Evening star., 1940-10-13
DICTATORS PLAN LONG WAR
Attack on British at Suez Canal Expected
By Constantine Brown.

the Italians q definite preponderance
over the British feet In those waters
The Far Eastern situation is said to
have been touched only lightly upon at
the Brennero meeting. The fate of that
region of the globe forms the subject
of exchanges of views between Toxic and
Berlin and no definite action is expected
to occur until the position of the United
States becomes clearer in the eyes of the
axis powers. The clarification needed Is
not a political but military one. Politi-
cally it is realized in the three totalita-
rian capitals that the United States will
leave no stone unturned to help Britain.
U. s. Navy Threat.
But actual strength of the United
States Navy in relation to the strength
of the Japanese, together with the rate
Of production of war material needed
by the United States feet. is subject
for heated discussions between the gen.
eral stats Of Germany and Japan. The
former believe that the American fleet
lacks the necessary preparation to Wage
a war far away from its bases; the lat
ter-who, incidentally, will have to bear
the brunt of the conflict and are risking
all the gains made since l93l-are afraid
that the American Navy is ready for any
emergency
In many respects the failure of Hitler
to invade Britain last month can be
compared with the failure of Gen. Won
Kluck to cross the River Marne and
occupy Paris in 1914 The object of the
German imperial staff was to break the
backbone of the Allied resistance by
capturing the capital of France. The
Germany was to conquer London and
thus bring the one remaining active
antagonist-Great Britain-to her knees.
Had the occupation OF Paris succeeded in
the fall of 1914 the war would have been
over before the winter. Had the Ger
mans succeeded in crossing the Straits
of Dover last month the war in Europe
would have been ended this year. Hitler
realized this and he promised his people
to park himself in Buckingham Palace
before the fog blanketed the Channel.
His failure to do so has changed the
face of this war.
After the Marne the central powers
continued to win spectacular victories;
continued to conquer new territories and
inflict bloody defeats on their opponents.
But the war was eventually lost to them.
It would be unwise to make the same
prediction this time. But the failure Of
the Fuehrer to accomplish his plans
makes totalitarian victory more doubt
full than 1t was a few weeks ago and
opens the vista to many possibilities and
surprises.
British Navy Still Supreme.
1t is true that the whole of Europe
is in the hands of the axis. 1t is equally
true that Britain is fighting with her
back to the wall, but her two main
assets in the fight for her life are intact:
The British Navy still remains supreme
on the high seas and the fighting power
of the British air force is still unscathed.
Many people consider the resistance
of the British to the most violent and
Oclclululcu dtGdIfo VI I1iC INdLA GAL AOlkC
miraculous. From the military point Of
view the British resistance can easily be
explained: The Nazis, after the French
defeat, thought that the conquest OF
Britain was a matter Of a few weeks.
They took their time to prepare them.
selves with their usual thoroughness.
This gave the British breathing spell.
h. u e., ~. ofe
of London and other cities and the de-
fense of their military establishments
and airdromes. From past lessons they
knew that the first objective of the Ger
mans would be their airdromes; that had
been the case in Poland Norway, Hol-
land and France. A large portion Of the
aviation of those countries was destroyed
on the ground. The landing places and
the runways were the special targets OF
the NaZi aviators.
With . heavy heart the British gov.
ernment decided to defend London only
perfunctorily and to concentrate every
available means Of defense on military
finally decided to- give the final blow
and attacked in mass formations, they
found the British airdromes 50 we'll de.
Tended that they could not get near them.
The main problem of the British gen.
eral staff was whether or not the British
civilians could take the punishment OF
the German air force without losing
heart. They could. In the meantime
the British plants produced more than
had been expected So did the Ameri-
can factories. where the British govern
ment belatedly placed important orders.
The inability of the Germans to de-
stroy Britain's military aviation and the
stout heart of the British civilians has
put an end to the blitzkrieg. From now
on we shall witness violent and spectacu.
lar campaigns al over the empire. But
the war will be Rns and tedious Affair."