Zurich Herald, 1940-05-23, Page 2T WAR -WEEK,
Commentary an Current Events
Biggest Battle In History
Raging on Western Front
The fiercest battle in the his-
tory of the world began last
week, v>ii;en, having pulverized
Holland in five days and made
deep thrusts into Belgium, the
German armies turned head-on in
violent and deadly action against/
the Maginot Line, meeting the
'French, British, Belgian forces on
a front 200 miles long. A titanic)
struggle was in progress, and the
fate of many nations depended
upon the outcome
Wrote New York Times' ..core
respondent Archambault: "There
is in Paris the general impression
that the Germans have launched
an offensive of such a nature
that it will not end until a de-
cision has been obtained. If the
conflict can be continued as a war
of movement„ that decision may
not be far distant — not more
than weeks. But if the front be-
comes stabilized, the campaign,
may drag on for months . . .
The general battle will be fought,
it is believed, on a right-angle
front having as pivot the twin
French towns of Mezieres and
Charleville from there one
section of the front runs north-
ward along the course of the Riv-
er Meuse as far as Namur and
Liege; the other runs eastward
parallel to the Maginot Line as
tar as the Rhine."
Another Napoleon?
Russell Hill of the New York
Herald -Tribune, writing from
. Berlin, told of a possible German
plan for the inclusion "in certain
eventualities" of the whole of
Europe east of the Rhine in a
counter -blockade of England,
comparable to Napoleon's famous
"continental system." The Germ-
ans, he said, would attempt to
carry out such a plan only if the
Allies, by "aggressive" measures,
' carried the war into the Medi-
terranan. (It should be noted
that the dynamic Nazi policy has
always been to counteract pos-
Bible "aggressions" by striking
the first blow),
BRITAIN: The people of Eng-
land last week were waiting in
calm horror for the worst. The
German conquest of Holland had
moved Nazi air bases to within
185 miles of the English coast,
and German spokesmen said that
"mass air operations against Eng-
land could be expected in the
nearest future."
"Blood And Tears"
Winston Chuchill, 'himself, the
new Prime Minister, promised on-
ly blood and tears and suffering
and adversity until one day the
victory would be gained. He
spoke of the marked disparity of
the strength of "our" air force
as compared with that of the en-
emy . . , the new Vint Secretary
.Anthony Eden called for the mo-
bilization of 100,000 "minute-
men" between the ages of 16 and
65 as an armed guard against
German parachutists who might
land anywhere in England.
With men of three parties
'(Conservative, Labor, Liberal) in
the Cabinet, it was thought that
Britain's prosecution of the war
would be much more vigorous
henceforth. Herbert Morrison as
supply minister, was particularly
welcomed by the British press.
Italy Gets Ready
ITALY. During the week indi-
cations multiplied that Italy was
aboutto enter the war . . . The
War Ministry confirmed that 1,-
000,000 reservists had been call-
ed up; Mussolini ordered Italo-
r French frontier defenses perfect-
ed; plastering of anti-British pos-
ters in Italian cities continued
despite British protests, and the
Italian press raved against the
.Allied blockade .. . The Vatican
newspaper "Osservatore Romano"
was burned in the streets be-
eause of its expressed sympathy-
for
lnpathyfor Belgium and Holland. Mus•
aioiini made the declaration that
Italian belligerency remained un-
changed "until some new de-
velopments in Europe throw the
country into war," Mme. Gen-
evieve Tabouis, celebrated French
journalist, said that foreign ob-
servers in Berlin found high Naz-
is thole convinced the time had
Lome for Italy to act -- before
the greate battle on the Western
Front had reached its turning -
point. Would Switzerland he
Italy's first victim?
"Stay Out of Balkansl"
RUSSIA. Soviet diplomats iaet
week told Britain, France, Ger-
many' and Italy to stay out of
the ]3alkanC This action RID fol}ow-
d t sen reports of German and
Italien [roof oaneentrat#on , near
the frontiers of Yugoslavia. i a del
eniee.ng of an allied battle fleet
at A rxancl is 71u)gttis and Yugo-
slavia, poaaible partners an a mili-
tary alliance with Russia we -:,-
informed of the step (Yuan la'ef
and Soviet Russia agreed to a'lo4'i:
at top speed on plane for political
and military co-operation). The
Soviet Government newspaper ::al-
so warned that if Britain and
Prance went to war with Italy,
Turkey and Greece would also
be dragged in.
SWEDEN. Declaring, "it ap-
pears we can expect nothing from
the western powers," Sweden last
week blacked out the entire
countryside, laid new mine fields
and darkened lighthouses follow-
ing reports of 120,000 German
troops massed on the Norwegian
border. The "land of the middle
way" also turned to Russia for
help in settling some of her
pressing trade problems.
