Evening star. [volume], May 29, 1940, Page A-3, Image 3

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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Lack of Mechanized Forces Blamed for British Defeat in Flanders
- i
Escape by Sea Seen
4
Only Hope as Speedy
Germans Close In
Neutral Observers Find
Allies, Equipped for Siege,
No Match for Nazis
By DREW MIDDLETON,
Associated Press Foreign Correspondent.
LONDON, May 29.—Neutral mili
tary sources said today the des
perate situation of the British
expeditionary force and French
troops in the shrinking Flanders
pocket could be relieved only by
mechanized forces equal to Ger
many’s as the spearhead of a south
ward thrust—or by escape by sea.
These sources said the Allies there
face one of the greatest disasters in
history unless Adolf Hitler’s armored
legions can be met with mechanized
divisions at equal firing power and
impervious to German anti-tank
guns and unless Nazi bombing of
troop concentrations can be met by
equally heavy bombing.
Nazi Germany, applying the les
sons imperial Germany learned in
the World War. has forced the Al
lies—equipped for siege and fortress
warfare—into hurried reconstruction
of their forces to meet an enemy
traveling 50 miles an hour, the neu
tral military men said.
Amazed by German Mechanization.
They viewed as the two most
amazing features of the German
campaign the development of
mechanized cavalry to the point
of equaling the effect of horse caval
ry in the days before repeating
rifles and machine-guns, and the
use of aircraft as “artillery of the
air”—more effective than the best
long-range guns.
The British Army on the conti
nent is extremely mobile, and so is
the French Army, although many
of its divisions use horse-drawn
transport. But this mobility, mili
tary men said, was designed to rush
troops to threatened points and fails
to combine mobility and fire power—
the German objective.
British and French tanks were
built and manned for use as recon
naissance units or shock absorbers
In a general push against fortified
positions.
Nazis Go Around Forts.
The Germans have used aircraft
for reconnaissance and invariably
have gone around fortified positions
rather than to storm them by
frontal assault.
Full development of the tank—
a British invention—leaves the Nazis
a long stride ahead of Britain.
Thus the strategical situation re
sembles—in reverse—that of the
Winter of 1914-15.
Retreating after the battle of the
Marne, the Imperial German Army
dug into fortifications which took
every advantage of concentrated fire
power of the machine-gun, a weapon
whose potentialities the Allies had
far underestimated.
Stopped Allies for Three Years.
Upon these positions, the British
and French hurled themselves with
little success for three years.
Today the best fortified positions
belong to the Allies, but command
of the new form of warfare belongs
to the Germans, military analysts
asserted.
The Maginot Line lies open to at
tacking armies driving down the
rear, and no one will say whether
Its guns—pointed at Germany—can
be reversed.
Similarly the Gort Line, which the
British built along a string of French
blockhouses on the Belgian frontier,
runs east and west, rather than
north and south, and already has
been flanked by the Nazi armies.
The size of the task facing the
Allies is reflected in the bare outline
of the Germans’ mobile and mecha
nized divisions.
Germans Outstripped British.
At the outbreak of the war, Ger
many had five armored divisions,
three motorized divisions and four
light divisions, with a sixth armored
division being formed, according to
military reports.
The armored divisions centered
around tank brigades, each of which
contained 200 heavy and *200 light
tanks. Accompanying divisions
were motorized artillery, engineers
and Infantry, with armored cars in
reserve.
Thus the Nazi army had 2,000
tanks plus perhaps 4,000 armored
cars. In contrast, the British then
were constructing a single armored
division.
The German motorized divisions
were simply infantry divisions of
15,000 to 16,000 men traveling by
truck. Divisional artillery engineer
and anti-aircraft and anti-tank units
also were motorized.
The four light divisions were simi
lar to the armored divisions except
that their tanks were small and were
carried on trucks to the front, where
they could be launched at crtiical
points. Both motorized and light
divisions included battalions of
motor cycle and bicycle troops.
Straten-Ponthoz Continues
As Belgian Ambassador
Count Robert van der Straten
Ponthoz continues as the Belgian
Ambassador to the United States,
representing the kingless govern
ment with headquarters at Paris,
according to a note to this Govern
ment, handed to Assistant Secretary
of State Berle by the Ambassador.
