Evening star., 1940-03-26
Intensified SEQ War

Intensified SEQ War
Evidence is rapidly accommodating
to support the prediction made re-
Gently in London that coming weeks
will see the war at sea fought with
increasing intensity, perhaps exceed
ing anything experienced in the
World War.
Both Britain and Germany have
indicated clearly by their activ-
tiles the points at which simul-
taneous offensives may be launched.
British submarines for the first time
in this war have sunk German mer-
chant ships, two being sent to the
bottom off the coast of Denmark in
three days, while a third went
aground In dodging the frightened
British blockade German U-boats
sank six Danish vessels in two days
last week, apparently in a concen-
trated drive against British imports
Of vital Danish foodstuffs-butter,
bacon and eggs.
German submarines, it is re-
ported, have massed just outside
Norwegian territorial waters in
preparation for an offensive, and
the British naval forces are lying in
wait for German merchantmen using
neutral Scandinavian waters. The
Oslo government has protested to
London against British naval activity
in Norway's Arctic waters.
When the offensives come the
Northern neutrals = Denmark and
Norway-will suffer along with the
belligerents, both in losses Of ships
and violation of their territorial
waters. The Danish government,
perhaps sensing the imminence of
the new naval drives, has approached
both the British and German gov
ernments for some arrangement
which will spare her further wartime
losses. Denmark has lost twenty
eight vessels in the nearly seven
months of war;.
Germany's ability to conduct a
more intensive submarine campaign
than that of 1917-as London ex-
pects-depends on the size of her
U-boat fleet, which German sources
recently claimed was being aug
mented at the rate of one new sub
marine daily. Against this increase
must be counted, of course, losses
which, according to allied claims,
total more than fifty since Septem-
ber. Germany began this war with
some seventy subs. What the total
Is now, after a winter of hastened
construction, can only be conjec-
tured.
In April, 1917, Germany, with a
fleet of one hundred twenty-seven
submarines rotating at sea, was
sinking 100000 tons of allied and
neutral ships week, a rate which
has not yet been approached in the
present conflict. OF the more than
100000 tons of British and neutral
merchant shipping sunk since Sep
tember more than half has been
British, ratio of neutral loss which
exceeds that of the costly months
of 1917.
The relatively small loss of British
shipping now has been due, un-
doubtedly, to the use of the convoy
system, the device which finally
broke the back Of the sub campaign
in 1917. Although neutrals accept
British convoy in some cases, they
are not getting the benefits of this
kind of protection to the same extent
as British vessels, which travel al
most entirely in convoy in the war
zone.
Therefore, it may be supposed
that when the new German sub
campaign gets under way the princi-
pal victims will be lone neutral
vessels. Their loss will pose for the
non-belligerents the pressing question
of whether to accept British conveys
or, in fear of German attacks, to
give up their trade with Britain, a
trade which in some cases is vital to
their economies