Evening star., 1940-04-11

British Naval Action
In Skagerrak May
Cut Off Germans
Forces in korwoy Foee
Defect if Allies Block
Reinforcements
BY MAJ. GEORGE FIELDING
ELIOT

The crucial point in every over
beas expedition Is its maritime COM
munications, in this case the great
inlet between Norway and Denmark
known as the Skagerrak. Into this
body of water the British fleet has
fought its way against the resistance
Of the German naval forces covering
the communications of the expedi-
tionary army in Norway. There is no
present means Of estimating the re-
spective strengths of the forces in
volved; the British struck swiftly,
with the ships Immediately available
at Scapa Flow and east coast bases,
probably by no means their whole
fleet. They have been or are about
to be reinforced by French ships
and are probably, but not certainly,
superior to the Germans-certainly
they will be as soon as they can re-
inforce their initial striking ele-
mentS.
This is the main British effort,
and If it is successful in defeating
Ing British control Of the Skagerrak,
the position of the German troops
In Norway Immediately becames
critical. 1t is probable that the
Germans will employ their air force
In an endeavor to redress what ap-
pears, at present, to be their naval
setback.
Allies Active Elsewhere.
Whether the British can maintain |
their forces in the Skagerrak de- |
spite the strong German air force
is uncertain; one of the great ques-
tions which this war may solve is |
how far-Within narrow or coastal
waters-modern air power has al
tered the old conditions under which |
sea power used to function. The |
struggle for the Skagerrak may
provide us with some illumination OF |
this matter.
While that struggle proceeds the |
allies have not been idle elsewhere |
they have blockaded the German
ships which had entered the Nor
wegian ports on the Atlantic.
At Narvik there was fight, under |
circumstances which remain obscure, |
between five British H" class de- |
stroyers and six somewhat larger
and better-gunned German destroy
ers, with the result that the British
lost two of their ships and the
others, some of them damaged, were
driven off.
Meanwhile the Norwegians appear
to have taken heart from the fierce
swiftness of the British reaction to
their situation, and are reported
stlf1enlng their resistance to the
German attempt to move inland
from Oslo. Volunteers are reported
Joining in this resistance. AS a mat
ter of fact, of the six military area
headquarters of Norway, four (Oslo,
Bergen, Kristiansand and Trond-
heinz fell into German hands at the
very outset, with the probable re-
sulting loss of all the administrative
machinery of mobilization and a
great part of the arms, artillery, mu-
nltfons and stores.
Mobilization Difficult.
Under these conditions, to mobi-
fize militia army like the Norwe-
gian, dependent almost entirely on |
citizen soldiers, becomes most diff
fcult if not impossible matter. and |
resort must be had to any sort of |
tmprovised force which can offer q
little resistance and delay the en-
emy's advance until help arrives.
OF course, the Germans must have
foreseen all this. They could not |
have supposed that the British |
would quietly stand by and see them
occupy Norway. They may, how
ever, have overestimated the abil-
aty of their air force to control the
Skagerrak; though doubtless they
have plans to deal even with that |
situation. Since they can hardly
abandon their forces now in Nor
way, one way to continue support
Ing them would be to move through |
Southern Sweden, across the Danish |
island of Seeland. This suggestion
Is supported by the rather peculiar
circumstances of the German nego-
tiations with Sweden, reported yes
terday, in which the Germans are |
supposed to have submitted mem |
orandum" asking the Swedish at
titude Sin certain eventuaities," to
which the Swedes replied that
Sweden would defend her neutrality
at all costs; a strange reply unless
that neutrality was threatened.
Sweden Could Harry Nazis.
If the allies still have in hand,
with any of its shipping ready, the
expeditionary force (reputedly 100,-
900 mem which they were prepar-
ing to send to the assistance of Fin
land, this may make a great deal
of difference in the Norwegian
struggle. If Sweden comes in, or is
forced in by German action, not
only the well-equipped though small
Swedish Army will be thrown into
the scale, but the Swedish air force
of about 500 modern planes, and
the Swedish fleet, which has three
pocket battleships, an aircraft
cruiser, and number of modern
destroyers and submarines. This
would not be able to do much
against the German ordinarily, but
with the German fleet engaged in a
life or death struggle in the Skager-
fak, the Swedes might make dan
eero1c divorciov, II, tho Do1tio out