Tuesday, May 7, 1940

STORMS BREWING IN THE BALKANS. The banner headline on Monday’s Chicago Tribune reads, “War Threats Stir Balkans.” And not only the Tribune but other major papers and radio news operations seem now convinced that the war will spread very shortly to southeastern Europe. The United Press reports Monday that German newspapers are warning of coming British “aggression” in “Saloniki, Bulgaria, Turkey, and the Mediterranean generally.” William Shirer noted in his C.B.S. broadcast from Berlin last night that the Nazis staged a similar press campaign six weeks ago -- claiming then that the Allies were about to attack Scandinavia. George Axelsson’s account in Monday’s New York Times describes the Berlin press as “cheering Italy on with assurances that whatever trouble breaks, all the way from Gibralter to the Suez, Italy need not fear anything, thanks to [Germany’s] mighty air armadas.” Mr. Axelsson adds that Germany's confidence in her air power “knows no bounds” now, after its success in Norway.

Greece might be a center of action, according to Sonia Tomara in Monday’s New York Herald Tribune. Writing from Bucharest, Miss Tomara says that the French army in the Near East commanded by General Weygand has been reinforced to a strength of 200,000 to 250,000 troops, mindful “of the possibility of a clash with Italy.” Naval and air forces under British command in the eastern Mediterranean are also preparing to defend Greece, considered to be “the chief bone of contention in such a war” with Italy.

RUMANIA LOSING FAITH? Rumania’s territory has been guaranteed by Britain and France, but Sam Brewer writes in Monday’s Chicago Tribune that King Carol is considering closer relations with the Germans. Worried about the growing number of Russian troops posted opposite Rumanian Bukovina, the King met secretly with Germany’s No. 2 Fuehrer Goering last week, and is thinking about accepting a German guarantee and bowing to Nazi demands for “close cooperation.” The Rumanians don’t seem to have much confidence in Allied guarantees all of a sudden. Can anybody blame them?

CHAMBERLAIN “LIKELY TO CONTINUE.” Putting the question aside of whether Chamberlain should be Britain’s prime minister or not (and my vote would be “no”), there are new indications he will survive the political crisis sparked by the Allied defeat in Norway. Raymond Daniell writes in Monday’s New York Times that “it seems likely that Mr. Chamberlain will survive this tempest even though although he may be forced to recast his government soon to satisfy his critics that that at the next German aggression the Allied response will be quicker and more effective.” One reason is cabinet minister Sir John Simon’s assurance that the War Cabinet is in “complete harmony” on the Norway action, and a second is growing resentment in Parliament of the criticism hurled from neutral countries that the British are an unreliable ally. An Associated Press story concurs with all this, quoting British sources as saying the House of Commons will probably “let the government off with a warning.”

Still, Mr. Daniell writes in a Sunday New York Times analysis that there might be significant changes coming to the Chamberlain government -- perhaps a “tightening” of the cabinet which would vest much greater power in Winston Churchill to conduct the war, and Sir Samuel Hoare to run the economy. A more dramatic possibility would be “a coalition government that would bring into the ranks of the government the ablest members of the Liberal and Labor parties.”

WHAT THE FALL OF NORWAY MEANS TO EUROPE. There may be sympathy among Europe’s neutrals for the Allied cause, but significantly less respect for it in the wake of the Norway disaster. Harold Callender writes in Sunday’s New York Times on just how much Britain and France have lost in the Norwegian battle --

“It is a striking [German] victory that has amazed and deeply impressed Europe and added immeasurably to Germany’s military and political prestige. Another nation that the Allies promised to help has gone down -- like Ethiopia, Czecho-Slovakia, Albania, and Poland -- and it is inevitable that in the circumstances other small nations should wonder what Allied support is worth. Poland was conquered in eighteen days, Norway in about three weeks. These are facts that cannot be forgotten.”

