Show The English Channel An Invasion Water Haza rd Which Works Both Ways WALES ENGLAND IPSWICH North Sea CARDIFF OXFORD HAGUE HARWICH'S HARWICH J BRISTOL 3 LONDON t. t READING RAMSGATE EXETER SOUThAMPTON DOYER BOURNEMOUTh PORTSMOUTh j u fr- fr os OSTENDE PLYMOUTh ANTWERP v CALAIS DUNKERQUE BELGIUM Isle of 0 Lands Land's FI Wight BOULOGNE BRUSSELS Va theRan- theRan channel LILLE gers and Corn Corn- mandos came here run hit raids e. e to ABBEVILLE u DIEPPE Y Yanks a n S c came a the theY m me C CHERBOURG LE AMIENS ST ST. here on their Chann HAVRE w way y to the frontline frontline frontline front front- line trenches LAON d CAEN 1 R. R BREST ST I I N s l j BRIEUC 0 B ST ST. r ij MALO I II III I I FOUGERES Occupied FRI FRANCE E CHA cHARTR TRES LORIENT l RENNES INVASION ZONE BRITISH RADI RADIC I LE MANS Ii- Ii WARNS FRENCH TO EVACUATE o 0 VANNES II FORBIDDEN ZONE ONLY NAZIS Bay of Biscay ORLEANS ARE PERMITTED IN DEFENSE AREA iL- iL 1 V Wd I e W or Id u t s Problem of Second Front Turns On Getting Enough Shipping By PAUL J. J C. C FRIEDLANDER Wide World Service Writer At its widest point point from from Lands End to Brittany the Brittany the English English English Eng Eng- lish Channel is only miles wide At its narrowest point point point- from Dover to Calais Calais it it is a long lone 22 miles wide It is a treacherous mile long water hazard that Hitler in 1940 and N Nap Napoleon a p o J I e eon 0 n before him couldn't cross and it is a passage that the allies have not yet crossed with enough troops to constitute a real invasion North and south of the Dover strait wide beaches invite inva inva- sion Sand bars shallow passages and nazi barbed wire and concrete fortresses discourage it Navigation Difficult West of Dieppe the coast gets rough and rocky shoals make navigation difficult for large ships and rising hill country gives the defenders a strong advantage Normandy and Brittany offer only fair to middling invasion landings and in addition require longer overwater carries When the channel roughens up under fall and winter winds even the mile 22 spread from Dover to Calais gets wild enough to make all but the hardiest sailors flinch But neither the channels channel's narrowness narrowness narrowness nar nar- nar- nar or width nor its wild waves make it the historically successful successful suc sue invasion barrier it is Assault Troops Military experts figure a full- full scale invasion requires assault assault assault as as- sault troops and another held in reserve to move up quickly quick quick- ly to plug gaps in the first attacking attacking attacking attack attack- ing waves The Dieppe raid in involved involved involved in- in about shock troops To move such a force it is estimated estimated estimated esti esti- mated at least 1500 troop barges and another 1500 tank and gun lighters would be necessary About medium merchant ships would have to shuttle across the channel with food supplies ammunition and medical and technical units Then there are the big freighters and transports feeding replacements replacements replacements replace replace- ments and materiel from the United United United Unit Unit- ed States to the English invasion points All told that is a lot of shipping When a golfer faces a water hazard he reaches into his bag for the right club to get him over the water The allies are doing the same thing on the north coast of the English channel I If they have the shipping and I the million shock troops equipped and ready to go an early invasion invasion inva inva- invasion sion may be expected The Russian Russian Russian Rus Rus- sian situation continues so critical as to force immediate relief I If the allies dont don't find the shipping shipping shipping ship ship- ping there probably will be n no invasion this year |