THE CHINA MAIL, NOVEMBER 28, 1940.
Page
CHINA MAIL The Battle Of Africa
WINDSOR HOUSE
werg: successful, then be surrounded on three sides |
We must take a big view of weat. If these this war. As Mr. Churchill told the Italians would then threaten, by enemy territory. Tanganyika, of General Smuts we can rely Under the energetic leadership the House of Commons, no one Egypt from the south down the to the south of Kenya, is a form-upon it that the Union Govern- can predict how far it will spread, valley of the Nile.
er German territory whose Ger- ment would not only resist these This estimate of probable enemy man settlers would be expected to treacherous overtures but would plans for an invasion of Africa, cooperate by organising a rebel-provide Great Britain with a base already much exceeds the pro- lion which might bring the enemy from which our forces could bar portions of the expected battle in advance down to the Equator.
ARMY AIR ARM Announcement of the formation of the Army Cooperation Command of the R.A.F. will gratify all who have given serious 'study to the new ways of war. This may be a long conflict. It will quite begin.
·By G. Ward Price
•
any further chémy advance. So long as the British Navy controls the seas, the advantage in South African warfare would be whelmingly on our side..
over-
His Final Act. These are the German dreams, and, however fantastic. they may be, it is well to take serious_ac- This advantage might, indeçà, count of them, for many of Hit-be challenged by enemy naval ac- ler's earlier visions have been tivities based on West Africa, of the fact that no one took them lonies are entirely surrounded by converted into realities by reason where the British West Coast Co- seriously in time..
French territory.
or how long it will lost.
One certainty, however, is that the desperate ambition of our en not of countries but of a contin emles now aims at the conquest ent. We should do well to con- mendous importance of the Bat- sider in its widest aspect the tre- the of Africa which is about to surely be an even harder mind has been limited to a Rri- Hitherto, the picture in our one before we have done su orca, composed of contin- the Western Desert upon which with Hitler. As
gents from many parts of the our attention has so far been con- every Empire, confronting, in the West-centrated. month passes military ern Desert, a strong and power-
The final stage of the Fuehrer's Let us, for a moment, look still invasion of the African Contin- leaders must strive to fully equipped Italian army now farther afield and hazard a guess ent would doubtless be
Should the battle of Africa place themselves in the vanced base of operations a few aims of those two megalomaniacs. promises to the Union of
cngaged in establishing an ad- as to what may be the ultimate panied by flattering offers
accom-reach the proportions which Hit-
and ler and Mussolini contemplate, vanguard of their art. score miles Inside the Egyptian Having on a map at least
South Germany and Italy may be ex- Africa. Hitler would hope to de-pected to seize the whole of the Away with the old. Search one flank of this British force they may further visualise the in-pire by false pledges to rozpoet it: continent, and they would use the subdued Egypt and the Sudan, tach that Dominion from the En-vast territories of France on that out the new.
rests on the sea, where it has the vasion of Kenya, which would independence. The German trouncing Navy; its other wing consists of a effective support of the Royal of Poland and France was chain of outposts beyond which partly the result of the lies the barren emptiness of sure cooperation which great African Desert.
frontier.
the
It is clear that the attack upon Egypt will not be delivered by General Graziani's army advan-
cing from Libya alone,
All this, however, is no more they established between than the mid-point of the scene the air force and the able operations against us may be upon which far-flung and formid- army. Soldiers and air-expected during the coming win- men were part of one force. ter. The 'planes were fleeter cavalry and flying artil- lery too. Together the two arms achieved much more than they could have done in loose collaboration, Have we yet learnt this lesson and improved upon it, for our own designs? The answer is "Not yet," significance of these initial mea- but the beginnings have sures. They are the beginnings now been made.
The delay has been strange for as in so many cases the use of such co- operation has long been appreciated in Britain. We have only failed to exploit it to the full. Some years
Hardly had Hitler returned than German troops were thrust from the meeting on the Brenner through Hungary Into Rumania, and we heard of plans for mili- tary roads across that country to
the shore of the Black Sea, where a German naval base is to be con-
.structed.