And it’s not just Allied failure that’s distancing neutral nations from Britain and France. Mr. Callender notes the now-total passivity of the anti-Hitler effort -- “Almost equally impressive for Europeans is the fact that in his speech this week Mr. Chamberlain seemed content to leave the initiative still in the hands of Chancellor Hitler. He said that an emergency might arise at any moment in some part of Europe and that the Allies must conserve their forces in readiness. This amounts to saying that the Germans would soon choose another battlefield and the Allies intended to wait until that choice had been made.” But isn’t this basically the same strategy that worked so well in dealing with Ethiopia, Czecho-Slovakia, Albania, Poland, and now Norway? Does Chamberlain have any capacity whatsoever to learn from his mistakes?

ALLIES STILL CONSIDERED LIKELY TO WIN. Ernest Lindley says in Monday’s Washington Post that the “official guessing” in the nation’s capital puts more stock in British and French chances to win this war than this past week’s front pages seem to --

“The prevailing opinion still is that the Allies probably will be the ultimate victors. Odds on their success would have risen if they had prevented the Germans from consolidating their control on southern and central Norway. The failure of the belated and poorly organized Allied counterattack has restored the odds to about where they were before the blitzkriegs in Scandinavia. Perhaps they have dropped a point or two lower, but not much more than that....Many officials here regard the Norwegian venture as either feint or a German defensive measure. The feint hypothesis is that Hitler hoped to divert the attention of the Allies from the Low Countries, where his main thrust was to be. The defensive hypothesis is that he wanted to secure his northern flank, especially against air attack, before moving elsewhere.”

U.S. officials reckon, writes Mr. Lindley, that the Nazi effort in Norway succeeded as a defensive measure, but didn’t accomplish anything as a feint. “The Allies apparently did not diminish their naval patrol off Holland. They withdrew no ships from the Mediterranean....They did not pile up their stakes.”

“ATOMIC FORCE” COULD BE USED AS FUEL -- OR BOMBS. If the news lately hasn’t been scary enough, get a load of this -- what do you think Hitler could do with a new chemical substance, one pound of which possesses “the explosive force of 15,000 tons of T.N.T.”? It’s called “U-235,” and both the Sunday New York Times and the Associated Press have stories on what it could mean for our future. On the one hand the substance, recently isolated in the laboratory by American research scientists, could revolutionize the world’s production of power, says the A.P. -- a pound of it would offer the same power output as 3,000,000 gallons of gasoline or 5,000,000 pounds of coal.

But Americans aren’t the only ones interested in U-235, the potentialities of which were just uncovered in the last three months. According to the Times, “Every German scientist in this field, physicists, chemists, and engineers...have been ordered to drop all other researches and devote themselves to this work alone.” The Nazis are not only interested in its possible explosive power, but also the likelihood that a “chunk of five to ten pounds” could drive a battleship or a submarine all over the world almost indefinitely.

Whether anything ultimately comes from U-235 research, I hope that both the Roosevelt administration and the Allies note the attention Hitler’s best brains are giving this, and respond with aggressive efforts of their own.

Sunday, May 5, 1940

ALLIES GIVE UP MOST OF NORWAY. For the longest time, there seemed to be little news about the fighting in Norway. But in the last week, we’ve seen a barrage of news, more terrible with each passing day.

According to an Associated Press dispatch by Thomas F. Hawkins published Saturday, the British and French have “abandoned the whole of Norway south of the Arctic Circle.” The retreat came in two stages. The first came Thursday, when the Allies hastily pulled their troops out of south Norway through the port of Andalsnes. The second and more dramatic action came Friday, as Allied forces holding the Steinkjer line, north of Trondheim, were suddenly pulled out and withdrawn through Namsos, leaving central Norway barely defended. Otto Tolischus in Saturday’s New York Times says that with these moves Britain and France “wrote finis to the Norwegian campaign for the present.”

