Evening star., 1941-05-11

The major campaigns which followed
the conquest of Poland-in Scandina-
via, against France and in the Balkans
have all been easy to comprehend,
They were conducted with the idea
of bringing the whole of continental
Europe under German control, in the
hope of forcing Great Britain to accept
and the United States to acquieSce in
that development On this basis of Ger
man victory a peace could now unques-
tionably be arranged. Whether or not
it would be desirable or enduring are
other questions.
1t seems assured however, that there
will be no peace in the near future very
largely because of the attitude of the
United States. Without American sup
port Great Britain would now, or soon,
be forced to open negotiations with
Adolf Hitler. But with the expectation
of increasing American assistance, no
longer defined as short of war;" tie
gallant British people will grimly accept
continuation of their dreadful ordeal
and fight on with the bulldog courage of
the breed.
Scarcely day goes by that this in
ereasing British reliance on eventual
American participation is not empha-
sized by responsible English leaders.
Indeed, it is now frequently asserted
that the United States is already far
too deeply committed to draw back or
even slow down its course.
AS Winston Churchill phrased it in
his broadcast of April 81: "* The
United States are very closely bound up
with us now and have engaged them
selves deeply in giving us moral, mate
rial and, within the limits have men,
toned, naval support"
Role of America.
All this is fairly well appreciated or
Is becoming so, by the American people.
What We do not understand so clearly
Is the development of the war which
our attitude will now be instrumental
in bringing about. For we have yet to
realize, though it is high time to begin
to learn, that the position assumed by
this country is a tremendous determi-
nant of history, regardless of whether
that attitude is positive or negative, i'll
terventionist or isolationist.
The war entered a new phase when
the last British soldier stepped aboard
the last transport in a bomb-ravaged
Grecian harbor. 1t is phase in which
Germany, in order to win, may be ex-
pected to strike at the vital organs and
arteries of the British Empire wherever
and whenever opportunity can be cre-
ated. This means that the war ceases
to be European and becomes actually
what 1t has always been potentially,
world wide.
And this in turn means that the i'm
portance of Russia, of Japan and of
the United States in the struggle will
rapidly become more pronounced. Even
before settlement of the issue of con-
voying ships to Britain, further issues,
which make conveys seem a relatively
trivial step, loom over the horizon
The first signs of the coming spread
of upheaval are clearly apparent at
three widely separated points.
SlSHS Oh OpnedFdl
They can be seen first in the eleventh.
hour japanese effort to work out a
modus vivendi with the United States
before it is too late to avert hostilities
between these two powers. They can
be seen second in Russia's energetic
preparations to profit from the spread
of chaos in Asia They can be seen
third in the beginnings of anti-British
movements in the near East, as in Iraq.
1t has always been questionable that
Germany would take the obvious, but
highly risky, course of trying to subdue
Britain by direct invasion. And that
frontal assault becomes ever more
dubious as England's home defenses are
strengthened by the material aid poured
out from this country.
The wholesale bombings and the bat
tie of the Atlantic will undoubtedly be
intensified, for their dislocating and
demoralizing effect rather than with
any German certainty that the war can