Evening star., 1943-03-07
ny MAI. GEORGE FIELDING
ELIOT.

ELIOT.
There are persistent reports,
some Of which are now finding their
way into the British press, that the
new commander in chief of the Ger
man Navy, Admiral Doenitz, is 60
Ing to use the surface ships of his
Meet much more aggressively in his
operations against United Nations
conveys in the Atlantic. II this is
indeed his purpose, he has a number
of ships at his disposal which might
present the British and American
navies with formidable problem.
While the full details are not
known, 1t seems certain that Ad-
miral Doenitz has the powerful bat
tleship Tirpitz, sister of the ill-fated
bismarck; one smaller battleship,
the Scharnhorst; two of the So
called pocket" battleships; at least
two heavy and three light cruisers
and from Is to 80 destroyers. In ad-
dition the, new aircraft carrier, Graf
zeppelin. Is probably ready for serv-
Ice. There were q number of other
vessels under construction for the
German Navy at the beginning of
the war but 1t is believed that lack
OF materials has prevented these
from, being proceeded with. How
ever. the possibility must not be
wholly discounted that some at least
OF these new ships may have been
finished. They include two more
oa1leships like the Tirpitz, two
heavy and four light cruisers, and
another aircraft carrier.
Destruction Would BE Sure.
II the Germans were to send their
surface ships out on the CONVOY lines
they would have at least q sporting
chance OF doing tremendous
amount Of damage before they could
be rounded up. AS an example of
the possibilities, we might recall the
raid OF the Scharnhorst and her
late sister ship, the Gneisenau. in
March, l940, when they DESTROYED
= whole convoy OF over 100, 900 tons
9! snlpptnE. The German ships are
I'll fast ana possess great radius Of
action. One does not like to think
q the damage they might do before
they could be brought to book by
superior forces.
Yet IN the end, If they persisted
N their efforts, their destruction
would ne certain. and it is this con-
alteration which Admiral Doenitz
must have IA mind as he weighs
his decisions. He must balance hi,
estimate Of the possible damage
% be done to our shipping during a
comparatively brief term 81. ACTIVITY.
which Is all he can reasonably cal
culate upon. against the present ad-
vantage Germany is deriving from
the possession Of Z fleet in being.
While the German. surface fleet
remains. as 1t now Is, in q position
"a readiness 1T Norwegian bases. Il
imposes severe naval handicaps on
ehe Allies It not only demands the
continued presence in the North At
hntic a an Anglo-American fleet
much stronger than itself hut Il
compels US to make the movement
q each Russian convoy j major
naval operation with q powerful
escort Of al types of surface ships
1rom batHeships downward.
Japan Benefits by Setup.
Very likely some Of Admiral
Doenitz's advisers are urging unnn |
aim that the chief beneficia1y at this /
policy Is actually Japsn 81 there /
we're no German "iieee III being |
there would be nothing to detain
Sf1tish aN Amerfen battieslaips and
heavy cruisers in4hs AtI1nfic ocean.4
All such ships night Aen be seaYt
% the Pacific, with disastrous results
lor Japan. We may be very sure
That this view Of the matter has
been strongly urged upon tia Ger
man naval authorities by the jap
enese representatives in Berlin, and |
We may likewise be very sure that |
voices have been raised In German
naval circles against the policy al |
negecting German interests In order
3 pull Japanese chestnuts out II
the hre.
But there b another point Of view
y BE considered. I11e advantages
q sne ueet-A-0e1ne p01cy are not
wholly Japan's. The main Allied
deet concentration IN British waters
necessarily includes considerable |
numbers Of destroyers, for the pro-
lection ct the heavy ships against
submarine attack. II these de-
stroyers could be released for con.
toy duty, the U-boat campaign,
which Is the mainstay Of German
naval policy, would be adversely
Affected.
Must Consider Jap Defeat.
Likewise, the Germans must con-
ddez what their position would be
Il Japan were knocked out Of the
var altogether. The great value Of