If the British Empire has confidence in Mr. Winston Churchill and it undoubtedly has, he in his turn has unshakable faith in the ability of his countrymen to face facts. That is demonstrated in his speech delivered in the House of Commons, and broadcast throughout the Empire, which he delivered on Tuesday. In it he gave the Empire the stark facts of the situation, hiding nothing of the enormous task which lies ahead, and the dangers which confront the British Isles. It was the speech of a realist to a people, who by reason of the grim experiences of the past few months have acquired more realism than they have ever had before. Mr. Churchill gave them the facts because he knew they could "take it" The British Empire will fight on for years if necessary, alone if necessary. That is the determination of every real British heart. The last battle has not yet been fought, the last word not spoken, but when they are it is the democracies which will win and decide the terms of peace. In a short while Great Britain, with, it is hoped, the French Navy and air force, will become the exclusive object of German attentions. The possibility of an attempted invasion of ithe country looms now greater than ever it did before, and the anxious days of over a century ago when another Continental Power threatened the same thing will again have to be encountered. They will be faced with precisely the same hardie hood now as they were then, with the inspired leadership of the Prime Minister to bring the people to ultimate victory. It is as well to remember, as Mr. Churchill, reminded his hearers, that from the moment the Allies declared war on September 3 of last year it was always possible for Germany to have turned all her air force upon Britain, together with any other devices of invasion she might have conceived, and that France could have done little or nothing to prevent it. Britain has, therefore, been living in this danger in principle, and a slightly modified form during all these months. It is indeed astonishing considering how Herr Hitler regards the British as the arch-enemy that some such venture has not been undertaken before now. That, however, is a puzzle which, perhaps, only history will solve.
But, in the breathing space which enemy inactivity in this respect has afforded, British defences have enormously improved, and the fact ascertained that individually British aeroplanes and pilots are superior to the German. And so, casting up what he describes as "this dread balance sheet," and "contemplating our dangers with a disillusianed mind," Mr. Churchill saw great reasons for intense vigilance and exertion, but none whatever for panic, or dismay That is the opinion not only of the man best in a position to assess the real facts of the situation, but an opinion which is fortified by the professional advisers of the Government. No one for a single moment will seek to minimize the dangers of the situation, or the agony which the people of the British Isles may have to pass through during the months to come. It would be the height of folly to seek to do so, but there are all the indications necessary to show that Britain is in a gocd posture of defence, with approximately two million men under arms, a powerful Navy, and rapidly growing air force with which to meet the German menace. Obviously there are manifest difficulties in the way of any really substantial invasion of Britain. Possessed of command of the sea, against German navy which has suffered consider able attrition, and an Italian navy which has still to show its mettle, it should be possible to hold the shores of tae United Kingdom inviolate. As things stand it would seem that the Germans are faced with a task which should be completely beyond their powers, namely to land adequate troops in Britain to deal with the defence which can be offered them by the men already under arms, and those others who are yet to be called to the colours. The transportation of such a force across the sea would necessitate escorts which the Germans do not possess, and as Mr.
Churchill says it would be the duty of the British Navy to intercept these forces and destroy them either on the high seas, or at the moment of landing.
More probable is it that the German command will confine itself to continued air-raids over Britain, and possibly the landing of parachute troops, but it is not to be believed that these latter stand much chance of success against the large British forces which have been formed to deal with them:
The air-raid will be met by home defence on the one hand, from aircraft and anti-aircraft guns, and on the other by retaliatory raids over enemy territory. The growing British air forces, further strengthened by the taking over of outstanding French contracts with the manufacturers in the United States, give promise that eventual air superiority in numbers will be obtained, and that whatever the Germans succeed in doing to Britain will be returned equally and even more. It will be a grim and bitter business, but it will have to be gone through to the end, for it is only now by the sternnest resistance that the present disaster can be transformed into that victory which alone will restore liberty to Europe. For those who are inclined to despair the encouraging words of Mr. Churchill towards the end of his speech need to be recalled During the first of the four years of the last war, as Mr, Lloyd George will remem-"er, the Allies experienced nothing but disaster, and disappointment, and yet at the end their morale was higher than that of the Germans who had moved from one aggressive triumph to another. During that war we repeatedly asked ourselves a question: How are we going to win? and no one was ever able to answer it with precision, until at the end quite suddenly and unexpectedly our terrible foe collapsed before ws, and we were so glutted with victory that in our folly we cast it away So through the dark days which are at present being encountered, through those which are still to come there must be that readiness to endure even the most grievous blows, striking back with every ounce of power, enforcing the blockade with the completest efficiency, until, as in 1918, the enemy again breaks. Then it will be for statesmanship to make sure that the victory and its fruits shall be permanent, and that never again shall a similar peril be possible.
Mr. Winston Churchill made it quite clear to the British public that the country may expect shortly to feel the weight of the German air force, and he emphasized that the Nazis will by no means have things their own way. As he was speaking he must have knowledge of the devastating series of air raids which had been carried out by the R.A.F. over Germany the night before. Gelsenkirchen, Homburg, Wanne, Eickel, Essen, Dollbergen, Hamburg, Aachen, Duisberg, Rheydt. Cologne, and Coblenz had been visited by British bombers in the most powerful series of raids over Germany since the beginning of the war. All of these cities are either important oil storage centres, railway junctions, or munitions manufactories, and the damage done seems to have been enormous. While crowds in Munich cheerd two dictators posing on the balcony of Hitler's residence, British planes were delivering their answer to the German hope that by giving France an almost fatal blow, the wer had been won. Better than any "bomphlets," the bombs announced that the war, far from being won, was about to enter its most difficult stage and that the Nazis have a long and arduous way to go before they can say that Hitlers dream of European hegemony has been realized. Most encouraging is the aggressiveness of the British move. Hitherto the spectator at this distance from the fighting has received the unfortunate impression that the Allies have, to use a boxing term. been "counter-punching"—on the defensive, and never on the attack. In these raids, however, the British, to continue the metaphor, have "beaten the Nazis to it" They, expecting momentarily Nazi attempts to dislocate Britain's industrial and defence systems by mass raids, have struck first. The Nazis have been given a taste of the medicine they had hoped to administer to the British public. It is too much to hope that the Allies have taken the initiative in the air, since the relative strengths of the air forces of Germany and Britain do not at present permit of any such boast. But the Nazis now know that the British, with righteousness on their side, are not prepared to let justice win in its own time and without very energetic assistance. They believed in the old and by now somewhat hackneyed adage Thrice armed is he who knows his cause is just, But four times he who gets his blow in "fust."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.