Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-01-27
British Stress Speed
In i. :. Aid Before
Hitler Strikes
Every Plane or Gun Before
May ! Seen Worth
Three or Four Later
By WILLIAM II. STONEMAN,

Chicago Daily News Foreign Correspondent
LONDON, Jan. 27.-Every Ameri-
can airplane and every American
gun that can be delivered to Great
Britain before May will be worth
three or four sent after that date,
In the opinion of British political
and military experts.
Everybody is now positively con-
vinced as Viscount Halifax indi-
Gated in his interview on his arrival
in Washington last Friday, that
Germany will launch the greatest
mass assault in history against the
British Isles before summer. Every
body likewise is sure that it will
be touch and 60 whether this coun-
try can resist the invader sue
ceSSfully. They are particularly
sure that the Royal Air Force. ad-
mittedly greatly inferior in numbers
to the LuftWaffe, will be forced to
stand up and win a knockdown,
dragout battle to the death with
its opposite number.
In this situation Britain would
have TO use practically everything
that can fly to beat back the enemy.
Every American plane, and par
ncularly every first-rate American
plane. which is on hand by the
zero hour would help to tip the
scales.
Stress Necessity of Speed.
This does not mean that the Brit
iSh are not interested in long range
help from the United States. They
are confident they will beat back
the Germans after very grim and
very close struggle. 1t will then be
their job TO prepare their own Of
fensive against Germany, and this
they can hope to do successfully only
with colossal amount of assistance
Gom the United States. But they
are anxious to have the Americans
realize the necessity of speed in
delivering all possible assistance.
Representatives of other allied
governments here go even farther.
They, too, are confident the British
can beat off invasion, but they do
not fancy the gamble it will involve.
They are convinced-though they
also are unable to say so openly
that the danger of a German victory
here could be really dissipated only
by one thing-an American declar-
alton of war. That, they believe on
the basis of their own information.
would deprive Germany of the high
morale which would be needed to
carry out successful frontal assault
on this country.
EnvisiOn Rebellions.
They further believe il would
sound the tocsin for all occupied
countries, including France, and
would result in such a series of
rousing rebellions and waves of
sabotage throughout German Europe
that the offensive would be ham
strung before it could begin. They,
more than British leaders them
selves, value the stiffening effect
which such an act would have on the
British people.
This is not hearsay, or conjecture.
at least three non British allies
whose names are internationally
famous have expressed this opinion
10 your correspondent in the last
few days. All of them, incidentally,
are convinced that the American
people-as distinct from the WASH
lngton admlnistration-ha taken
their decision and are ready to 20
the limit the minute anybody con-
vlnces them it is necessary.
No responsible Briton claims to
know exactly how and when the
Germans will strike. but everybody
has pretty good idea of the gen.
eral pattern.
Mediterranean Action.
In the first place. it is believed
Adolf Hitler will do something pretty
imposing in the Mediterranean,
partly to rescue his allies, partly to
dilute allied successes there, and
partly to draw off further forces
from Britain's home defenses. A
German stroke at Salonika is re-
garded as very probable A direct
attack on Malta is regarded as
equally probable. Germany is now
thought to have 400 or 500 aircraft
in Rumania and nearly 200 in Sicily.
The latter, according to information
published in Sundays London Times,
include Junkers JU-57-B, single
motor dive-bombers and JU-98-A,
bimotor long-range dive-bombers;
Heinkel HELIX, night bombers,
two squadrons of Messerschmitt-
HOS and some ME-1O9's.
In the Observer, J. L. Garvin,
prominent British editor. continues
to hammer into the heads of his
readers the idea that they are about
to face something like Armageddon.
Warning Sounded.
everything tells us that the iron
orchestra is working up to a for
tissimo," he writes. Every single
man and woman of us must awaken
quietly to the knowledge that the
crisis of our lives-far exceeding all
that has gone before-must arrive
between now and Easter. From now
on. we must take it as matter of
course that the sternest imaginable
situation may have to be grappled
with at any moment. Our own re-
sounding achievements in the Medi-
terranean-the brilliant victories of
our Greek allies-all these influences
increase the intensity of German
concentration upon their effort to
win the war by the destruction of
Britain before America can turn the
scales"
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