GERMAN PLANES WON THE VICTORY. Edward Angly, in Friday’s New York Herald Tribune, reports that German air power was decisive in driving the Allies out of south Norway. Prime Minister Chamberlain told Parliament on Thursday that constant attacks by Nazi warplanes were successful in preventing the British from bringing in artillery or tanks to support their beleaguered troops. Somewhat weakly -- and almost pathetically in light of the next day’s developments -- Chamberlain claimed that the Allied retreat south of Trondheim “would eventually turn out...to be part of a ‘long-term strategy which will win the war.’” Can he really be serious?

C.B.S.’s William Shirer broadcast from Berlin last night that the Germans credit Nazi warplanes with achieving four tasks critical to victory -- (1) keeping the sea route from Germany to Oslo free of British ships, so that the German armies in Norway could be well supplied; (2) keeping the British Navy from attacking the major Nazi-held ports of Stavanger, Bergen, and Trondheim; (3) keeping Allied heavy weaponry out of the country, and (4) making the German land advance easier through steady machine-gun attacks on Allied defenses. Hitler’s men are exultant about this, Mr. Shirer says, and now believe that the vaunted British Navy can do little more than defend itself in sectors controlled by German air power.

NORWEGIAN TROOPS “BITTER” AT ALLIES. And who can blame them, if the accusations made by a senior Norwegian army officer are at all true. Colonel Getz, of Norway’s central command, released a communique on Saturday stating --

“The British and French -- for reasons unknown to us -- have given up helping us in our fight and have withdrawn their troops from Namsos. We stand alone today against the entire German war machine, already outflanked and encircled on the line which the British and French should be holding...without aid from the outside...with only enough ammunition for one day....It was an incomprehensible action on the part of the British and French, without notifying me, to lay open my flanks in the rear so I was cut off from any possible retreat...”

“Without notifying me”? Is this possible? Alas, yes. The Associated Press quotes a Swedish correspondent as reporting that the British and French troops couldn’t get out of Namsos fast enough.  According to this observer, the Allies’ “motorized anti-aircraft guns on the shore were covered with canvas instead of standing by for possible action.” What’s more, the British skedaddled away so fast that they left behind “huge quantities of valuable war materials such as heavy anti-aircraft guns, heavy artillery, and stacks of ammunition.” No doubt it’s merely another aspect of Chamberlain’s “long-term strategy.”

BRITISH LEAVE NAMSOS “WITH HONOR”. To be fair, a more charitable eyewitness who was in Namsos claims that (1) Allied soldiers were under almost constant fire from German planes, and (2) the troops themselves were anything but cowards running away from a fight. According to Frank Muto, a London Daily Express reporter whose account appeared in U.S. papers Saturday through the International News Service --

“A steady stream of British soldiers began to move down the harbor side. They were bitterly disappointed at not having had a crack at the Germans. One of the soldiers told me: ‘”We are sick and tired of these darned Jerries (German planes) coming over here all day long. We are without any fighters to send up against them.”

CHAMBERLAIN’S IN TROUBLE. A lot of harsh questions will be asked the next time Chamberlain faces the Parliament, and some in the press are even suggesting that his government might eventually be in jeopardy. Raymond Daniell writes in Saturday’s New York Times that the bad news from Norway “may not lead to the immediate downfall of the Chamberlain Government, but...the Cabinet is facing its gravest crisis of this war.” Critics are already blasting the Norway operation for its alleged ill-preparation, hesitancy, and lack of coordination between air, sea, and land forces. Clement Davies, a Liberal National and up until now an ally of Chamberlain’s, has declared that “the country cannot be properly organized until the government goes.”

Edward R. Murrow said in his C.B.S. broadcast from London Friday night that “it’s too early to tell” whether Chamberlain’s government will fall. But he believes the Prime Minister is in no immediate danger unless the War Cabinet splits -- and specifically, if First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill were to openly blame the leadership for the loss of Norway. Joseph Cerutti agrees, writing in Saturday’s Chicago Tribune that Chamberlain is likely to keep his job, in spite of the “general gloom” in London.

