Evening star., 1941-01-07
By TAYLOR HENRY.

NEW YORK, Jan. 7.-Military
experts are agreed after Germany's
e eig h TIM n h-long blitz against
France and England that the basic
principles of strategy stand un--
changed despite modern mechanical
warfare.
Just as in the days of Napoleon
or Caesar or Alexander, the way to
win wars today is to concentrate
more fire power at any given point
than your enemy.
1t doesn't matter whether you
are fighting with bows and arrows
or dive bombers and Cotton tanks
the army that can lay down the
heaviest volume of fire is the one
that is going to win.
1t was fire power represented by
overwhelming superiority of tanks
and planes and machine guns that
won the pattle of France for Ger
many; it will be the same concen-
tration of shells and bombs that
will win the battle of Britain for
either Germany or England.
The underlying difference between
the battle of France and the battle
of Britain is the English Channel
forming a difficult No Mans Land
between the German and British
Armies.
Actual Conflict Is Key.
Since wars still are won or lost
bv the actual conflict of armed
bodies of troops, the outcome of the
present battle depends primarily on
crossing that watery No Mans Land
and bringing the two armies into
physical contact. Here again the
answer is in concentration Of fire
power.
Reduced to words of one syllable,
if the Germans can concentrate
enough fire power in the shape of
dive bombing airplanes to clear what
is technically known as beach
head on the British coast to land
their still overwhelmingly superior
numbers of well-armed men and
fire. squirting tanks for direct at
tack against the British Army. they
are conceded by military observers
to have a good chance of winning
the war.
If the British can prevent this
concentration by equalizing the Ger
man effort with their fighter planes
and battle fleet, the Nazi war ma
chine will be stymied.
If the British can build up their
air force and mechanical army to
the point where they can success
fully invade the German occupied
continent, military experts concede
they have a reasonable chance OF
giving Germany a knockout blow.
Ten Times as Fast.
If neither can concentrate enough
fire power to overwhelm the other.
observers are convinced the war
will be a stalemate and will settle
down to a war of attrition, which is
Just another way military men have
of describing wholesale murder.
The last war was fought-speak-
ing in general terms-with artillery
cavalry and foot infantry; this war
is being fought with bombing planes,
tanks and motorized infantry.
The only difference is that strate-
gical principles have to be applied
10 times as fast because todays fast
mechanical armies move 10 times
as fast.
The dive bomber which saw turn
Northern France into flaming hell,
and long-range, high-altitude bomb
ers with which the Germans are try
ing to destroy Britain are nothing
more than artillery, which for the
first time in history has combined
the two basic tactical elements OF
preparation and surprise.
Panzer divisions of 400 and 500
tanks are only the modern equiva-
lent of Jeb Stuart's Civil War cav
airy or the helmeted German Uhlans
which raced through Belgium in
1914.
And infantry is still infantry