Evening Star Newspaper, April 14, 1940, Page 26

Nazi Communications Biggest Problem in Invasion of Norway Links With Se.attered Units Are Precarious, Maij. Eliot Says By MAJ. GEORGE FIELDING ELIOT. Bome clarification of the Norwe- glan situation is now available, and to begin with it may be well to clear up some of the misconceptions of the last few days. The fog of war mis- leads commentators as well as com- manders, and in writing of oper- ations still in progress the reader must always bear in mind that in- formation is incomplete, uncertain and perhaps altogether misleading. In evaluating this information and presenting it to the reader, the best that the analyst can hope for is to seek guidance from experience in order to make as few mistakes as possible. Some he will certainly make in any case, unless he waits until long after the event. In principle, however, and as to the character of the major develop- ments, our reports so far of the Ger- man thrust to the north have been accurate. The Germans have car- ried out boldly and with initial suc- cess a bold and well-conceived plan for the attainment of its objective. ‘Whether that objective should ever have been sought by such means is another matter. The allies have reacted with energy and determina- tion, and their operations have in- spired the Norwegians to a stout re- eistance. The German communi- cations with their scattered units in Norway are precarious. There can be little doubt that further allied measures are in course of prepar- ation, and that time is the controll- ing factor in the situation. Ports Not Retaken. In detail, however, it is necessary to point out that Bergen and Trond- heim have not been retaken, as was reported; that the allied naval at- tack in the Skagerrak was not a major fleet action, but was a most successfully carried-through attack by allied submarines on a German troop conv more than half of which was disposed of: and that the British destroyer raid on Nar- vik Wednesday scored a consider- able measure of success, instead of | being a defeat without compensat- ing gain. The naval situation at the mo- ment appears to be as follows: Following the attack on the con- voy, the allies mined the Skagerrak | and the Kattegat (at least the | entrance of the latter); they are continuing and extending their mining operations, and patrolling their mine fields with air and light surface forces; they nave blockaded the German warships and trans- ports which have reached the Nor: wegian Atlantic ports while those | in Oslo Fjord are hampered by ! the mine fields. No British heavy units (battle- | ships, cruisers, carriers) have been | admitted lost, though damage to | one battleship (Rodney) and three | cruisers is admitted, with the loss | of at least four destroyers. Against Riode THIS CERTIFICATE OF INS Issued this day of Aoxil.Bth . Mra. denn Doe | been generally bad); SAN ANGELO, TEX.—“BLACK GOLD" THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTO bor batteries and, of course, some anti-aireraft. least half of the first reinforcing convoy for Oslo— which is the main German advance base—leaves in doubt just what was in the ships which went down, but certainly would badly disorganize and hamper the force which got through—reported as being 20,000 men, probably somewhat less. It is stated that for the last three days 4,000 men per day are coming in by air, partly to Oslo, partly to Atlantic ports. These will be largely infantry, with perhaps a few light guns. In other words, the Ger- mans are not going to have any “blitzkrieg” in Norway, unless and until they can open up lines of communications which will permit them to bring up the machines and material on which a “blitzkrieg” de- pends, and which was the chief German advantage (other than air) over the Poles. A German rifleman or machine- gunner is no better than a Norwe- gian similarly armed—probably he has more training, against which the Norwegian knows the ground better and is likely to be a better shot. In the mountainous country toward which the Germans are try- ing to advance, ‘their air force cannot help them as it could in flat Poland. Moreover, their air force 4s being given other things to think of by the incessant allied assaults on the German-held coastal posi- tions and shipping. Surprise Advantage Lost. Finally, the Germans have now lost the advantage of surprise, and Norwegian numbers are growing as the reservists and volunteers pour in. If this situation continues, and an allied expeditionary force ar- rives in Norway, the German forces there will be in desperate straits; their immediate situation cannot be described as desperate, but it is cer- tainly critical. OVER TEXAS—This wildcat wejl sent a stream of oil 700 feet into the air when it blew in yesterday in West Texas. The