Evening star., 1940-05-26
Nazi Forces POURING
Through Hole Termed
Hostages 10 Fortune
British-French Success
Will Permit Mopup
Of Coust Area Later
BY MAI. GEORGE FIELDING
ELIOT,

them so well, of disrupting and dis
organizing the rear areas of the
Allied forces. This is the reason
for their frantic efforts to pour
additional mechanical and motor
lied units through the slowly mar
rowing gap-claimed now by the
French to be no more than IL miles
separating Bapaume and Peronne
which still remains between the
main French armies and the Brit
1sh Belgian French Armies of
Flanders" This is the reason for
the appearance in German COM
muniques of such names as st.
Omer. Gravelines, Lillers and Lens.
(The Associated Press report
from Paris said, however, that
the French were claiming the
gap had been narrowed to 20
miles)
1t must be emphasized that the
critical battle-area is not on the
channel coast, but in an area
bounded roughly by line drawn
from Valenciennes to ST. Quentin,
thence to Amiens. thence to Arras,
thence back to Valenciennes 1t is
within this area that the Allies are
trying to join hands between their
two main groups of armies. If they
fail they are faced with disaster.
If they succeed. meanwhile being
able to defend their northern front
against the gathering weight of the
German right wing, the coastal area
can thereafter be mopped up; not
without difficulty and loss, but with
certainty.
Thus every man and every ar
inored vehicle which the Germans
now run through the gap is
hostage to fortune. The more they
can spread dismay and confusion
through the Allied rear. the better
their chances: but if they do not
stop the closing of the gap despite
all their efforts, then the greater
their eventual loss in prisoners and
equipment.
On Old Somme Battlefield.
The gap between Bapaume and
of the Somme, country of gentle
slopes, low, rounded hills, small
streams, many villages, clumps> of
isolated forest. 1t offers few OBJ
stacles to military movement. In
deed, such movement is facilitated
by network of roads, by-roads and
country lanes, through which, ap-
parently, the German units are
filtering despite the fact that the
whole area is now coming under
Allied artillery fire.
If both Bapaume and Peronne are
controlled by the Allies, as now
seems to be the case, there are
no great east-west highways left
to the Germans, but there are
many secondary roads. The chief
centers and crossroads are Combles,
Ginchy. Flers, Longueval, Lesbouefs
and Gueudecourt. Allied artillery
concentrations on these points are
undoubtedly impending, but cannot
wholly stop, German movement,
especially by night, and in view OF
the German air superiority, which
interiors with registration of fire
by airplane spotting. The southern
part of the area is more heavily
forested than the north, which is
of advantage to the Germans in
concealing their movements.
Meanwhile the Armies of Flan-
ders" must already be feeling the
pinch of their severed communica-
tions. There seems no doubt that
the British are doing all that is
possible to reinforce and supply
these forces; this is one reason for
the bold dash of the Germans north
from Abbeville toward Boulogne and
Calais, and for the importance at
tached by the German communiques
to the reported arrival of their
armored forces at st. Omer, which
controls rail and road traffic inland
from both Boulogne and Calais
The situation at these ports and
at st. Omer is uncertain, and the
subject of claims and counter-claims
by both sides.
There seems no doubt, however,
that Dunkerque and the Dunkerque-
Lille lines remain open. though sub
ject to air attack. Nor does it
seem possible that the German units
In all this area can maintain them
selves and 60 on fighting very long,
while they are dependent on sup
plies and reinforcements coming
through the narrow, fire-swept
Bapaume-Peronne gap. There must
soon begin to be heavy casulties
and immobilization among them.
Time, I repeat again, is here as
elsewhere of the utmost Importance.
Reinforcements Impeded.
AS to British reinforcements and
supplies, these have, of course, been
seriously interfered with by German
air and mechanical operations in
the vicinity of the ports, and by
German submarine, motorboat and
air operations in the Channel More
over, as to ammunition, the Bel
gians must be running pretty short
OF their 7.65-millimeter rifle and ma
chine gun ammunition, of which
there are not likely to be large
stocks in England or France. The
French can, of course, obtain their
own 8-mm. ammunition by a
roundabout route across the Channel
and through England to cross the
Channel again and they can supply
the Belgians with 47-mm, rs
nm. and 155-mm. ammunition as
well. But all this takes time and
Is precarious and difficult. q.
On the Scheldt, the Germans now
claim full possession of Ghent, and
instinctively ones attention is drawn
to the area north of that city
through which with possession of
the Ghent bridges and the gaining
here of the mouth of the Lys, a
great German stroke might roll
down the Belgian Coast. If the
names of Bruges and Ostend begin
appearing in the news, this will be
ominous of such an event.
y