With the final collapse of Polish resistance against the Russian and German invasions, one month after the outbreak of hostilities, and two weeks later than the German command originally expected, Europe is entering on what may prove to be the most significant week since tension over Poland first arose. But before dealing with this point it may be just as well to remember that, in the on-slaugh on the Poles, German air superiority,—5,000 aeroplanes against, 600,—was the main deciding factor in the struggle. The same overwhelming margin does not exist with regard to Germany's position vis-a-vis of Great Britain and France, and in western Europe superiority in the air will have to be fought for. Reports indicate that up to the present the Allies have had rather the better. of the struggle in the air. That may be due to the fact that Germany needs to recondition the machines she used against Poland, for ersatz machines do not stand up so well to hard work as those which are made of more suitable materials. Allied air superiority in the west may be deduced from the various communiques, which state that action has been taken well behind the German lines, and that the aerial mapping of the Siegfried Line is now complete. The French have continued to make steady progress in the Saar region, Germany has been deprived of a valuable source of mineral wealth, and there are prospects that Saar-bracken will within a reasonably short time fall into French hands. Progress in this area must necessarily be slow, but all the indications are that the French policy of careful planning and consolidation of gains is proying fruitful despite desperate German opposition.. No major action has as yet been commenced; it may be some time before one is, but the manner in which the French are pushing home their offensive on the western front is a favourable augury for the time when operations on a larger scale have to be embarked upon.. The massing of troops near Aix-la-Chapelle and in the Black Forest may mean that Germany sooner or later intends to violate the neutrality of Belgium and Holland in the north or Switzerland in the south.
The importance of the present time, however, is to be found in the political developments of last week, the united peace offend sive of Russia and Germany,—so rightly termed because peace in such conditions as prevail at present could be nothing but offensive,—which has resulted from Herr von Ribbentrop's visit to Moscow, the final division of Poland very; much in Russia's favour, and the German submission to what is practically a Russian hegemony in the Baltic, and Balkan states. Whether Russia and Germany have entered into a military alliance is not yet made clear, but in endeavouring, to assess the importance of recent developments it must be fully realized that nothing has happened since the announcement of the Russo-German nonaggression pact which could be regarded as unexpected, and if in fact a military alliance is announced some time in the future it will contain nothing of the element of surprise. The probability of such a thing occurring has always been in the minds of the British and French Governments, and it is clear, therefore, that no new situation arises out of the Russo-German demand for peace, and that no new considerations operate. The reaction of the British and French Press to this latest move is significant of the temper of the peoples, and the rejection of peace overtures at this juncture seems to be almost a foregone conclusion. Nor does there appear any likelihood of third Power intervention being acceptable to the Allies. Obviously a neutral interesting itself on Germany's behalf in negotiating peace would have to accept the rape of Poland as a recognized fact—for the peace offensive is based upon that point—and there are indications that the Allies would resent any such step by a neutral because of the implications it would involve. It is more than likely that all this is fully realized by the Reich, and the contention that this latest peace move is designed more for home consumption than with any hope of being able to secure peace is more than probable.
The technique of the Reich is unmistakable. With the threat of a possible Russo-German military alliance, comes further menaces as to what the German forces will do if the war is prolonged, and in general the German government appears to be endeavouring to create a: horrendous bogey for the purpose of striking fear into the peoples of Britain and France in the hope that public opinion might force their Governments to come to terms. Nothing is more unlikely to succeed. Nor are assurances that Germany has no designs against Britain and France. That is much too threadbare a device to delude the peoples of the world nowadays. Herr Hitler has designs against any and every country from whom he fancies he can wrest something, and he has betrayed his word so freely and with such dippant frequency that he is now simply not believed. For that reason his attempt to throw responsibility for continuance of the war upon the shoulders of Great Britain and France will not succeed. It may serve to convince the uninformed German masses of the alleged justice of their cause, but the reception which this peace offensive has met with throughout the world, and more particularly in the United States, clearly demonstrates that this very naive gesture will carry conviction nowhere outside the borders of Germany. Great Britain and France will run no risk of moral condemnation if they treat it with the scorn it deserves. They would do so, however, if they were now to dishonour their pledged word in the manner which Herr Hitler conceives could be so facilely done under his threats, threats which are to be accepted for what they are worth, The Allies seek an honourable peace, one in which the world may be assured, that the rule of law shall again be vindicated, and that these freebooting forays by unscrupulous men shall once and for all be stopped. That is a peace worth fighting for. This thing which Russia and Germany offer is most certainly not worth accepting, for Herr Hitler has created a set of conditions in which such a peace as he now seeks would indeed be very offensive.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.