Oct, 18.
'The report submitted by the Vichy Council of Political Justice to Marshal Petain, regard~ Ing the conduct prior to and. during' the war]
various French statesmen and also General Gamelin, read with the resume of Viscount Gort's despatches on the subject of the campaign in France, throws an inter~ esting light on the conditions prevailing when the struggle commenced with the German Invasion of Boland, The two, document incidentally,.form a, complet n of the German plea that the Anglo-French Alliance wanted war and forced it upon Europe; for a more general picture of unreadiness it is difficult to conceive. Of] course, there is mare than, a possibility that the investigations which are being conducted by the Council of Political Justice of the desire of those at t in power there is a certain amount of bias because
fo score off former political opponents. But the finding of general unpreparedness is s0 emphasized by. Viscount "Gort's despatches, that the Council's findings can be accepted approximating the truth.
It Is a question for historians of the future to decide whether the men whom! the Council so roundly condemns were really as guilty as It Is sought to prove them, or whether they were the victims of an evil system which had been allowed to develop in France, not only by the Cabinet in power at the time of the declaration of war, but also by its many rs. There has: been 'a general tendency ever since the collapse of France to: find scapegoats, and fu the Cabinet, oMlciating at the time of the commencement of the war until the final surrender, ready victims were found. That there was uncertainty, inefficiency and sheer inability seems clearly to have been proved, but if the Council of Political Sustice' is to perform its duties thoroughly fand without fear or favour, it is apparent] that it will have to go much further back than the years immediately preceding the war. Cabinets are so often the legatees of] the mistakes of their predecessors. That was clearly the case with that of Mr. Cham-[berlain.. Tt has also been the case with Mr. Churchill's ministry, but, with that characteristic energy which is his, he has managed to shake himself free from the disadvantages which those who went before him bequeathed.
It Is stated that Lord Gort's despatches show that the main causes of the Flanders! tragedy were, firstly, the failure of "Allied support on either flank, secondly, a so-called Weygand plan which was based upon thin air, thirdly, lack of liaison, and fourthly in-Suiftelent equipment and insufficient reserves. If, as he claims, General Weygand's plans were imperfect it would seem that that officer should also receive some attention at the hands of the Council of Political Justice, though there is to be said in his favour that he was only recalled to France when indeed the situation had already become serious. What emerges so clearly from the report of the Council, and the short account of Viscount Gort's despatches is the fact that neither Britain nor France were really in a position to engage on a war on the scale, which it] is clear now Germany had planned. If that] was the state of affairs in the summer of 1940 what must have been the situation in September, 1938? The magnificent fight which the' Russians are putting up is only possible because of years of planning and full realization of what war of today means.
That does not appear to have been realized in either Britain or France. Such men as) General de Gaulle in France, and Captain Liddell Hart in Britain, appear fully fo have realized what lines modern warfare would follow, but in both cases their warnings and advice fell on dear ears. It was not only to the French Cabinet which decided upon war that General de Gaulle's warnings had been addressed, but to military officers and mini stues which preceded It, and it follows that they, are Just as guilty as those others whom Marshal. Petain has sent to a fortress. It would be unfair to those men to assume that their guilt has been proved. That is the finding of the Council, though a very different Idea might prevail if their defences were made public. It is possible that these men have made revelations in defending them: selves which would be highly unpalatable to those now in control of France, whose book can only be suited by placing these ministers and officers where they cannot place their leases before the bar of public opinion. The facts of inefficiency and ineptitude appear to have.been proved, but it is not clear that all the guilty. men' of France have been Brought to Justice, or that they ever will. calicey slates have en Jenown of youn 1t_may be passible to do without. dancing People' passing many, many months successively Rithout" being at atid ball of any description, no, material injury accrue either to body or mind: but when a beginning is made—whea the elicits of rapid motion have, been_onee, though.slighty. felt—it must be a,"very heavy set that does not ask for more—Jane Austen.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.