well, making an esti- mated 50,000,000 cubic feet of gas and 12,000 barrels of oil daily, is believed to have opened a new field. —A. P. Wirephoto. this, the Germans admit the loss | | actual losses have been greater than of two cruisers (Bluecher and Kalr: sruhe), and there is a possibility | | that Emden is also gone; one and possibly two additional cruisers have been damaged by air attacks; the battleship Scharnhorst probably sustained serious damage in her fight with Renown, and the Nor- wegians now claim the loss to their coastal batteries of the sister battle- | | ship Gneisenau (possibly this is a mistake for Bluecher, as the sil- houettes of the two ships are not vastly dissimilar, and visibility has several de- stroyers have been lost or damaged, as well as transports. Finally, a considerable number of German naval units are blockaded in Nor- wegian ports by superior British forces. Thus the German surface Itand Insurance €o. of Providence, Rhode Island URANCE BERG CO. — -y o rea trom the date THE GOLDEN o otk “TRU ot e d o the v CounrracnTe 3Y oot ngeon. D C.. agrees "Wkeen. D C s Temgen are b 120 o Muer Py No LT e rom o2y Goldenberg Company of ¥ e 10 the Goldenbrg ..,&m ‘durng the penod of BERG CO, WASHINGTON, D. € I VUE tenan fornhed for eveiios under above ol o whatiortor, upon ! whwgron, D- C Al HBonito & CooIoc. fleet is seriously handicapped; its those of the allies, but proportion- ately its losses are far more serious. Skagerrak Appears Closed. The raid on the convoy and the subsequent mining operations ap- pear to have closed the Skagerrak to German shipping, or at least made its use so precarious that it cannot be depended on, as we find the Germans now using air trans- port to reinforce their troop units in Norway. It is not likely that much artillery, mechanized equipment or other heavy material accompanied the first landing parties; these would naturally be largely composed of infantry and machine-gunners, with a few en- gineers, perhaps a little light artil- lery, some coast defense gunners to man the captured Norwegian har- YES—GOLDENBERG'S GIVES YOU PROTECTION AGAINST BREAKAGE OF TRU-VUE LENSES AT NO EXTRA COST 10 YOU Here’s something new under the sun! A new exclusive Goldenberg service fom)eo- gh- ple who wear eyeglasses. TRU-VUE ey eglasses have always represented the There is no evidence that such an expedition is in course of prepara- tion, but the presumption that it must be is so strong as to amount to certainty, unless the allies are ready to throw up the sponge, or unless they have a better reason than ap- pears here to anticipate an imme- diate attack in force on the west- ern front. Even so, they might well spare half a dozen divisions for Norwi But they, like the Ger- actually purifies the air! D. C, APRIL 14, -1940—PART ONE. mans, ‘'must think first of all of the communications of su¢h force. They have the German surface navy pretty well in hand. * The withdraw- al of the home fleet after the air at- tacks on it Wednesday was prob- ably partly to repair damages, but partly also to escort the expedition- ary transports across, as soon as ready. (Remember that it takes time to assemble troops and mate- rial and shipping, to embark, to form convoys, to select and recon- noiter a place of disembarkation, and so on. These things cannot.be done over night, as pointed out when we said that if Bergen and Trondheim had really been re- captured, it was by no more than & party of royal marines with per- haps a few hastily snatched-up in- fantrymend There remains: the submarine peril, to be warded off by & strong destroyer escort, and the air peril, which presents a very neat tactical problem. The German air force is not se- curely established in Norway. It has seized certain Norwegian bases; none of these are of great capacity. It must bring in, now very largely by air transport, its own supplies, spare parts, fuel, bombs and lubri- cants (except such captured sup- plies as it can use). Its own home bases are twice as far from Bergen (more than twice from Trondheim) as are the British in the Shetlands. By using advance bases in Den- mark this distance can be much cut down, but again these are tempo- rary bases as yet, without the re- sources of the home bases. Must Continue Movement. ‘Thus the Germans must keep up the movement, from point to point, of their air-borne supplies, and must retain at each point held a suf- ficient capacity to defend them- selves against incessant attacks from seaward; must endeavor to keep up some sort of offshore pa- trol as warning against a British attack in force, and must seek to have in hand, for quick assembly, something in the way of a strategic reserve against the possible coming of a British expeditionary force, which can assuredly make good its landing unless stopped by German air power. Thus the Germans must now be feverishly laboring at im- proving and extending their air- base capacity at Stavanger, Bergen, | needed a il “CLEAN-AIR CLEANERY Gets allthe dirt from bare floors too! Your husband will be almost as pleased as you when you get your UNIVERSAL Clean-Air Cleaner. 