Evening star., 1939-04-21

forgotten that Britain can at short
notice reinforce her squadrons there
by withdrawing ships from other
stations where the local situation is
less critical, such as North America,
the East Indies and China stations,
as was done during the Italo- -Ethio-
plan crisis in 1856.
In the latter connection, the full
significance of the recent order by
President Roosevelt that the United
States fleet shall return forthwith to
the Pacific has been appreciated.
Again stressing the fact that these
observations are unofhcial, this
writer would say that, once the
United States feet is back in the
Pacific, we shall all breathe more
freely, knowing that the ring is be-
ing kept clear (not necessarily from
altruistic motives, but from those of
elementary mutual self-interesD in
sphere where the defensive power
of the Democratic nations is tempo
rarily jeopardized.
The thoughts of many at this
moment are centered on Gibraltar,
which is, in the most literal sense,
one Of the key bastions of the Brit
ish Empire So long as Britain
holds the Rock in the West and
Alden and Perrin Island in the East,
she can control the Mediterranean,
from strategical point of view,
without in any way infringing upon
her legal obligations regarding the
Suez Canal. If, for example, in an
emergency, Italian troop transports
entered the canal at Port Said, 1t
is in the last degree improbable that
any action would be taken to i'm
pede their normal transport through
the waterway, although, if in the
interval a real crisis developed, it
is interesting to speculate what
would happen to them before they
reached Massawa in italian Fri
trea-if ever.
Gibraltar, Red Sea Keys.
Britains position in the Medi-
terranean rests, not, as many people
suppose, on the buttresses of Gil
braltar, Malta and Cyprus, but on
her power to retain control of Gil
braltar in the West and of the Red
Sea in the East. The hireling press
of the dictator powers may rage
like heather, but the professional
strategists in Berlin and Rome know
this to be true. That is why any
threat to Gibraltar, direct or i'm
plicit, must always be regarded by
Britain with the utmost gravity.
In this writer's opinion, Gibraltar
is, humanity speaking, invulnerable.
The town and harbor could no doubt
be bombarded from Algeciras, on the
Spanish mainland, or from Ceuta,
in Spanish Morocco, but, unfortu-
nately for potential aggressors, this
danger has long been recognized
and new batteries have been To-
Gated to cope with just such con-
tlngencies. In other words, Gibral-
tar can now return blow for blow,
and it is very improbable that the
lobbing of shells and bombs into
the harbor by day or night would
seriously interfere with normal work
in the dockyard or with the move
ment of ships.
A classic example of the futility of
attempting to dislocate the activities
of a port by long-range gunfire or
by air bombardment is provided by
Dunkerque. French channel port,
which suffered more from this dual
form of "strafing" during the World
War than any other town on the
western front except those immedi-
ately in the battle sectors. Day
after day and night after night, as
the writer can personally testify,
Dunkerque was bombed and shelled,
yet there is no recorded instance of
the movement of single ship being
disturbed thereby.
In strictly unofficial British circles
there is a conviction amounting to
certainty that if Italy is so foolish
as to allow herself to be dragged
into war by her senior partner in
the axis, she will last six weeks to
two months at most. The controlled
Italian press dares not let its people
know that every part of Italy is COM
pletely exposed to bombardment
from the air or sea or that the
British fleet could, much against its
Will and only under the duress of
stark necessity, drop 15-inch shells
into the heart of Rome.
In British eyes. Italy has COM
mitted the unforgivable strategic
oiunder of dissipating her forces in
Abyssinia, Libya and Spain. Since
history began, it is difficult to find
parallel to this amazing gamble
with the hard facts of military
strategy.
AS for Germany, a war with Great
Brltain-which, incidentally, would
not be a single-handed conflict
would find her in an infinitely worse
plight than she was back in 1914.
Not only Is she hopelessly out
numbered in the North Sea. but