Count van der Straten-Ponthoz
made his position clear yesterday.
The Ambassador called on Mr.
Berle to inform this Government
formally that the capitulation of
King Leopold and the King’s sur
render of his armies was an act
contrary to the wishes of the Bel
gian government, headed by Pre
mier Pierlot and sitting in Paris as
a refugee government. The Ambas
sador urged that judgment be re
served on King Leopold’s step.
Hearing on Proposed
Radio Station Ordered
The Federal Communications Com
Biission yesterday ordered a public
hearing on the application of the
Capital Broadcasting Co. for a new
radio station in this city. The date
was not set. The applicant is seek
ing the frequency of 1,420 kilo*
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HOW GERMAN HIGH COMMAND DESCRIBES BATTLE FRONT—The German high command
today described the battle front in Belgium and France as shown on this map, saying it formed a
rough triangle around trapped Allied force* in Flanders from Zeebrugge to St. Amand and thence
back to the English Channel. Germans hold diagonally-shaded area, pocketed Allies are in black
area. Germans said there was street fighting in Dunkerque (1) and that Ostend and Lille had
been taken. Paris reported heavy German pressure on the northern Allied Army along the south
ern front (2), but that a French force of 30 divisions had massed along the Somme and Aisne
Rivers and were striking near Rethel (3) in an effort to relieve German pressure on the “trap.”
—A. P. Wirephoto Map.
'We Need Action Now,
Not Advisory Reports,'
Hoover Declares
Country Should Insist
On Defense Speed,
He Asserts
By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK. May 29.—For
mer President Herbert Hoover said,
“We need action now and not ad
visory reports for the flies,” in
commenting today on appointment
of an Advisory Defense Commission
by President Roosevelt.
Mr. Hoover’s statement, issued
from his hotel suite, also took As
sistant Secretary of War Louis
Johnson to task for a radio speech
last night in which Mr. Johnson
criticized Mr. Hoover’s suggestion
that a one-man defense adminis
trator b3 appointed.
The Hoover statement said:
“In view of the crisis we face and
all the exposures of the past month,
the country will be disappointed that
President Roosevelt has chosen to
set up another advisory committee
instead of reorganizing the War and
Navy Departments and appointing
somebody from industry for the pro
duction of munitions.
“There are three or four good men
on this committee, and the country
will gain confidence in it if it boldly
insists that these things be done at
once.
"Certainly Assistant Secretary of
War Johnson last night demonstrat
ed that his capacities at political
smearing exceed the capacities he
has shown in past years in produc
tion of airplanes and guns.
“We need action now and not
advisory reports for the files.”
Berlin
(Continued From First Page.)
southwest of Ypres. Both Ypres and
Kemmel were maelstroms of World
War fighting. Kemmel is known
particularly for the combat on Mes
sines Ridge.
Passing of Bruges and the reach
ing of Dixmude, both in Belgium,
by the swift advance through North
ern Flanders.
Raising of the swastika over
Langemarck, scene of fierce combat
in 1914.
Occupation of Armentieres, near
Lille.
Fracture of a fortified French bor
der position near Cassel, through a
rear guard attack.
Widespread air raids on “retreat
ing columns and all kinds of troop
concentrations and tanks.”
Destruction of 24 Allied planes
yesterday as against the loss of
three German machines.
Destruction of an allied destroyer
by a torpedo-carrying speedboat off
the Belgian city of Nieuport.
Heavy damage to three Allied de
stroyers, two transports and two
freighters, bombed off the Belgian
and French coasts of the English
Channel.
sinning oi an juuea suomanne uy
bomb in the Central North Sea and
"probable” destruction of another.
(The capture of Ypres, famous
World War battlefield, by Ger
man troops was reported today in
a special Berlin shortwave
broadcast, quoting the German
high command, heard by Colum
bia Broadcasting Co. in New
York.
(German troops have occupied
the French port of Dunkerque, a
Rome broadcast picked up by N.
B. C. in New York, said last
night.)
