Evening star., 1940-11-21

QdHldSeu SHIPS Ol his navy Qugglng
their harbors. Looking seward to-
ward the Suez Canal and toward
Gibraltar he is shut in by the British
naval siege. Looking landward he
finds the Fuehrer too close company.
II Duce has two land wars on
hand, one against the British Army
in Egypt and one against Greece
Neither has gone very far yet Ap-
parently he struck along the Alban-
ian frontier in order to stake his
claim lest Hitler's legions in their
inadvertent ardor should be in
Greece first.
Hitler has no land warfare to
occupy his army at present. His
war on Britain is by sea and air. He
should have a million troops free
from police duty in the conquered
countries for further action.
Without having to fight even a
skirmish he is much nearer the old
German goal of "Drang Mach Osten"
than the Kaiser ever was in his most
triumphal period of the World War.
He is through the Carpathians. the
great natural barrier to a German
advance.
Rumanians Disarmed.
The Rumanlan Army, which stood
In the way, is being disarmed to en-
able the soldiers to return to pro-
ductive labor Germans now guard
the Rumanlan oil fields and the
towns and villages to make sure Ger
many gets the oil and the peasants
share their winter supply of food
with their new protectors.
Reports that Hitler already has an
army of 100000 men in Rumania
seem trustworthy. He could very
we'll have transported that many
there by rail and trucks and on
barges down the Danube, which
practically is a German river now.
He has bases on the Black Sea.
Across the path of advance on the
Dardanelles there remain Hungary
and Bulgaria. Both have had their
cut out of the partial territorial dis
membermnnt of Rumania. Hungary
IL dlICdNN n 4NdLl doSCl lNlllE LDOA 10
OF Bulgaria recently had secret
talk with Hitler.
German influence is strong in llttlc
Bulgaria She was Germany's ally
in the World War. Her army is
German-t And her people are
slow to forget their gruGge against
the Turks, who long held them
subject.
The path clear. the Nazi host
ready for the sudden surprise rush in
blitzkrieg ruthlessness and ferocity
Turkey will then have to make her
mortal decision to fight or yield. In
her effort to hold the small section
Of her soil on the European side she
will have to send troops and supplies
In support across the Dardanelles.
The Germans can mass air power
to bomb them even at the expense OF
diverting planes from the siege of
Britain. That would be relief for
the British until the raids are re-
nevod in force.
And once German Army is before
the Turkish defense line with Vi"W
TO control the European side of the
DardarclleS it viii be on Greek soil
where Northeastern Greece borders
or the DardanelleS. In that Situa-
ton. if Mussolini is still hung up in
the Albanian mountains with such
superior forces in his favor and
Hitler should 60 to the aid of his
axis partner, a German Army would
have a relatively free swing through
Northern Greece to take the port of
Salonika and nail that down as
German outlet to the Mediterranean.
Might Take Gibraltar.
Then the Fuehrer could say to II
Duce: You have the navy. It's up to
you to drive the British from the
Eastern Mediterranean"
Hitler can also engage in a second
land campaign. Franco probably
could spare some guns and troops to
attack Gibraltar, but Hitler might
say he wanted only passage through
Spain for his army; he would do all
the fighting. Should he be able to
take Gibraltar there would be all
kinds of reasons for delay in lower