UNITED STATES. The invas-
ion by Gorman.y of the Low Coun-
tries brought a noticeable shift
in American policy toward favor-
ing the Allies. Although Presi-
dent Roosevelt said that he saw
no change with respect to the
possibilities of the United States
keeping out of Europe's war, the
impact of last week's European
developments on the U. S. public
mind was terrific, The American
people appeared to be engrossed
in the progress of the war, for-
getting "relief, reform and re-
covery" . . . An extraordinary
arms program boosting next fis-
cal year's defense spending over
the two -and -a -half billion nark
was reported in the making; while
the Senate naval committee ap-
proved an eleven per cent in-
crease in the U. S. naval fighting
strength .. .
CANADA: Speeding up of Can-
ada's war effort was expected
shortly to come as a result of the
Nazi victory in. Norway and the
smashing of Holland by the Ger-
Man juggernaut . . . Last weak
the Federal Government had tak-
en "three or four" emergency
steps, according to the Prime
Minister (we surmised these had
to do with acceleration of the
Coinuionwealtli air training plan,
and with extra precautions on the
eastern seaboard), details of
which were to be given Parlia-
ment early in the session .
Cabinet changes during the week;
Hon. Jas. A. MacKinnon became
Minister of Trade and Commerce.,
replacing Hon. W. D. Euler who
went to the Senate; Hon. Pierre
F. Casgrain, former Speaker of
the House, became Secretary of
State . The program of legis-
lation facing Parliament compris-
ed: new war appropriations; a
budget designed to raise the
money; steps to create a system
of unemployment insurance on
contributory lines; amendments
to various acts to bring them in
line with war requirements , . ,
No implementation of the long-
awaited (21'4 years) report on
Federal—Provincial relations was
planned , , , Awing the week,.
also, Hon. B. J. Manion resigned
as leader of the Conservative
party, and Hon. B. Ti.. Hanson be-
came House Loader . * , the- Cone
niunist party of Canada was de-
clared an illegal organization.. , .
Gardening
ss e a
GARDEN WALKS
In tate smaller garden where
visitors andchildren soon wear
grass thin along, the edges of the
flower beds or between the house
and the string or arbour, regular
paths are needed. With a little
care they will add beauty to the
rest of the garden, too. lVrost
pleasing materials of allfoir this
purpose are flagstones. These'; are
broad, flat, thin slabs of soft 4f.Mie,
usual'.. found in abundance at'ound
certain river beds.
The stones are sunk flush With
the ground .nd at lea an inch
and a half of grass is left between
edges. Sometimes after the ', sod
is cut out the exact shape, and
depth of each stone, a little sand
is added to the bottom of the
hole for drainage and to make walk
firmer. Built in this way the lawn
mower will run right over the path-
way
WINDOW BOXES
A brown or green stained window
box overflowing with gaily bloom-
ing flowers is within the range of
almost every .person. Even the
apartment deweller is able to satis-
fy a gardening ambition and suc
cess is easily obtained. Phis sort
of gardening is highly intensive
with many more plants to the'sq.
foot than would be grown under
ordinary conditions. This means
that very rick soil should be ;,sed
and in addition a fairly fregjlent
application oda' chemical fertilizer
during the season. Being exp'4sed
on all sides to drying winds, a
thorough watering duce a day of
•
the window box is advised.
Along the front of window boxes
are planted trailing nasturtriums
German ivy, lobelia, alyssum and
similar plants, with petuniaa='ager-
atums, begonias, ferns, geraniums,
and other plants especially rec-
ommended for this purpose farther
back, Shelter fron'i the sun for a
day or two should be provided
until the plant-, get established.
Human Bat
For two years an Indian nam-
ed Gangaram has been hanging
by his toes from the branch of a
tree in the forest of Eirban, hear
Bharatpur. He believes he will
obtain godly powers. His fo];low-
ers feed him with their own hands
so as not to disturb his poise and
he sleeps during the night with-
eut getting rut of his bat -like
position,
CURRIE'S SPECIAL ORDERS
AT WAR'S TUR I G POINTS
Historic Copes of Order Issued March 28, 1918, When The
Allies Were Fighting With Their Backs to the Wall, and
Another Issued Octobeir 3, 1918, Reflect the First
World War's Changing Situation in Its Last
Few Months
In those dark hours of March
1918, when the German armies
were driving the British back
and back, the following special
order, copies of which have
been carefully kept, was is-
sued to battalions, batteries
and Field Companies by Sir
Arthur W. Currie, K,C.i3.,
Commanding the Canadian
Corps, (dated March 28, 18.18)t.
"Ii; an endeavour to reach an im-
mediate decision, the enemy ha•a
gathered all his forces and struck
a mighty blow at the British Army..
Overwhelmed by sheer weight of
numbers, the British Divisions in
tho line between the Scarpe and
the Oise have fallen back fighing
hard, steady and undismayed.
"Measures have been taken suc-
cessfully to meet this German on-
slaught, The French have gathered
a powerful army, commanded by a
.most able and trusted Ieader, and
this army Is now moving swiftly
to our help. Fresh British Divisions
are, being thrown in. The Canad-
ians are soon to be engaged. Our
lMrotor Machine Gun Brigade has al-
.arr_ad.y played a most gallant part
and' once again covered itself with
glory.