身
There can be no mistaking the
of a great German movement upon Egypt from the north. This is intended to confront the forces
which we have accumulated in
the Near East for the defence of Egypt and Palestine with one o those pincerlike offensives that are the favourite strategy of the German General Staff but on a any other war. scale without precedent in this or!
ago, after much argu- Waiting Game
ment, a Fleet Air Arm was formed. It has done
The Italian army based
was to be
across Greece to
Training Camp Breaks Up
of the Island
poris upon their sea-board to ob- struct our seaward communica- tions with the Cape of Good Hope..
The dangers described above are fortunately at present no more than speculative and imaginary. Solid grounds exist, however, for the belief that Africa is the next territory in which the Nazi Fuchrer hopes to win drama-
tic
victories for the pur- pose of encouraging his own people and discouraging ours.
Material Gain
Nor is prestige the only prize offered by that continent. After America, Africa is the most pro- ductive area on the surface of the globe.
Egypt, the first country in which the Germans aim at setting foot, produces 380,000 tons a year of the best cotton in the world, be- sides other valuable agricultural crops.
enemy the
The most favourable moment
The farther south the could push his conquests, greater would be his gains in those tropical products which are of such vital importance to Ger- many, and of which our naval blockade largely deprives her, The training camps of Singapore on their stomachs seeking cover.
Could he succeed in penetrating, volunteers and Depot recruits during field manoeuvres with to the south of the continent, vast (men called up under the Com- just as much keenness as brokers resources of copper and other on pulsory Service Ordinance) broke and importers. Libya is evidently but one ele- up on Saturday, 2nd November,
minerals, together with one-third Although the whole found some of the. ment of the right wing of the com- and more than 200 nien statione difficulty at the beginning in would be the booty at which his great work in this war. ing attack on Africa. If its com- in various parts
world's output. of gold, More largely developed it mander, Graziani, has seemed in- packed their kitbags and returned bowing to that great feature of greedy hand might grasp. "could do much more.
active since he crossed the Egypt- home after one month's intensive the British Army, discipline, their There are yet other reasons ian frontier over a month ago training.
response to this aspect of their why a great campaign in Africa A convoy needs protec-it is doubtless because he is wait-
training demonstrated their quick may appeal to Hitler, as it does It would be true to say, with appreciation of its value. ing for the development of the tion.
to his ally Mussolini, The Fuehrer The Admiralty offensive on the left wing, which the conclusion of this second
has failed in his direct attack on The men themselves apart Britain. guards it from attack be has been begun by the recent ad- training period prescribed under
the Local Forces (Training) Or- from the regular instructors who neath the seas. The Air vance of German troops across
the Balkans towards the Black dinance, that Singapore possesses took such a "sergeantly" interest
deserve a Volunteer Force which knows in their welfare Ministry guards it from Sea.
a for invasion has passed away. more to-day about the rudiments share in the credit for their me-His bombing raids on this coun- attack from the skies: Is This German advance, which
of warfare in Malaya than it has, tamorphosis.
try have been hurled back, and there not some danger in Italian thrust duplicated by an
ever done.
effect upon the warlike They took an intelligent inter their such divided responsibil- Salonica, can go no farther with- The emphasis during the train- 'est in learning their jobs, adapted spirit of the British nation has
quickly to their been to rouse it further. ity? Is the 'plane, in fact, en tulwark of the British posi-portance of mechanised units in strange mode of life for which
out coming up against the north- ing periods was laid on the im- themselves
While still keeping these islands not performing the same tion in the Near East-our sturdy modern warfare and all-round they "cheerfully" accepted $7.42 under perpetual menace, he may seek for task as the destroyer? ally Turkey.
defence, and the lessons were at the weekly pay parade and have determined to In defence of the infegrity of illustrated with tales of the ex- displayed initiative, resource and cheaper victories elsewhere, And does not the pilot who their own territory we
schemes may be periences of famous regiments in Ingenuity in tactical
against the “enemy.”