The German high command ac
knowledged that Allied forces had
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entered Narvik, Norwegian ore port
above the Arctic Circle which had
been besieged since the April 9 in
vasion of Norway. (The British said
Narvik had fallen.)
But the Germans said that their
air force had scored a "serious hit”
on a "large battleship” off Narvik,
putting its guns out of action and
enveloping the craft in smoke, and
heavily damaged three cruisers, a
destroyer and a freighter.
Troop landings at Ankanes, Nor
way, also were bombed.
French Collapse Reported.
The Artois region and the Flan
ders area—the coastal plains of
Northern France and Southwestern
Belgium—form the zone of intrap
ment for the Allied forces, now
bereft of Belgian aid in the Ostend
Bruges area on their left bank.
French resistance south of Lille
has “collapsed,” said the Germans,
and "the English Army which was
hemmed together in the region of
Dixmude, Armentieres, Bailleul and
Bergues, west of Dunkerque, also are
facing destruction through our con
centrated attack.”
The “swift advance” through
Northern Flanders—over the patch
opened by the Belgian surrender
carried German forces of occupation
into Ostend, Belgian port city.
For a brief interval, after the fall
of Brussels, Ostend was seat of the
Belgian government now constituted
in Paris. Ostend's peacetime popu
lation was about 44,000.
Advance Units in Dunkerque.
The street fighting at Dunkerque
apparently represented attack by an
advanced German column—perhaps
one of the swift mechanized units.
The pocket has been tightened
drastically and swiftly, but there
was no other indication, save this
unofficial report, that the real Ger
man line had carried to Dunkerque,
on the English Channel, 40 miles
east of Calais.
As closely as could be determined
from the rapid-fire reports on the
German advances, the encroaching
line—drawstring of the pocket in
which the northern British and
French armies found themselves—
runs like this from its northernmost
coastal point:
Eastward from Ostend, past
Bruges, 15 miles; thence southwest
ward to Dixmude, 25 miles; then
southward 15 miles to Ypres and
then 20 miles southeastward to Lille
and Armentieres, 10 miles west of
Lille; thence northwestward through
Cassel, Bourgourg and Gravelines to
the sea at a point 15 miles west of
Dunkerque. (Other mileage figures
are approximations.)
Germans gleefully declared that
the Allied jig was up in the Artois
Flanders pocket.
Sedan Break-Through Cited.
As a sample of what the trapped
soldiers were facing, DNB, official
German news agency, gave a bird’s
eye view of what had happened in
the Sedan break-through several
days ago.
Six hundred and fifty of Ger
many’s power-diving bombers con
centrated on that point showered
quarter-ton bombs upon pillboxes of
the little Maginot Line, upon march
ing columns, upon clusters of trees
and strategic bits of terrain—upon
every point where Allied troops could
hope to make a stand.
And then, when the Allied posl
fcmtimg fctar
tions had been smashed and troops
scattered by bombs, the German
infantry charged under cover of
mechanized forces.
DNB conceded that French artil
lery placed every German vehicle
under fire at Sedan in a shelling de
fense of unparalleled ferocity.
It appeared certain that these
tactics would be repeated multifold
on the British and French forces
still clinging to the region of Lille.
The high command declared that
the French defense south of Lille—
that is the less heavily fortified
side—had collapsed, permitting the
Germans to crash into that border
Industrial center.
Allied Front Smashed.
The British Expeditionary Force
evidently was backed against the
Channel coast, in the vicinity of
Dunkerque. The once-solid British
French front between Lille and B(x
mude seemed to have been smashed
into fragments.
As for the uncertain fate of
Dunkerque, only 108 miles by sea
from London itself, informed Berlin
sources said that ‘ things may have
changed already.” meaning that
perhaps Dunkerque, too, had fallen.
Official confirmation, however, was
lacking.
German circles were optimistic
that the fate of the trapped Allied
troops might be decided in the
Nazis’ favor in within a matter of
hours.
Authorized quarters still were un
able to say how the surrender of
the Belgian Army was carried out
militarily, but the speedy forward
thrjust which the Germans reported
yesterday toward the Belgian Chan
nel ports and Dunkerque, which is
just alongside the Belgian border,
indicated that the Belgians in that
sector were swiftly obeying King
Leopold's orders.
