Evening star., 1940-10-25
Diplomatic BIitzkrieq

Behind a dense smoke screen of
silence and censorship, the axis
powers are obviously beginning
diplomatic offensive comparable in
scope to the tremendous military
offensive launched last May. Hitler's
current meetings with Laval in
France and with Franco on the
Spanish border are merely the high
lights of diplomatic maneuverS
which extend to the Near and Far
East, to Russia to Africa and even
to Latin America.
The vital Importance of this dip
lomatic drive can be gagged by the
way Berlin has cracked down on
foreign correspondents there. Hith-
erto, the propaganda ministry
which has charge Of foreign press
representatives, has allowed consid-
cradle latitude in writing analyses OF
trends and possibilities. This, of
course, is in the classic Bismarckian
tradition of permitting the discus
sion of so many alternatives that
the truth is hidden in a mass OF
hypothesis. Now, for the first time,
this technique has been abandoned,
and foreign correspondents have
been warned that any guessing on
their part may bring down upon
them a charge of political eSpio-
mage" That would seem to indicate
either that the truth may become
fairly clear to skilled observers on
the spot or that it would oe de-
ducible abroad from a sending of
anything beyond Official handouts,
Naturally. under these circum-
stances, the air is full of rumors,
usually sensational and often con-
Trajectory. 1t seems to be fairly
clear that some sort of a bargain
has already been cooked up between
Germany and the French Vichy
government on the one hand, and
with the Spanish government of
Franco on the other. We can as
sumo that something quite definite
has been decided in both cases, be-
cause Hitler would never have
allowed his interviews with the
French and Spanish leaders to be-
come public if the groundwork had
not already been firmly laid. Die
tators are too much creatures of
prestige to publicize conferences
which turn out to be duds.
Assuming that both France and
Spain have made definite agree
ments with the axis powers, we may
look for either shift in axis pres
sure to the Western Mediterranean,
presumably centering on Gibraltar,
or simultaneous stepping up of
pressure both there and in the
Balkans for gigantic pincer move
ment to smash Britain'S hold on the
entire Mediterranean area. For, of
course, these diplomatic moves can
scarcely remain within the field of
diplomacy; they must speedily be
synchronized with military and
naval action of parallel intensity.
Indeed, it is more than probable
that we shall witness further in
tensifcation Of Japanese activity in
the Far East. Lastly, in the presence
of what seems to be an "all-out' axis
diplomatic military offensive on
worldwide scale, we can hardly
imagine Soviet Russia doing more
than playing for time or playing
along in return for a liberal share
in the contingent spoilS.
Unless all the omens be at fault,
therefore, we may anticipate events
of the most dramatic and decisive
character in the near future. Either
the axis powers believe that their
hour has struck or they are spurred
by fears of the future to risk every
thing on a series of major blows.
In both cases, the climax of the war
Is very likely at hand.