In conducting such an offensive performs this service re- sure that the Turks would fight the recent Battle for France.
on African soil, the geographical well. They will be a formidable
Illustrative of quire training in seaman-obstacle in Hitler's path.
the ingenuity position of Germany and Italy 1 With the final salute they gave displayed was the effort of Private gives them a definite advantage. ship as well as aeronau- If Hitler should succeed, how- yesterday, volunteers and Depot I.M. Nick, who was formerly in They would benefit by what
An enlarged Fleet ever, whether by force or by guile, recruits looked back half grimly the Russian Army
strategists call "interior lines." in sidetracking Turkish opposi- and half humorously to the pro-
In charge of a reconnaissance For the first time the Axis Powers Air Army, with bases on tion to the eastward march" of cess which made them fit fighting|
of the them a sound patrol, he discarded his uniform would be at the centre men, which gave shore as well as at sea, coa in the former French elementary and practical know-for the clothes of a Chinese war. would greatly reduce the mandated territory of Syria
ledge of battle manoeuvres, which squatter. Wearing a large straw
While maintaining air atlacks chance of recrimination base for operations against Egypt Dick and shovel work on trench wood, he penetrated the forward and the constant threat of inva-
introduced them to backbreaking hat and carrying a bundle of fire- between departments, and by the presence of an Italian mil- which mu un trough intensi- by another platoon) and saunter- flank of his position, Hitler can which is already being prepared lines and gun emplacements, and lines of the enemy (represented slon against this country on one would place responsibility itary commission there.
jed nonchalantly filed weapon training.
through their operate upon his other be called on to give free passage
At the same time, Spain may;
area unrecognised by anybody, against Africa. It was a toughening up pro- to return with fairly complete in- to German troops to attack Gl- cessas tough as it sounds-which formation about their numbers, braltar in the hope of cuiting off forged the men into a at nighting positions, and activities. British naval support through the force. Mediterranean.
tics?
German and Italian forces
a
:
Thus the rough edges were pared from these civilian soldiers, Humorous incidents relieved the strenuousness of the exercises,
flank
In doing so he would still be close to his base, while our lines of communication in opposing him would stretch round the Cape of Good Hope..
for all operations at sea squarely where it belongs
on the Admiralty. The same argument ap-
The converging attack against. plies with equal force to
One small contingent demon- the Army. A modern army would synchronise
Egypt from the north and west strated in tactical exercises which with Italian were carried out in the last week
That, on the broadest scale, is Ong Infantryman still laughing- without an air force is not attacks upon the Sudan from of camp, that the raw material an army at all. The Waren desert of Libya from
Abyssinia, and across the south of four months ago can now take ly relates an experience on night the background of the plans the an efficient place in the line with manoeuvres when he found him which Hitler and Mussolini may
the British regular troops in Office, of course, has al-
self entangled in barbed wire un-well have formed for the coming. Singapore.
able to advance or withdraw, and winter, which is the most favour- ways received assistance
resigned. himself to a long wait able season for a North African from the Air Ministry, but which the commander on proportion of the men had never could, without giving away any
Four or five months ago a large before the exercise ended and he offensive.
They would have many disad- that is a far different land can understand. He handled a service rifle or under-thing to the anemy, yell for help. vantages of climate and commit- thing from having an air requires something more ments of soldiering. Since then gone any training in the-rudi-
Fortunately, ho did not have to nications to overcome, but in.es- walt long, for a patrol, came by timating the maximum effort of force under its own direct than skill in piloting an a transformation has been ac and heard his plaintive will orders. The man who flies aeroplane. He needs to complished.
someone unloosen me, plonse?? an aeroplane to aid land know what the soldier- There was a motley crowd in Oddly enough, the breaking of training. Managing Directors mar- camp found many regretting hav- forces must be half a scout would look for. And ched shoulder to shoulder with ing to go back to the "old office soldier. He must know that calls for Army as clerks, Malayan Civil Servico and learning to think all over Officers from practically every jogain--but perhaps this was 'only what to look for in terms well as Air Force training, coveruniem department crawau a pretence,
which one's adversaries are cap- ablo it is wise to concede them conditions more favourable than they are likely to meet in prac- tice.
Within the next -few weeks the great Battle of Africa may begin.