Sept. 7.
Great Britain is reinforcing her armies in Egypt and the Near East, while Mussolini apparently holds up his attack on the former awaiting cooler weather. Meanwhile there is much speculation as to the next direction in which the Axis Powers will strike out. The fact that in the armistice terms Hitler secured a corridor along the coast of the Bay of Biscay to the Spanish boundary suggests to some observers that an attempt might be made through Spain against Gibraltar, the capture of which would have the effect of closing the western end of the Medi terranean, possibly bottle up a portion of the British fleet and cut off com= munication with General Sir Archibald Wavell's army in the Near East. There is a possibility that if Hitler secks to create a diversion in the Iberian Peninsula, he might be thoroughly well accommodated by the British, for it would only mean history re-eating itself. On the other hand he might favour a siege of the Rock, which is well prepared to withstand it, but as Hitler is in search of quick results the temptation may not appeal to him.
Italy on the other hand may seck to make it difficult for the British in the Mediterranean. He has not succeeded in doing 30 up to the present, but it Is confidently expected that sooner or later he will attempt to do so, That he will have to secure command of the sea, which he most certainly has not yet got, may be taken for granted. The present disposition of the Italian Navy to give the British fleets a wide berth docs not suggest that he will be too anxious to force the issue, but it is clear that he cannot hope to make much progress against the British in Egypt unless he can maintain undisturbed lines of communication with Italy and so secure adequate provision and xeinfareement for his armies in Libya. The manner in which the British fleet is going wherever it desires in the Mediterranean, convoying supplies and reinforcements with a minimum of Italian interference clearly shows that Mussolini has yet a great deal to do before he puts his armies in Libya to the test of war with people who know how to fight.
Then again there is the Near East. The French Army in Syria, being loyal to Marshal Petain is apparently left there as a buffer between Britain's Palestinian forces and the Turks. But in Syria oil is the important thing. That might tempt the Italians to launch an invasion from the Island Rhodes, but should that occur the British forces in Palestine would undoubtedly move into the country, and there is very little doubt as to what the result of the ensuing encounter would be. Without underestimate ing the quality of Italian troops, it may be safely said that if the British forees cannot satisfactorily deal with them it will be a matter for the greatest possible surprise. That is however most unlikely, for the men who stood up so gallantly to the German army should find it a less hard task to do justice to the Italians.
There remains the possibility that Hitler has not yet abandoned the idea of an invasion of the British Isles. His air Blitzkrieg has certainly not produced results which would suggest that any such attempt would be likely to be successful, and the risks attendant upon such un undertaking are such as to make the German command none too anxious to embark upon it. With over two million armed Britons, now wel! equipped, and likely to be better so as the weeks pass, ready {o defend their land a German invasion would in any event prove a most costly experiment in men and material. is generally agreed that nothing short of a miracle could prevent such an invasion being defeated, and Hitler's position is such that he cannot possibly suffer a reverse which ould disturb the German mind as to the. incivility of their arms and the military genius of their leader. The Axis Powers have plenty of fidds in which to occupy their-forees, but in not one of them is there any real prospect of quick success. The yes that has passed has permitted the British to make dispositions to meet almost any emergency in any place where it might be likely fo occur, and they are ready for the enemy whenever he may decide to strike.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.