"Looking back with pride on the
unbroken record of your glorious
achievements, asking you to realize
that to -day the fate of the British
Empire hangs in., the balance, r
place niy trust in the Canadian
Corps, knowing that where Canad-
iaus areengaged there can be no
giving way.
"Wigs, the orders of your devot-
ed officers in the coming battle,
you will advance or fall where you
stand facing the enemy.
"To those who will fall r say 'you
will not die but step into immortal-
ity. Your mothers will not lament
your fate but will be proud to have
borne such. sons. Your names will
be revered forever and ever by
your grateful -Country, and God will
take you to Himself.'
"Canadians, in this fateful hour,
I command you and I trust you to
fight as you have ever fought with
all your tranquil courage. On many
a hard-fonght field of battle you
have overcome this enemy. With
God's help you shall achieve vic-
tory once more."
An entirely different war pic-
ture is reflected in the special
order issued by Sir Arthur Cur-
rie on October 3, 1918, when
the German armies were on the
run and victory for the Allies
appeared on the near horizon:
"I 'Nish to express to all Troops
now fighting in, the Canadian Corps
my high appreciation of the splen-
did fighting qualities displayed by
them in the successful battle of the
last five days,
"The mission assigned to the
Corps was the protection of the
flank of the Tltir(1 and Fourth Ar-
niies in their advance, and that
mission has been carried out to
the complete satisfaction of the,
Commander -in -Chief.
"In your advance you overcame
the very formidable obstacle of the
Canal du Nord; you carried by as-
sault the fortified Bourlou Wood,
the Marcoing line, and seized the
high groud extending along the
Douai-Cam,brai road. The towns of
Oisy le Verger, Epinoy, Hayne -
court, Marqulon, Sains lez Msr-
quion, Sancourt, Bourton, Fontaine
Notre Dame, Raillencourt, Sailly,
St. OIle, Neuville, St. Remy and
Tilley are now ours, and your pa:
trols have entered Cambrai itself.
"In the short period of two
months the Canadian Corps — to
which were attached the Thirty -Se-
cond Division for the Battle of Am-
iens, the Four#h and the Fifty -First
Divisions for the Battle of Arras,
and the Eleventh Division for this
Battle of Cambrai — has encount-
ered and defeated decisively forty--
seven German divisions — that is
nearly a quarter of the total Ger-
man forces on the Western Front.
"The victories you have achieved
are the fruit of the iron discipline
you accepted freely and of the high
standard you have reached in the
technical knowledge of your arms
and the combined tactical employ-
ment of all your resources.
"You. must therefore with relent-
less energy maintain and perfect
the high standard of training you
. have reached, and guard with jeal-
ous pride your stern discipline.
'"I am proud of your deeds and- I
want to record here my heartfelt
thanks for your generous efforts
and my unbounded confidence in
your ability to fight victoriously
and crush the enemy wherever and
whenever you meet him.
A. W. Currie,
Lieutenant -General,
Commanding Canadian Corps."
Canada's exports of paper and
manufactures totalled $10,707,-
370 in March compared with $10,-
102,545 in March, 1939. The ex -
Populace Greet Tommies As British Tanks Speed Into Belgium
This radio photo shows a British tank clanking through the streets of a Belgian village headed for the
new front as citizens of the town line the street to hail the incoming British troops,
ports to the • United States aggre-
gated $7,342,328 and to the Un-
ited Kingdom, $1,159,900.
$199SENDS WO
CIGARETTES or
1 ib. Tobacco — KIER SMOMtr (s
or any MACDONNALD'S FINE CUT'$
(with papers) to ohray Conrail*,
Soldier in Great Briloiia or Fromm.
Mail Order and Reanldtslace tor—
OVERSEAS DEPARTMENT
W. C. MACDONAL 1 INC,
13es 1929, Place d'Arewo:,
Montreal, Canada
Thls oI1& subject to any change do Corotnmon! Aeiulruloes
Moses Caused
First Blackout
A man who had heard .a ra-
dio report about Egypt's
"first" blackout last -week
called a newspaper 'office its
Saint John, N. B.
"Look up Exodus, Chapter
10, verse 22," he said.
The verse ream:
"And Moses stretched forth
his hand toward Heaven; and
there was a thick darkness in
all the land of Egypt three
days."
4,4b4 BEE HIVE
LIFE'S LIKE THAT
By Fred, ?Seiner
(aup)rrait,1031, by Trod tither)
ror
4.1;71P
•
"You'll }lave to Sue the Seed Store, Sir.... I Planted Ther, foe Strinit
Beans 1!"
REG'LAR FELLERS—The Real Thing
By GENE BYRN.
SO YOUR NAME
I5 fr',AWIIKtc
ODASFlPi^b'i'ad!" tt0,
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bOWN A CHERRY
TREE WITH YOUR' a '� '"?
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