Evening star., 1940-05-14
Belgium S Neutrality
Seen Refarding Aid
By Allied Armies
Fifth Column Activity
Also Pointed Out
As Important Phuse

ALSO TOJHIeO Out
As Important Phuse
PARIS, May IA (N.A.N.A.).-To
ses all military developments In
their true perspective and correctly
appreciate the course Of military
operations, some important facts
must be kept in mind.
The cooperation Of the French
and British armies with the Bel
gian forces has had to be extem-
porized since the Low Countries
were invaded by the Germans last
Friday. So strict was the concep-
ton Belgium had formed Of her own
neutrality that, before the actual
invasion, her general stan was never
allowed to enter into any contact
with the French and British higher
commands.
In that respect, what occurred
last January is Of actual impor-
tance. On January Is the Belgian
government warned the French and
British governments that it expected
Its own territory to be invaded by
the German Army on January is
and that they had better keep them
selves ready to carry out the guar
antee of protection given in March,
1887.
Thereupon huge masses Of French
troops and war materials were
gathered in close vicinity to the
Belgian frontier. But January Is
passed off and the Germans had not
moved forward. The French divi-
sions which had been concentrated
to 60 to the rescue of Belgium at
very short notice could not be left
indefinitely in the open country,
where they might have been at
tackled by the German air force.
Dilemma Put to Cabinet.
Thus this dilemma was put to the
Brussels cabinet. Either 1t would
call for the preventive assistance of
the Western powers and, in that
case, staff arrangements would be
made and the defense Of the forti-
fed lines along the Albert Canal
from Liege to Antwerp could be un-
dertaken jointly; or the Brussels
cabinet would prefer to wait until
German soldiers had set foot on
Belgian soil-then the French and
British armies would not be in
position to protect Belgian territory
as fully and eficiently as otherwise
and 1t would have to be left to the
French higher command to act ac-
cording to the circumstances of the
moment.
Everything would be done, OF
course, to prevent the Reichswehr
from advancing into Belgium and
to push it back as far away as pos
sible from the coastline, but at the
same time the risk of having to fight
q battle of the Charleroi type would
be incurred. (Charleroi, fortified
Belgian city, was the scene of q
British-French defeat by the Ger
mans in August. 1914J
Having to pronounce themselves
upon that alternative, the ministers
of King Leopold chose to temporize
and to stick to their policy of neu-
trahty to the end. Today's military
position arises from the decision ar
rived at four months ago by the
Belgian sovereign and his advisers,
which they confirmed and reasserted
shortly after the German attackson
Denmark and Norway.
Another point deserves to b<
stressed-the activity Of fifth col
umns" in Holland and Belgium. 1r
Holland particularly the fifth col
umn has come forward as q kind Of
vanguard of the parachutists and o1
the German soldiers who were car.
ried by commercial airplanes no
fewer than 80 men in each ma
chine) and speedily joined them.
Many Arrested by Dutch.
There are about 100000 German
residents in Holland, including 20,-
900 in The Hague. The Dutch au-
thorities have arrested large num-
bers of them 1t is a sursprising fact
that some Dutch nationals prom
inent in the business world were
found to be accomplices of the Nazi
aggressor. For instance, the head Of
an old-established banking firm in
Amsterdam had in his possession
some plans of the German invasion.
All those agents Of Hitlerian con-
quest, German and non-German,
have been sent wholesale to places
of confinement. Tourist cars, bor-
rowed by the Dutch police, stopped
at the door of each suspect, who was
awakened Immediately. Passers-
by may have had the impression
that those carloads of people left
for pleasure trips.
In the Low Countries the fifth
columns have been overpowered by
now, but they are still at work in
Switzerland and in Spain. In
Switzerland some men giving in
formation of military value to the
enemy have been caught red
handed in important quarters. The
Berne government reacts most en-
ergetically to the emergency and
no doubt Is felt as to its ability to
cope wit it.
In Spain the German and italian
residents reach a figure of $4,000, or
perhaps $4,000. If not more, and it
has been noted that many of them
have tried to mix up with the ex-
tremists of the Spanish Falange.
The ministers of Gen. Franco are
renewing the assurances of neutral
tty so frequently given in the past
But would they have the nerve to
crush all possible movements and
to check ''putsch" which might be
attempted?
Eventual developments in Switz-
erland and Spain will depend upon
1taly's attitude. For instance, it Is
obvious that Germany could hardly
try to place Switzerland under her
protection" a step with which she
EDEe1EA I'D