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PART I: NAVAL INTELLIGENCE

1IIIIIIIIIi~IIIIII~I\I!m1\NAA.003.0034

REPORT

SEPTEM "ER 6, 1940

59: Overdue Ships

pART V: STATISTICS

Page 55: Imports in Convoy55; British Shipping57: Sinkings, Attacks and

Mining"s

PART IV: WEEKLY NAVAL NOTES

Page 47: Cun'ent Events49: AnotherVictim of a Gcnnan

Raider53: Enemy Submarine

Activities

PART III; SPECIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Page 40: The Typica.l Nazi43: Belgium-The Snrrender

and After

U.S.A'.

CONTENTS

PART 11: POLITICALPage 20: Germany

23: Italy21: The Low Countries25: Scandinavia (Denmark,

Norway)27: French Empire29: Switzerlmid30: Spain and Portugal31: The Balkans33: Middle East (Egypt. Arab

States, Iran)34: Far East:lG: U.S.A.38: Latin America38: BritishEmpirelSouthAfrica,

Austmlia, India)

PART I: NAVAL INTEI.LIGENCEPage I: U.S.A.

3: GermanyIG: Italy19: U.S.S.u.

NAVAL AND AIR BASESThe inception of a new policy in the United States is always

slow, but once the principles have been established, events movewith an astonishing rapidity. Notes on the United Statesdestroyers, and on bases for the United States in British trans­Atlantic territories, were exchanged by Mr. Cordell Hull andLord Lothian on September 2. On the following day PresidentRoosevelt sent a message to the House of Representatives toinform hls people officially of what had taken place.

The Note presented by Lord Lothian lo Mr. Cordell Hullbegins with the slalement that the British Government is willing10 grant leases of territory for the immediate establishment of

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WEEKLY INTELLIGENCE(W.I.R.)

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Battlecruiser Gneisenau in northernfloating dock.

Battleship Tirpitz completing inBauhafen. One 8-i11. cruiser,probably Hipper, in Bauhafen.

Cruiser Seydlitz completing.Battleship Bismarck, probably taking

On stores or ammunition.

Germany

Pocket Battleship Admiral ,Scheer.Cruiser Leipzig Believed repairing at Danzig,Cruiser NUYJtberg.Cruiser Enu.len.

Kiel Angust 28

Bremen __ August 30Hamburg August 28

2. Kiel Harbour was not completely covered on August 28owing to clond. It is therefore possible that I3attlecruiserScharnhorst, one 8-in. cruiser, probably Prinz Eugen, both ofwhich were seen there on August 15, may also have been present.

3. The cruiser KCitn was no longer alongside at Holtenau andmay have proceeded to sea for trials after completing repairs.The Pocket Battleship Liifzow, although not sighted, is certainto have been still in dry dock.

4. The whereabouts of the following units are unknown:-Aircraft Ca.rrier Gra] Zeppdin .A report, not yet confirmed. has

been received that she is atCopenhagen.

Wilhelmshaven . . August 30

Based on information up fo September 2, 1940

Main Units1. The following is the latest disposition of German Main

Units:-

States at any time is compelled to survey the activities of for"ignagents in Venezuela or North Brazl.1. T~ey,.also form convem~ntstopping places for the Pan-Amencan aIr-nne route, connectingthe United States WIth fue east coast of South Amenca.

The acquisition of tllese bas,:s has.' with few .ullimportantexceptions, been as warmly acclaImed m the Amencan press asthe transfer of the destroyers has been welcomed by our own.Moreover, it is significant that Mr. Wendell Wilkie, the Oppositioncandidate for the Presidency, has already expressed approval ofthe exchange.

5. Bomber Command aircraft were detailed to attackGneisenau on the night August 27/28. Although the attack waspressed home in face of intense anti-aircraft fire, the Gneisenaucould not be located. Direct hits were registered in the dockyard.

