning whatsoever, since
the diplomatic conversations had already
been stalemated
Leaders Must Have Known.
Tbora q ro ~ q nv, u,l,o bolouo t,,ot 1,,,;1o
the majority of the British and the
French cabinets were not conversant
with what was going on behind the
scenes in Moscow, Messrs. Chamberlain
and Bonnet must have known. There is
a powerful intelligence organization
throughout Russia. 1t is difficult to OBJ
tain definite military information, but it
is not hard by spending wisely in the
right places, to obtain information which
certain quarters in Washington had Sc
cured about the activities of the
Swedish business men"
AS this article was written, high Off
cials in Washington like their colleagues
throughout the world, were breathlessly
awaiting news that Germany had de-
cided to send her troops against Poland.
The crux of the situation lies in the
fact that Hitler cannot back down. He
still believes that at the last minute.
when the formidable German military
machinery starts moving, the British and
the French will break down and force
Poland to yield. Or if the Poles cannot
be induced to take their medicine like
the Czecho-Slovaks, the war will be To-
Called in Eastern Europe-and this will
mean a swift campaign
The British general staff realizes that
the Germans are in better condition to-
day than they were IS years ago. It
realizes that Poland is in for heavy
punishment before any of her allies
could make the slightest move.
In the last few weeks the position of
that Eastern European republic has be-
come extremely difficult. 1t is actually
hemmed in without hope of obtaining
any kind of assistance from her allies.
The Poles themselves know that they
will have to bear the brunt of Germany's
of the very doubtful communications
through the U. S. S. R., Poland will be-
come completely cut off from her west
ern allies as soon as Hitler decides to
march. Access to the Baltic Sea will be
interrupted within a few days after the
war begins. Her communications with
Rumania will be equally jeopardized.
The Poles have splendid army. But
despite the efforts of the last few years
they have no heavy industry capable of
replacing the terrific wastage of mate
rial which is inevitable in a modern
campaign. And without a lavish ex-
penditure of shells, without the possibil-
ity of replacing airplanes as quickly as
they are lost, no country can hope to win
a war these days. Man power is impor-
tant, but man power alone is of no avail
The war between the Chinese and the
japanese has clearly shown this.
Strategic Slovakia.
The formal occupation of Slovakia by
the Reich has made the position of Po-
land still more precarious. From Slo-
vakia the Reichswehr could make a
thrust through the Jablunka Pass toward
Cracow, one of the most important rail-
road knots of Poland The association
of Hungary with the war plans of the
Reich would enable the German general
staff to move troops into Southern Po-
land, while on the 5O0-mile- long border
between Poland and Germany the Ger
mans have the initiative and can choose
their attacking point wherever they like.
A surprise diversion from the Poles
appears unlikely. A line of Notifications
has been constructed along the whole
border, reducing the chances of a sur
prise to minimum. A well-planned net
work autoStrafeS (five-lane highwayS)
has been built converging on the Polish
frontier. Important reserves are being
kept within 100 miles from the border.
These the German general staff could
rush to any menaced point within less
than "a hours. Vast fleets of motor
trucks have been concentrated in various
towns inland ready to answer the sos
call from the commanders of any threat
ned region. Behind the two lines of for
tiflcations-in the West where defensive
plans have been completed and in the
East where the Reichswehr will act Of
fensively-there is an industrialized Ger
many, with ample raw materials stored
away for the last three years, working
day and night to replace the anticipated
losses of the armies in the field.
This is the picture of the Reich in the
first few ueeks of q fnreSaer, corara icrr,