Evening star., 1940-04-14
NORWAY IS STEPPING STONE TO SWEDEN
Lloyd George Sees Allies Lured Unsuitable Battlefield
Geore.

LONDON.-The Nad power is like q
great grizzly bear standing at bay with
its back to an unscalable glacier-with
barred teeth roaring defiance At its as
sailants and ruthlessly striking one after
another Of those that are within reach
of Its powerful paw.
Now 1t is the turn Of Denmark and
Norway. BY one swift stroke Denmark
has been laid low and Norway has re-
ceived q bad shock.
Denmark, with its fiat lands defended
by . small, army of halfstrained men,
is not q defensible proposition against
an immense and highly equipped army
such as Germany could pave hurled
against its poor defenses. In the alb
serce Of immediate help from the allies.
resistance would have only ended in
futile slaughter. Submission was the
only chance Of securing such considers,
ton IN treatment as Is compatible with
a foreign occupation.
Norway was a different case. It is 4
much more defensible country, with its
high mountains. its narrow defiles its
tortuous road and rail communications,
and its numerous fjords and long sea
frontier, accessible to our navy. Ger
many could pour masses of troops, tanks.
and cannon into Denmark. Norway had
to be reached by sea, with allied navies
on the watch.
'tAs Have Been Trap for Nazis.
on1 ~"ud have thought that q land
ing cf'i~ have been resisted or DELAYED
lonS sts0ueh to enable even the sluggish
governments Of Britain and France to
send their naval and aerial fleets to drive
OF the meager forces of the invader.
When the invasion occurred, our fleet
was actually engaged in laying mines
in Norwegian territorial waters on the
sea routes along which German ships
sail on their way from Narvik to the
Baltic.
And yet German ships occupied i'm
portant ports, including Narvik. on this
very route. It is inexplicable except
on the assumption that We were cum
ningly laying q trap for the Germans, in
which we can capture the small garri-
sons placed in these scattered ports to-
gether with the ships that carried or
escorted them there.
There is supposed to be in existence
somewhere q joint expeditlonary force
Of British and French troops ready to
sail fors Narvik at Q moments notice.
It is fully equipped with artillery, tanks,
airplanes and ammunition. It was or
ganized and assembled with . view to
assisting the Finns. II it is available
for prompt dispatch, and am assured
that 1t Is, the German invaders may vet
be suppressed" in Oslo, Bergen, Trond-
helm and Narvik.
Has this force been dispersed? Are
the troop skirs engaged Ia other tasks?
II so irrecoverable time will be spent in
the fitting up of another expedition.
Meanwhile Denmark has submitted to
the conqueror and there is no safe land
ing place on the Danish shores where
such an expedition could disembark.
Reinforcement Difficult.
It may be assumed that as far as
Norway is concerned the Germans, being
prepared, are strengthening the In
vading force every hour, but with their
precarioais sea communications they win
ind 1t dimcult to send reinforcements
which will enable their invading force
to resist q combined attack by . strong
allied army In front and Norwegian
forces behind. i
There is one development Of the Nor
wegian invasion the outcome Of which
may have considerable, II not de-
cisive effect upon the fortunes Of the
war. This struggle may well provide the
critical test Of the rival strength and
efficiency Of the air forces Of the COM
batant powers.
Air power has 10 far contributed ma
terially to the success OF the German
move in Norway It helped the German
navy to take Oslo by landing troops on
the mainland. BY the terroaixing effect Of
and overwhelming display Of bombing
airplanes over the city. But Ill That
and moro 4aResdEs sssusiRflnf
Polish and Finnish campaign. On Tues
si1at,Saae' III farese ~ bdl1ns1 sHeFss
engaged IA the dTyt rsal bsttls that has