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Hence, the possibility must be faced that they will seek the only other good line of communications, the best, indeed, that is available— the Swedish railway from Malmo through Helsingborg and Gothen- burg into Oslo. Malmo is connected by rail-ferry with Sassnitz in Ger- many and with Copenhagen in Den- mark; there is a much shorter rail- ferry between Elsinore (Denmark) and Helsingborg. If the Germans could get the immediate use of this rail and ferry system, they could pour their forces, “Blitzkrieg” equipped, into Oslo and so to the north and west at a really decisive rate. Have Timing Advantage. They would then have the advan- tage in timing over the allies, espe- cially if the latter landed well to the north, up around Trondheim. They might be able to assemble forces in Norway faster than the allies could, even counting the Norwegian help to the latter; and especially in view of the fact that| the allies have available no well- equipped Norwegian port in which to get their own heavy material ashore (though, of course, such a port may at any time fall into their hands, and, indeed, the taking of one is almost a prerequisite). Thus while the allies assemble their ex- | pedition, or perhaps have it already at sea, it is possible that in Isle Rugen, where Sassnitz is. or in the | Danish island of Seeland, German | troops are assembling to give pomtl and force to an ultimatum to the | Swedes. Will the Swedes resist? Probably; | it is doubtful whether even the King could, if he would, carry through a policy of non-resistance. Can they | resist successfully? 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The allies cannot afford to let Norway go under, The Germans, having made their cast, cannot afford to lose and see the allies in Ppossession of one side of the Baltic entrance, the blockade tightened, the supplies of ‘all the north taken from them. (Copyright, 1040, by New York Tribune, 1Ine.) Thefa Chi Award Presened at Banquet Julius (Bucky) Ireland, president of the Maryland University active chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity, was presented the chapter’s annual award for distinguished service to the group last night during the an- nual founders’ day banquet given by Washington alumni members in Wesley Hall, Seventeenth and K streets N.W. A graduating member of the chap- | ter is chosen each year to receive the award. Mr. Ireland also was present.edi the chapter key, which is given| each retiring president. The Very Rev. Noble C. Powell, dean of Washington Cathedral, de- livered the principal address and| Fred Knoop, president of the Theta | Chi alumni chapter here, presided. | Dean Powell became a member | while a student at Alabama Poly- | technic Institute. In addition to alumni of Wash- | ington and nearby Maryland and | Virginia and members of the Mary- land University chapter, the ban- quet was attended by representa- tives of active chapters at the Uni- | versity of Richmond, Hampden- Sydney College, Washington College and the University of North Caro- lina. Senate Hearings On D. C. Supply Bill Likely Next Week Overton and Donovan To Confer on Changes In House Measure Senate hearings on the $48276.- 717 District supply bill for the next fiscal year probably will get under way a week from tomorrow. Chair- man Overton of the District Ap~ - propriations Subcommittee. indi- cated yesterday. By that time, the Senator pointed out, District officials should be able to give a clearer picture of the local revenue situation for the coming year, with returns in for the first half of the current year's new income tax levy. Reply Expected Tuesday. Senator Overton expects to tre- ceive from the Commissioners Tues- day a reply to the subcommittee's recent letter, inviting them to sub- mit justifications for any changes they believe the Senate should make in the detailed provisions of the House bill. On the basis of data available when the bill was being drafted in the House, the District would face a probable deficit of $800.000 at the end of the fiscal year 1941 without any Senate increases. Overton to Confer With Donovan. When the Commissioners’ justifie cations are ready Tuesday, Senator Overton plans an informal confer- ence with District Budget Officer D. J. Donovan to consider in a gen- eral way to what extent the Senate could change the bill in view of the revenue situation. 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