Evening star., 1940-09-26
BY MAJ. GEORGE FIELDING
ELIOT.

ade. They are Tor the most part ac-
cessible only by sea, and it is in
evitable that some measure of re-
sponsibility for them should fall on
the shoulders of the British as well
as of ourselves, while a third sea
power, Japan. finds in certain of
them an almost irresistible tempta-
ton.
1t would seem to be sound British
policy to prevent these far-flung
colonies from being exploited by the
Germans or Italians or taken by the
Japanese, insofar as possible, and
conversely, to employ them as bases
of operations against Germany and
Italy where geographical position
permits 1t would seem to be sound
American policy also to prevent
these regions from being added to
any totalitarian domain while we
are directly interested in the main
tenance of order and trade in such
vast regions of the world. All this
makes the reported British with
drawal from Dakar difficult to un-
derStand.
Keystone of Region.
If Dakar had fallen into the hands
of Gen. De Gaulle and his British
supporters. the whole Of French
Africa south of the Sahara would
have fallen with it. Dakar is the
chief center of this region and con-
tains almost all the Frenchmen who
live there. 1t is a sort of local SYM
boil of authority, and once in the
hands of the Free Frenchmen," J"
with British gold to re-establish its
normal relations with the interior
regions. payment for officials and
native troops, flow of trade, ETC.,
there should have been nothing
further necessary to establish the
De Gaulle authority from the fringe
of the Sahara to the Congo.
This would open up vast area to
British and American trade. 1t
would also give the British firm
position from which to resist any
Italian or German attempt to pene-
trate the interior of Africa. 1t would
form shield to the Belgian Congo,
and it might, conceivably, affect the
outcome of the struggle with the
Italians in East Africa, though the
communications are not favorable
for large-scale operations. 1t would
deprive the axis of any hope Of using
Dakar as base for submarine and
air in the vital British sea lanes
around the Cape of Good Hope,
across the Atlantic to Venezulan oil,
and to the Argentine for beef and
grain. Finally, it would provide a
strong support for further De Gaulle
attempts to undermine the Vichy
government in Morocco, Algeria and
Tunis, which, if accomplished, would
threaten Italian Libya from the west
and would also neutralize the posi-
BILE loss of Gibraltar.
Important to U. S. Also.
Thus Dakar is a point Of great
Importance to Britain. 1t is also
of importance to us, not only be-
cause we are vitality interested in
Britains victory, but also because it
forms means of approach from
Europe to South America, at the
narrowest part of the Atlantic
Ocean. We cannot afford to see
it in the hands of the axis powers.
For all of these reasons it is diff
ficult indeed to believe that the
British, having once set their hands
to this attempt, will not immedi-
ately renew it with sufficient force
to overcome all opposition.
1t is plain that Gen. de Gaulle's
informatio as to the disposition
of the French at Dakar was 1ncor-
rect, or else the arrival of the war
ships from Toulon changed the
whole picture between the time Of
Gen. de Gaulle's departure from
Britain and his arrival before Da-
kar There is a hint of German
boldness and desperate energy in
this dash of the French squadron
from Toulon to Dakar, and it may
have been that the squadron
brought with it those who found
means to arrest the dissident and
stiffen the spines of the wavering.
However that may be, the British
cannot now. it would seem, afford
to take refuge in any claim that
they do not want to shed French
blood. French blood already has
been shed by British Shells and
French planes in reprisal have at
tackled Gibraltar. There are troops
available in British West Africa,
under an able commander of much
African experience, 1t. Gen. G. j.
Giffard. The British colony Of
Gambia, only 100 miles from Dakar,
can form an admirable air base,
necessary for any majort effort
against fortified place. Inciden-
tally, this isolated colony might be
in danger from French reprisals
unless energetic measures are taken
If the Dakar misfortune is not re-
trieved, it will be exploited every
where by the axis, most especially
in Spain and Japan; the De Gaulle
influence in parts of the French
Empire will be sadly impaired;
British prestige, rising fast as a
result of the splendid defense of
Britain itself, will suffer a severe
blow Too much is at stake to per-
init fine points to stand in the way
of prompt renewal Of the British
move on Dakar. with ample forces
to beat down any conceivable re-
sistance.
Crises for China.
Meanwhile, halfway round the
world in Indo-China, another por-
ton of the French Empire is caus-
ing anxiety. The Japanese attempt
to establish their military power in
the protectorate of Tonkin, northern.
most of the five political divisions
of Indo-China, is on the face of II
designed to enable the Japanese not
only to shut off the flow of supplies
to the Chinese via the Yunnan
Railway, but to give the Japanese
Army position from which an at
tack may be delivered against the
Chinese from the Sol1th direcred