Military commentators said de
moralizing air attacks had left the
British and French troops—es
timated here at about 500.000 men—
‘‘weak and disorganized” and de
clared that they must surrender or
die within a few days.
“It is only a matter of days," said
one commentator, “before every
thing around them will crash and
bum—everything down to the last
house if necessary.”
Authoritative sources acknowl
edged that German losses had been
heavy in the drive to wipe out the
British and French in the north,
but said the price paid was not
excessive in view of the results ob
tained.
Most of the losses were said to
have been suffered by infantry
units.
oerman newspapers said Nazi
forces following up the retreat of
the British forces in Belgium had
found evidence of much sacking of
private property. Large quantities
of abandoned stolen property were
being recovered, it was said, and re
stored to Belgian owners.
The press also reflected bitterness
over reports of ill treatment ac
corded German prisoners—particu
larly captured airmen—by the
French.
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Pertinax Criticizes
Leopold's Action
In Deserting Allies
Says Assistance Pledge
Should Have Caused
Sense of Obligation
By PERTINAX.
PARIS. May 29 (N.A.N.A. by
radio).—There is hardly a precedent
for the deed of King Leopold. It is
well known, of course, that the Sax
on allies of Napoleon deserted him
on the battlefield of Leiptzig, but
nobody ever dared to say that they
had joined him as willing partners.
King Leopold was a willing part
ner and he should have had a
lasting sense of obligation toward
Prance and Great Britain in so
much as in March, 1937, they had
agreed to release Belgium from her
commitments as an ally, but nev
ertheless to renew their pledge of
assistance on the mere condition
that she would resist invasion and
maintain an adequate army to per
form that task.
That sense of obligation, move
over, should have become more
intense on May 9 when the French
and British cabinets hastened to
answer the call sent by the gov
ernment of the King. In the past
the ministers who spoke in behalf
of France had always emphasized
that if no arrangement between
the general staffs concerned had not
been arrived at beforehand military
assistance would be lent only within
narrow limits, as we were not willing
to incur the risk of having to fight
another battle of Charleroi.
Resisted Unity of Command.
However, when Belgium turned to
the western powers for immediate
help the whole left wing of the
Franco-British forces in France was
unhesitatingly thrown far away in
a sweeping movement which went
beyond Antwerp and Breda. Of
course, the British and French
thought of themselves then as well
as of Belgium. But King Leopold
should not have forgotten that by
having eluded all our demands for
the conclusion of military arrange
ments—on every occasion it is said
that his most Intimate military ad
viser, Gen. van Oberstratten saw to
it that the door should be flung
open to our face—he bore the main
responsibility for the unfortunate
developments of the last fortnight.
Even as recently as May 20 the
Belgian monarch caused the Franco
British Army in the north to waste
precious time because of his un
willingness to submit to a unity of
command. Former Premier Daladier
had to leave Paris hastily and go
to the front in order to remonstrate
with him, and he did not succeed
easily in persauding him to toe the
line.
The men who wish to find excuses
for what King Leopold has done
argue that he had given up hope
of ever winning back his kingdom
by the side of the Allies. The an
swer is that on his part it was not
so much a question of despair as a
question of personal leanings and
disposition. As a matter of fact,
the policy of neutrality and inde
pendence he initiated in October,
1936, as a substitute for the alliance,
put in shape seven months before,
meant that at the bottom of his
heart he refused to bring up the
cause of his country with the cause
of the western powers. But for the
refusal he would not have started
a policy which could not but impair
France’s and Great Britain's means
of defense against Germany.
Cruel Price for Policy.
His true attitude was concealed
behind the screen afforded by the
Franco-British unilateral guarantee
of March, 1937, for which he had
to profess thankfulness. But there
are indications that he saw in it
something else as a means to spare
the feelings of his French-speaking
subjects in Liege and elsewhere, who
now have to pay a cruel price for
his mistaken foreign policy of the
last four years.
Other well-wishers of the King
will explain that as commander in
chief he had within his powers to
enjoin the Belgian Army to sur
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War Communiques |
German
By the Associated Press.
