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5.
The Germans have accepted prodigious losses in France, and are likely to be prepared to face even higher losses and to take even greater risks than they took in Norway to achieve decisive results against this country.
The German High Command and forces, flushed with the fall of Paris and their rapid and unbroken series of victories, will be prepared to take any risks and accept any sacrifices to defeat this country this summer. We must defeat this culminating effort if we are to look forward with confidence to victory next year.
6.
The issue of the war will almost certainly turn upon our ability to hold out during the next three months. Our efforts must therefore be concentrated on taking all steps necessary to meet the imminent threat of attack with which we are now confronted.
From the military point of view we feel that we can have confidence in our ability to resist all forms of attack, only when the most drastic and far-reaching measures which we have already recommended in W.P.(40)168 are completed. We are seriously concerned with the fact that certain of the measures recommended in paragraph 23* of that report have not yet been carried out, on the necessary scale, although they have been approved by the Government. In particular we have in mind (iii) and (xiii).
8.
As regards Fifth Column activities we are informed by the Home Office that, out of approximately 76,000 male and female Germans in this country, only 12,000 have been interned and, out of 18,000 Italians, about 4,500 have been interned. To leave such a considerable proportion of enemy aliens at large at such a time as this seems to us to be taking unwarranted risks.
9. From the purely military point of view we consider that all enemy alicns should be detained forthwith, on the understanding that those who could be proved beyond all doubt to by harmloss could be roleascd subsequently. The problem has been further aggravated by the recent arrival in this country of numbers of 3 lgi n and Dutch soldiers, whose sympathics in many cases are doubtful. Wo realise the administrative difficultiu of interning such large numbers of alicns, particularly on the score of accommodation, and accordingly suggest that the quickest remedy would be to send the majority of thom to Canada. Wo understand that the nocousary permission for this has bon obtained and that largo linors are now available which could be used for the purpose.
10. We consider it of the highest importance that decentralisation of control to Regional Commissioners should be put into force to the greatest practicable extent at once, on the grounds that if this transition of control is delayed until the emergency arises, the conditions will then be such as to make it extremely difficult to effect a proper change of control.
*
A copy of this paragraph is attached to this report.
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