Show ECONOMIC highlights industrial news review the german invasion of scandinavia has turned a long held fear into a grim fact norway and denmark have desperately sought to retain their precarious neutrality yet despite these efforts it is obvious that they have moved steadily toward war for some time the recent pessimistic announcements announcement of norwegian government spokes men have presided ample evidence eviden cf of that scandinavia is of immense importance to all the belligerents and she has been subjected to an ever tightening squeeze from both lieas cirit s yesterday the squeeze was wa 3 diplomatic today it is militaristic from the cold purely point of view it is understandable that germany should have moved northward at this time because the alli allies es announced that the blockade against the reich was to be extended and intensified and antim cited that hat allied men of war would go inside nor norwegian begian territorial waters if necessary to seize german ships carrying precious norwegian iron ore home and the british have been mining norwegian waters at the expense of german shipping this explains the german high command announcement that den mark and norway are being given nazi protection on top of that there is another mactor involved an intangible inta gible factor but one of great significance it is the factor of prestige german and allied diplomats have been working at fever heat in all the little neutral nations to cement their governments ties and influence it ift I 1 is apparent that threats no less than pacific persuasion have seen anything goes in war time germany the experts say had come to fear that her inaction had caused some of the neutrals at least to believe she was worried and indecisive and as a result had caused them to cast a more f friendly eye on the allied front the inva of the north may have been ordered in an attempt to change this situation no less than in an attempt to protect her ore supplies there is evidence to indicate that the danish government knew the blitzkrieg in denmark was comin and agreed to itin 0 ther other words simply bowed to the ine inevitable rather than offering futile resistance which could have only resulted in the massacre of her pathetically small fighting forces norway farther away and better protected chose war but her wartime military strength consists of an army of cf little more than men inadequately equipped buttressed by a small fleet of warships largely cb obsolete solete it seem inconceivable that she can hold oft off the reich long without immediate support on a large scale the allies of course must do all they can complete ard unquestioned control of norway aln 1 th in would P 1 I P geri C nany a superb series of lir air i aa es for striking directly at the heart of england and hampering british merchant shipping and naval operations there will be turmoil in the balkins and elsewhere now as germany presses forward on the diplomatic as well as the military fronts pointing to what she has done to small powers which refused to cooperate in the past as an example of what may happen to others refusing to cooperate in the future the allies will undoubtedly go the limit in beeking sec king to 0 o outsell the reich and so war broadens out germanys germanas Germ anys action has posed another ominous question does it perhaps mean that hitler now feels it is time to tight fight in earnest and will w shortly open a western front for hostilities by sending liis his armies through holland and belgium flanking the maginot line the civo arm army armei yi is said to be ready even eager for this and it is r reported ported that belgium plans to open her frontiers wide to the boils once hillers Hit lers legions march if that happened the decisive phase of the war mi liht t be concluded campara lively soon through the decimation of either the french or the german army or both |