WHAT NOW FOR THE GERMAN ARMIES? Take your pick. Joseph W. Grigg, Jr. writes for the United Press Saturday that the Germans are “accusing Britain of plotting to extend the war to the Mediterranean and Balkans” and promising to, in a Nazi spokesman’s words, “counter British aggression with lightning action.” Alex Small reports in Saturday’s Chicago Tribune that the Belgians are “alarmed” by Allied reversals in Norway, and suspect they’re next on the Nazi conquest list. Another U.P. report from Friday suggests that the Germans will now serve an ultimatum on Sweden, or send their troops in without warning. The Associated Press carried on Friday Chamberlain’s warning that there might be a Nazi thrust against England herself. Meanwhile, a Saturday A.P. dispatch says that Italy may be preparing an attack on Greece.

Thursday, May 2, 1940

NAZIS WIN A “DECISIVE” VICTORY. German forces in Norway have captured Dombas and Storen, seizing control of the railroad line that New York Times reporter Otto Tolischus calls “the Allied key position in the heart of Norway.” Mr. Tolischus adds in his Wednesday story that “the full extent of [the victory] must still be determined, but the decisiveness of which there can be no doubt.” The victory links the hitherto isolated German units at Trondheim with the main Nazi armies around Oslo. It kills the chances of a successful Allied attack against Trondheim or Oslo, and forces British and French forces back to the vicinity of their landing bases at Andalsnes and Namsos. And according to the Times, the Nazis aren’t wasting a minute in launching fresh attacks against the retreating Allies.

Most worrisome of all, potentially, is the effect that Nazi command of the skies is having on British and French hopes of keeping their campaign going. Writes Mr. Tolischus -- “It appears that both landing bases [Andalsnes and Namsos] are being subjected to new, intensive air bombardment, partly, no doubt, to paralyze the debarkation of reinforcements and supplies, but mostly to keep the Allied navy at a distance. And whether the Allies can hold their landing bases without the support of the heavy naval guns is now the question that may decide the whole Norwegian campaign.”

HITLER CROWS THAT'S NORWAY’S CONQUERED. The Germans also aren’t wasting any time proclaiming that they’ve already won Norway. Sigrid Schultz of the Chicago Tribune writes in Wednesday’s editions that the Fuehrer’s order of the day Tuesday told his forces, “I am proud of you”and declared the German effort in Norway was virtually completed. Miss Schultz’s account includes a nauseating paragraph indicating the apparent glee with which Nazis ponder the violent subjugation of their neighbors --

“Authoritative German circles in Berlin expressed confidence that it is just a matter of days until Norway is fully in the hands of the German army. They began discussing where Germany will strike next, and voiced a conviction that the next blow will be delivered very soon.”

HINTS OF AN ALLIED WITHDRAWAL. And yes, it gets worse -- according to Edwin Stout of the Associated Press, British papers are suggesting that the Allies are about to withdraw from Norway. That caused the Liberal leader, Archibald Sinclair, to allege that such press stories were “apparently inspired” by the government. And the New York Times reports Monday that “French sentiment” now supports withdrawing Allied troops in south Norway to positions north of Trondheim.

ALLIES FACE “DARK HOURS” AHEAD, BUT --. “These are dark hours for the Allies and there is no dawn in sight,” writes Barnet Nover in his Washington Post column on Wednesday. Yet although he calls the Nazi seizure of Dombas and Storen “a tactical triumph of the first magnitude,” Mr. Nover still sees some hope that the Allied campaign in Norway can still manage to inflict harm on Hitler’s cause --

“Assuming that the Allies will continue to send reinforcements to Norway, the immediate prospect is for the creation of a stalemate in central Norway, comparable to that which prevails on the Western Front. Such a situation would have its real disadvantages to Great Britain and France. But it would not be without its compensations. As long as the Allies retain a foothold at several points in Norway, it is doubtful if the Germans could successfully use Norway as a base for air and submarine operations against Great Britain. And in such a war of attrition the blockade would operate with intensified force. The ace card of the Allies has not yet been trumped.”

