Evening star., 1941-09-05
French Little Dakar'
Draws Attention as
Possible Nazi Base
Abidjon Soon Will Offer
lundIocked Horbor on
Ivory Coast
BY GEORGE WELLER,

Foreipn Correspondent OF The Star and
Chicago Daily News.
LEOPOLDVILLE, Belgian Congo,
Sept. 5.-Abidjan, barely known in
land naval base now in pro- German
Vichy hands and called little
Dakar" because of its potential
power, is increasingly drawing the
attention of west coast naval
strategists. The base has been so
secretly developed that on most
maps it is not even marked. Never
theless, 1t will soon offer perfectly
landlocked harbor 40 miles from
the exposed coastline.
Abidjan is located on the Ivory
Coast 1t was planned as Frances
southernmost base on the Atlantic
even before Vichy acquired it. The
name is pronounced with the accent
on the last syllable.
Whether German minelaying sub
marines which have attempted to
break Great Britain's Middle East
ern lifeline from the United States
by blockading Lagos and Takoradi
are using Abidjan as supply base
and anchoring in nearby Port Bouet,
1t is still difficult to say. However,
1t has been ascertained beyond
doubt that Vichy- French vessels
have penetrated the Allied shipping
control.
Supply Ships Nearby.
For some months British airmen
have been able to observe supply
ships anchored at Port Bouet near
by, particularly during July when
minelaying activities were the most
noticeable. Some circles affirm tilat
these vessels slipped under the
British cargo control operating from
Freetown by coming across the At
lantic from South America rather
than from the Mediterranean.
What is now Abidjan was, until
five years ago, the only village inland
from the small trading port of Grand
Bassam. Then French engineers
suggested that Salt Greek, somewhat
west from Grand Bassam, could be
dredged. making a canal ideal for
the protection of submersibles At
present Port Bouet, which lies along
the coast east from Grand Bassam.
is being used as Abidjan's discharge
port because the inlet is still not
fully dredged.
Little Dakar" was undertaken as
a five-year-long naval building prof.
ect. The old seaport of Grand Bas-
sam has now become ghost town
All plans center in the roughly cir
cular new city which has become al
ready the capital of the Ivory Coast.
Salt Greek, locally called The
Lagoon" makes an almost 300-de-
gree circle around Abidjan. The
town is about l mile wide and some
what resembles circular, water-sur-
rounded Dalmation towns like Tro-
gir. Its white population numbers
about 1000 normally, but the present
size of the garrison undoubtedly
swells the total considerably if re-
nforced in the same proportions as
Dakar.
Abidjan is being studied today as
an aviation center as we'll as a sub
marine base. Abidjan formerly pos
sessed only seaplane landing road
stead but. now boasts a freshly laid
out military airdrome. midway along
the 35-minute automobile drive con-
Meeting the capital with Port Bouet.
Amphibians Used for Liaison
Up to recently France maintained
llaison along the African coast
known as White Mans Grave. with
a fleet of 10 American-built Sikorsky
amphibians. The amphibians took
off from water at Ziguinchor In
British Gambia; from land at Con-
akry in French Guinea, from water
at Monrovia in Liberia, from water
at Abidjan, from land at Accra in
the British Gold Coast. and from
water at Douala in the French Cam
eroons and Pointe Noire in French
Gabon.
Today, because the Free French
have the last pair of ports and the
British are patrolling the coast ac-
lively from Bathurst in Gambia to
Lagos in Nigeria, Vichy has been
obliged to put an airline into serv-
ice in an east-west direction unit
ing Dakar, Bamako Ougadougou
and Naimey From Naimey Ameri-
can-built Glenn Martins. which are
Vichy's standby. can drop south
ward to the Dahomeyan seaport at
Cottonou and from Bamako to the
Abidjan naval base. Thus Vichy,
and hence Germany, controls strong
inland aviation bases capable of
defending its own ports on the Gulf
Of Guinea and possibly striking lat
orally at British unloading ports.
When the Russian campaign
freezes in, 1t will be surprising il
Germany fails to try to use these
airbases to launch airplane and
submarine warfare with the object
of pressing the advantages tenn
porarily held by blockade of the
Suez and interruption of the Medi-
terranean lifeline.
(copyriEht, 1941, Chicsso Daily News Inc J