BERLIN, May 29.—The text of
today’s Qerman high command
communique follows:
The fate of the French Armies in
Artois is sealed. Their resistance in
the region south of Lille collapsed.
The English Army which was
hemmed together in the region of
Dixmude, Armentieres, Bailleul and
Bergues, west of Dunkerque, also are
facing destruction through our con
centrated attack.
Bruges was passed in the swift ad
vance through Northern Flanders,
Ostend was taken and Dixmude
reached. On the Yser and the Yser
Canal, north of Ypres, the enemy
was still offering desperate resist
ance.
i ne neicn s war nag is nying over
the memorial of German youth at
Langemarck, the scene of their
courageous fights In 1914.
Lille has been reached in the at
tack from the east and west. The
city has been taken. Advancing
from the west, Armentieres was oc
cupied. At Bailleul there is still
fighting. East of Cassel, a fortified
French border position which was
defended by the opponent with a
reversed front, was broken through
and the Belgian border reached. At
Wormhoudt the fighting is still in
progress.
On May 28 the air force raided
retreating columns and all kinds of
troop concentrations and tanks. In
the course of armed reconnaissance
off the Belgian and French coast
and in the Channel three destroyers
and two transports and two freight
ers were bombed and seriously dam
aged. One enemy submarine was
sunk by a bomb in the central North
Sea. Destruction of an additional
U-boat was probable.
Despite unfavorable weather,
German speedboats succeeded off
Nieuport in sinking by torpedo hit
a big enemy destroyer on flight to
England. On the south front, iso
lated attacks by enemy infantry and
tanks were repulsed.
The losses of the enemy in the
air amounted to 24 planes on May
28. Of these 16 were shot down in
an air fight and 8 by anti-aircraft.
Three German airplanes are miss
ing.
Col. Moelders scored his 20th air
victory The number of enemy
planes shot down by anti-aircraft
in the period from May 15 to May
26 increased from the hitherto an
nounced 100 to 265, according to
exact information.
The number of airplanes thus
brought down by anti-aircraft since
May 5 amount to 607. In addition,
the air defense during the same
render as well as to attack. But the
Belgian cabinet, including Foreign
Minister Spaak, the obstinate ser
vant of the King, do not consider,
as vouched by their proclamation
on the radio, that a case can be
made for Leopold on that basis.
The decision to conclude a trick
did not come suddenly under pres
sure of military circumstances. It
was the outcome of long-matured
political action, and it was not per
haps reached without extensive
pourparlers conducted through se
cret agents. Let us not forget that
in the immediate entourage of the
King and of the Dowager Queen
German influence has always held
more than its own, served as it was,
by a woman in the case of the for
mer and by a man in the case of
the latter.
What proportion of the former
left wing of the Allied Armies will
have the good fortune to extricate
itself from the circle of steel which
gradually Is closing upon it nobody
can foresee. But the French and
British military observers are con
fident that a left wing No. 2 al
ready has been put in position (here
three words were censored).
period destroyed 101 enemy armored
cars.
In Norway the enemy, supported
by numerous warships, landed on
the ore railway yesterday and en
tered Narvik from the north. Ger
man fighting units raided enemy
naval forces lying there. One large
battleship sustained a serious hit
amidships and cessed firing after
being enveloped in smoke. Three
cruisers and one destroyer, as well
as one freighter, were heavily hit by
bombs. Troops disembarkations at
Ankanes were attacked with many
bombs.
French
By the Associated Press.
PARIS. May 29.—The French
high command’s morning com
munique said:
Our troops are resisting in the
north with admirable courage
against fierce efforts of the enemy.
Positive information permits af
firmation that losses suffered by
the Germans during combats yes
terday and last night were partic
ularly high.
On the Somme and Aisne (rivers)
local actions were conducted with
successes. An enemy raid was
thrown back southwest of Chateau
Porcien. East of the Aisne there
were no actions during the night.
Roosevelt
(Continued From First Page.)
He called It a “cap and gown com
mission,” and said the President
failed "to recognize the necessity of
calling in experts in mass produc
tion.” In this regard, Mr. Landon
added that three appointees whom
he did not name qualified as ex
perts.
