| Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS By EY Edward C. C Wayne New Violence ill in Nazi Aerial Blitz Aimed tole to Cripple British Shipping Destroyer Lanes cones Across Cross Atlantic Urged to Replace Hit Hard Convoys EDITORS EDITOR'S NOTE When NOTE When h opinions I are e expressed In n these columns they ther are those of the news analyst and anil nd not t te necessarily II of this newspaper pt r r Released by Western Newspaper Union Hailed b by some experts as one of the really great military exploits of or orall all time has been the sweep of the British forces against the Italians in Africa Shown here with two of or his aides is the British commanding gen era eral Sir Archibald Wave elI center General OConnor O'Connor of the British forces is shown at left and Australia's General Mackay at right Real test of Wavell's military genius would come if it his troops should clash with Hitler's in the Balkans AERIAL Blitz Grows Nazi Germany brought out its heaviest air blitzkrieg perhaps as asa asa asa a of an invasion attempt attempt attempt at at- atI I tempt and the results were not too happy as far as the British defense was concerned I The first three days of the main attack were directed at London Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool Liv Liv- and Bristol and while the damage was heavy and casualties correspondingly high British aerial leaders were jubilant over the fact that 30 German attackers were shot down and gave the credit to the night-fighting night air arm the antiaircraft antiaircraft antiaircraft anti anti- aircraft batteries and a new weapon This latter it was later explained consisted of some sort of antiaircraft antiaircraft antiaircraft anti air craft shell which contained coils of wire which unwound when the shell exploded with lethal effect on enemy enemy enemy ene ene- my planes However later news was not so favorable The opening attack was followed by another terrific blast at Bristol one at Glasgow and a third at Hull The first two cities in a single night reported around 1000 casualties casualties casualties casual casual- ties and the blast at Hull was reported reported reported re re- ported to have been even more se se- se- se vere The British apparently figured that they might as well abandon any attempt to disguise the towns attacked at least in news dis dis- dis- dis patches At first they would simply designate designate I nate the town as a northeast town or a town in the Midlands or a southeast town and then within with with- in minutes the German releases would be out with the name of the city and what observers reported from there This British reticence continued up to and including all the attacks except that on Hull In Inthis this case the morning dispatches said a southeastern port town but the afternoon afternoon afternoon aft aft- papers were able to carry the story under a direct Hull date date- line It was apparent that Hitler's airmen airmen airmen air air- men were not trying day attacks being satisfied with heavy night bombings in large force One after another they were trying trying trying try try- ing to knock various British provincial provincial provincial provin provin- cial cities out of the picture Charts were being printed showing it was costing Hitler an estimated to kill each civilian slain in air- air bombing Britain published her losses Josses since the start of the war at The ominous character of the raids on Bristol Bristoll Glasgow and Hull HuH were that although the German raiders raiders raiders raid raid- ers came over in large numbers judging by the weight of bombs dropped in two nights the total British British British Brit Brit- ish claims of bombers shot down was exactly two Prior to this attack British commentators commentators commentators com com- had been proudly saying an estimated 3 3 per cent of the bombers bomb bomb- ers were being shot down and that if this figure could be raised to 10 then the German air force could not stand the strain Those observers who saw in the heavy blitz from the air a prelude to an invasion attempt while they were numerous ranged all the way from any day advocates to one high Japanese official who at mile distance blandly announced that the Germans would land on British soil in a matter of hours Hull HuH Glasgow and Bristol the hardest hit towns are not noteworthy noteworthy noteworthy note note- worthy as being resistant invasion-resistant centers but are rather famous as general shipping centers The first is the central shipbuilding ship build ing point the second is a great center center center cen cen- ter for shipping to and from the United States and Hull is where most of the sailors are trained There seemed more weight at the moment to the argument that the heavy air bombing of such centers was v aimed at Britain's general ocean lines life and not as a up set-up for the landing of troops CONVOY Or Lanes Britain was sticking to the convoy system while American shipping experts experts experts ex ex- suggested abandoning it and substituting the lane protection system which seemed full of typical typical typical cal Yankee ingenuity The Great Circle route about 2000 miles long according to this project project project was to be patrolled with at least 50 destroyers each of them given 50 miles to patrol 10 times a day That would mean that every 24 hours a destroyer would pass any given spot in the lane and with a constant lookout should be able to spot enemy nemy submarines The plan would be putting 40 destroyers destroyers destroyers de de- de- de on the lane with 10 allowed to be in port refueling and getting supplies Advantages were these these not not only a better lookout and more warship strength for protection purposes but buta a much more efficient use of ships For under the convoy system if 40 ships are gathered together the speed of the fastest is the speed of the slowest The proposed Traffic Lane Plan would permit the faster vessels to move at top speed from one side of the Atlantic to the other permitting them to take many more loads in inthe inthe inthe the long run They would sail from destroyer to destroyer and it would be the trye latter's duty to keep the lane clear of enemy raiders And the present great hazard of lumping 40 or 50 slow-moving slow vessels vessels vessels ves ves- sels together for a mass target would be removed Plan Debated As an interesting background for this very question of convoys and how they ought to be conducted Washington debated the statement of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies chief advocate advocate advocate cate of the lend lease-lend bill urging that the U. U S. S provide guards for convoys The President conferring with the press dismissed the question saying saying saying say say- ing there had been some reports to that effect but that he had paid no attention to them However in view of the Committees Committee's Committees Committee's Committees Committee's Commit Commit- tees tee's action it was believed that the President was more interested than he was willing to admit British authorities authorities authorities au au- also it was learned were expecting the United States to do something along this line It was recalled that the British naval leaders had said that they had men enough on hand to man the entire U U. S. S navy if necessary and this was taken to mean that Britain was prepared for a lend lease of more naval vessels There were two possible plans being being being be be- ing discussed 1 The transfer of more destroyers and possibly cruisers to Britain so they could be assigned t to convoy service 2 An extension of the neutrality zone further into the North Atlantic to keep the Nazi warships away further further further fur fur- ther or and/or to permit U. U S. S naval vessels to patrol those areas and release the British ships for the themore themore themore more distant patrol duty The navy department transmitted to ship operators the news sent to the U. U S S. S by Churchill that Nazi raiders and submarines were operating operating oper oper- inside the forty s second forty cond meridian meridian an an an of longitude some of which is within the present neutrality zone ETHI PIA Nearing Fall The battle of Ethiopia in which the Italians as they did in Albania started out with successes s and ended ended ended end end- ed up with reverses seemed about in its final phases with a British victory if not certain at least extremely extremely extremely ex ex- likely This again was a reversal of early war predictions by the British themselves them selves who had warned the English English English Eng Eng- lish public that it could expect no success whatever in the general African African Af M- rican campaign |