BRITISH QUIT MEDITERRANEAN TRADE ROUTE. More ominous news, as if any more were needed -- the Chamberlain government has ordered all British passenger and merchant ships out of the Mediterranean. The New York Herald Tribune explains -- “With no merchant vessels to shepherd, British and French warships in the Mediterranean would be free for full-time battle and reconnaissance employment in the event hostilities should break out in that region.” The hostilities would come at the hand of Italy, whose controlled press has gone on a tear of denunciation of the Allies in recent weeks. Some say it portends Mussolini’s joining the war on Hitler’s side. Another theory is that the Italians are trying to help Germany by a clever bluff designed to draw Allied warships into guarding the Mediterranean, instead of fighting the Germans elsewhere.

ATTACK ON YUGOSLAVIA NEAR? The Associated Press reports “a stir in Italian military activity near the Yugoslav frontier,” and it’s got the Yugoslav government of Premier Cvetkovich worried. Also, “large German military concentrations” were reported near the frontier in the Klagenfurt area, according to the A.P. The Yugoslavs have responded by expelling hundreds of German “tourists.” Numerous arrests were also reported in Slovenia, which has a substantial German minority.

U.S.-JAPANESE WAR “INEVITABLE”? As if there aren’t enough grim portents in the news lately -- did anyone notice a startling note buried in the twenty-third paragraph of Time magazine’s lead story this week, on the Roosevelt administration’s war policy? It has to do with Japan’s possible interest in seizing the Netherlands East Indies at some point, an interest that Secretary of State Hull has “gravely, politely, promptly” warned Japan against pursuing --

“To many observers, a U.S. war with Japan seemed far in the distance. The U.S. Navy was not so sure about that. Rear Admiral Joseph Knefler Taussig this week told Congress that in present circumstances he regards war with Japan as inevitable eventually. Some sources, bluntly assuming that Hitler will invade The Netherlands before the end of June, further expect that Japan will seize the moment to move in on the Indies. It would therefore not be surprising if the tag end of U.S. Fleet maneuvers now in progress found a squadron near Manila.”

Tragically, it might thus be that the U.S. could succeed at staying out of the European war -- and be drawn into a major conflict far away from our shores just the same.

WHAT THE EDITORIALS SAY. The editors of three major papers tried to find a ray of hope yesterday for the Allied war effort in Norway --

New York Herald Tribune – “It is probably true that unless the Allies can regain and consolidate the Trondheim area the Germans will in the main have won their Norwegian campaign. And the recapture of Trondheim...has now become more difficult than ever. This does not mean that it has been rendered insoluble; the troops, anti-aircraft batteries and aviation are continuing to arrive, and if fewer of them would have saved the day a week ago enough may still be landed to do the job. But will events elsewhere wait to watch the doing of it?”

New York Times -- “It will be said that Allied prestige has suffered a dangerous blow. The blow is a hard one, but it does not follow that Italy will at once rush into the war on Germany’s side or that the smaller neutrals will hurry to capitulate to German demands. Allied sea power remains virtually intact and overwhelming; German sea power, for what it was worth, was recklessly squandered in the early stages of the Norwegian invasion. There are consolations for the Allied peoples in the present situation....”

Washington Post -- “The first effort to sweep the Germans out of Norway has failed....To win in Norway will obviously require many more men, and much more equipment, than the Allies have transported across the North Sea so far. But it is to be expected that these reinforcements will be sent, for to abandon Norway to German control would now be widely described as a military and moral disaster, regardless of the accuracy of that description.”

THIS’LL SETTLE THINGS. The New York Times has published the following letter to the editor from Samuel Harden Church, president of the Carnegie Institute -- “In order to prevent further bloodshed and outrage in this war of the German aggression, I am authorized by competent Americans to offer a reward of $1,000,000 to be paid in cash to the person or persons who will deliver Adolf Hitler, alive, unwounded and unhurt, into the custody of the League of Nations, for trial before a high court of justice for his crimes against the peace and dignity of the world. This proposal will stand good through the month of May, 1940.”