Evening star., 1940-01-14


tory over their western opponents. He has
| pooh-poohed all the new inventions Of
German chemists and electrical experts,
saying that there is no poison without
an antidote. He recalled that the world
was revolutionized when Hannibal at
tackled the Romans at Cannes with his
detachment of elephants Yet the Ro-
mans were victorious in the end. He re-
called that the introduction of the mus
ket against the bow and arrow was
thought to have revolutionized military
strategy. 1t did-but did not give per-
manent victory to those who used it the
hrSt time. 1t was surprise as much as
tanks and poison gas were in the last
war. Counter measures were taken i'm
mediately after these two new war weap-
ons were brought into action, and
neither tank nor mustard gas helped
either side. 1t was the Generalization of
the German people which gave the al
lies their victory. Hence, time tested
methods must be taken against the allies
today. If Germany wants to be sure of
winning the war it must be fully prepared
to feed the population almost ade-,
quately, and must strive to wear down
the morale of the French until they de-
eide to abandon the fight.
Raid Fears Upset.
In support of this theory, it is point
ed out that the German high command,
following, undoubtedly, Hitlers instruc-
tions, has refrained from any kind of
hostile act against the French Unlike
1914, the Germans have not even at
tempted to enter French territory.
When the war broke out there was al
most universal belief that Paris, Mar
sellles, Lyons and other important
French industrial cities would be at
tackled by hundreds of German airplanes.
According to military experts, if the
German high command had desired to
strafe French cities, this could have
been done despite the excellence of the
French anti-aircraft defense. A wave of
say 200 planes would have caused con-
siderable damage to any French city
even if the price for such raid had
been half of the attacking force. Yet
nothing of the sort happened The few
skirmishes which occur between the
Maginot and the Siegfried Lines are
without any consequence. Airplanes
which have flown over France have
never attempted to release a single
bomb
What does Hitler expect? His strategy
seems simple. He expects the French
soldiers to go home because they have
nothing to do. All those who went
through the last war know how lack of
action can wear down the nerves Of the
men in the trenches. The "caffard" (the
closest translation of this word would
be spleen gets the man and when the
caffard grips whole army there is no
telling what it might do
In 1914 the French had to defend their
territory. Millions of German soldiers
had entered France and occupied large
section of the country as far as the
Marine. Regardless of how keen the
French were to fight then, occupation
of their ancestral land put vigor into
them which made them hold their
ground against a superior adversary.
The same idea that German troops oc-
SuSICd IlCliCll ldIlUS Illdut GIlcUl COI.
tinue the fight although in 1918 the
French were as war weary as the Ger
mans themselves. But only a small
minority would down arms" while their
country was still occupied by the enemy.
The situation is different now The
time has not yet come, but Hitler expects
that it will come, when a majority of
the men in the trenches or in the case
mates of the Maginot Line may ask their
officers and their government: What
are we fighting for?" The answer can
not be You are fighting for Poland"
because Poland has ceased to exist, and
emotionalism about the plight of that
nation has worn out in the long months
of military inactivity.
Foreseeing this question, the leaders
of the French and the British had to
find war slogan. They found it, 1t is:
Down with Hitler"
Slogan Found Successful.
For the time being-the war is only
four months old-this war cry is sue
cessful. But Hitler does not expect it to
last long.
The allies have to bear great finan-
cial burden which affects the individual
welfare of country whose balloting is
done on democratic lines more than in a
totalitarian state where nobody is al
lowed to visualize how finances are
manipulated. When letters from home
start telling about the inevitable hard
ships of life in wartime, when the word
piles up that the soldiers business is
going to pieces and other such depress-
ing news is general, the men at the front
are bound to be affected. When an
army is fighting, these personal facts are
of secondary Importance because the
men do not know whether they will be
alive within the next half hour, and
they believe that the government will
take care of their relatives. But when
the men do nothing more than ordinary
barracks routine, such news is depress-
ing and demoralizing. It is on this
psychological factor that Hitler bases
his strategy. He seeks to harm the Brit
ish because he believes they are made
of different cloth. But he fully expects
the French to overthrow their govern
ment if it opposes the conclusion of
peace such as Hitler has in mind-the
liberalization by the Reich of all Europe.
There is, of course, the possibility that
in order to forestall such an occurrence
the French Conorol ctaff r,iuht ordor a