The commission is constituted as
follows:
Mr. Stettinius, chairman of the
board of United States Steel, who
will supervise the production of raw
materials.
Mr. Knudsen of General Motors,
who will be concerned exclusively
with manufacturing problems.
Sidney Hillman, president of the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers, re
sponsible for matters involving
labor.
Chester C. Davis, member of the
Federal Reserve Board and former
director of the Agricultural Adjust
ment Administration, who will in
tegrate the farmer’s part.
Ralph Budd, president of the Chi
cago. Burlington & Quincy Railroad,
the transportation specialist.
Leon Henderson, member of the
Securities Commission, charged with
stabilization of wholesale prices.
Mis* Harriet Elliott of the Uni
versity of North Carolina, guardian
of consumer interests.
In appointing the National Defense
Commission, President Roosevelt
went back to the World War Na
tional Defense Act. This authorizes
the formation of a National Defense
Council consisting of six cabinet
members, with a National Defense
Commission of seven operating un
der it to do the actual work of
Industrial, labor and consumer co
ordination.
As it works out in this instance,
however, Mr. Roosevelt advised cor
respondents they could forget about
the cabinet council. This led to a
general view that the commission
would function under the President’s
immediate supervision and report
directly to him.
in aciuai operation, me Army
and Navy will place its own orders,
after consultation with the com
mission, and it will then be the
letter's task to see that materials
are on hand at the proper plants
as needed, that production sched
ules are maintained, that transpor
tation is available as needed and
that labor is available to do the
task.
Mr. Stettinius’ and Mr. Knudsen’s
tasks will be full-time jobs from
the start, the President said.
__ •
Willkie Favors Asking
Allies What U. S. Aid
They Require
Sees Morale Helped
Even if Assistance
fs Not Given
Br th« Associated Press. - -
AKRON, Ohio, May 29.—A request
that the United States ask warring
European democracies what help
they need was issued last night by
Wendell L. Willkie, utilities mag
nate and a "dark horse” Republican
presidential possibility.
“I should like to ask Secretary of
State Hull to ask the democracies
publicly and in the name of the
American people what help short of
troops the American people can
give.” Mr. Willkie asserted at an
American Legion banquet here.
"It is clear that England arid
Prance constitute our first line Of
defense. But we can dismiss any
thought of going over ourselves to
save them. We have no troops and
if we had troops we would lack
equipment.
Sees Morale Aided.
“If the Allies respond to our query
with a request we can debate it on
its merits. Even if we cannot grant
it our inquiry will help Allied morale
and will have helped a little to check
Hitler.”
The banquet was sponsored by
Legion Post 19, of which Mr. Willkie
was commander when he was an
Akron attorney a decade ago.
“We cannot risk sending our boys
against Hitler as poorly equipped
as the British and Prench boys,” ha
said.
“But put the situation in the most
selfish light—if Britain and Prance
lick Hitler we may be saved billion!
of dollars, billions of tons of arma
ment, billions of hours of unfruitful
effort.
To Americas Advantage.
"On the selfish side it would be
enormously to our advantage to
have them win. It must therefore
be to our advantage to help them In
every way we can short of declaring
war.
"Our Government has been slow to
get help to them. One reason is
that industry is not prepared. An
other is no one is quite clear as to
what to do.”
Mr. Willkie, president of the Com
monwealth and Southern Corp., re
ported he would confer with Alf M.
Landon, 1936 Republican presidential
candidate, at Topeka, Kans., to
morrow. He said he had been
“invited by Mr. Landon, who I sup
pose is titular head of the Repub
lican party,” but did not know what
course the conference would take.
Canadian Legion Hall
Blasted by Crude Bomb
VERNON, British Columbia, May
29 (Canadian Press).—A home-made
bomb planted at the rear of the
Canadian Legion Hall exploded last
night as leaders of the district vol
unteer home defense unit were dis
cussing their first day of recruiting.
Windows were shattered at the
rear of the room in which the men
were meeting. Police started an in
vestigation.
Officials said they believed the
bomb was made of stumping powder
packed in a kettle.
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