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Bases on the Avalon Peninsula, Onthes()ulpccoastNi,viIEoulndllalld, and on the east coast ,?f th~C;nl,Ii<iB<iY of

offer is made owing to the q~~ir.~,?fthe)3ritish" to strengthen the ability oftpcep~t~qS~tes ~o

co-operate effectively with the other. natiOlJS. 9ft).J.~ ..f¥~epcas III

'the defence of the Western Hemisphere,"Nom~n~9Uls.madeof payment ~or thes" facilities, neither. doe~p~e.qi.J,~stlOn ofdestroyers anse. ThIS offer therefore appeapc!);j,J1)eMght of afree gift by the .British Government to the pnite~?t'%tes:

The second part of the Note referstD the desir.e .?f theUnited States to a€quire additional Airanq Naval Bas.es In andaround the Caribbean Sea. The exactsit" of these ba;;es IS notdiscussed, but they are to be established. on the eastern sIde of theBahamas, on the south coast of Jamaica, the western. co?-st ofSt. Lucia, the west coast of Trinidad, in the Gulf of Parm,.m theisland of Antigua, and in British Guiana, withi~ 5!-l mIles ofGeorgetown. The lease for !j9 years of tpeseternpones IS to .begranted "in exchange for Naval and Mihtary eqmpment whIchthe United States will transfer to H.M. Government." The onlymoneta.ry payment which the United States Government WIllmake is compensation to the owners of pnvate property for lossby expropriation or damage.

The Note presented by Mr. Cordell Hull accep~ the propos".lsand states that " the Goverr:ment of the U-':Ited States,WIllimmediately transfer to H.M. Government 50 Umted Stat~~ Na.vydestroyers, generally referred to as the 1,200-ton type. . 1hetransfer will be a comparatively easy matter, but the selectIOn ofthe most suitable site for bases, the estimate of the amount ofcompensation to be paid to private owners, and other ~attersof a technical nature, can be settled only by a commIttee ofexperts.

Committees of experts are now being established, here and inAmerica, and it is expected that they will meet in London. Inthe meantime American Naval Officers have already leftNew York in order to make an inspection of possible sites inBermuda and Newfoundland, and permission has been grantedfor U.S. Army aircraft to fly over St. Lucia for the purpose oftaking aerial photographs of the Central group of theLesser Antilles.

The acquisition of these facHities has satisfied the long-standingAmerican wish to acquire suitab~e outposts for the d"fence of thePanama Canal. Broadly speak1llg the new bases WIll comm?-ndthe entrance from the Atlantic through the groups of Islands 111tothe Caribbean. At the same time the air bases to be erected nearGeorgetown and in Trinidad will be invaluable if the United

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13. Air ac~ivity against convoys and naval targe15 is for theInoment SUbSI~:h~ry to ~he German effort to obtain air supremacyo,:"er Great Bntam. F,ve convoys were attacked during the weekW(tho~t much damage: two of these attacks which took place off~mnaJrds Head were earned out after dark by torpedo-carryingarrcraft.

14. Portsmouth and Plymouth were attacked during the week.Dover lost 115 total complement of balloons on the morningof August 31, and over 50 per cent. of its replacements by theevemng.

15. The German Government is reported to be combingMeXICO for combatant pilots and offering them 300 dollars permon~. Four have already left via Japan. If this report istrue, It shows a fear of a shortage of reserve pilots in the GermanAir Force. .

16. From September 3, 1939, to August 28, 1940, inclusive,the enemy losses amount to 3,934 destroyed. From August 8,1940, to August 28, 1940, inclusive, the losses are 913 destroyed,315 probable and 390 damaged. From August 8 to 25 theGermans give their losses as 247.

If-Boats17. The North-West Approaches have again been the only

~rea where V-bo.ats have shown any considerable activity. ItIS, however, possIble that a V-boat has arrived in the Cape VerdeIslar:ds and tha.t .another has proceeded southwards from the Bayof BIscay. Bntish ship Ilvington Court was sunk on August 26some 150 mrIes east of the Azores.

18. AU-boa~ rep0r:ted by a member of the Home Guard mayh~ve Ilald a bnef VlSit to the Cornish coast near Penzance andlaId mmes.

.19.. In the focal area North-West of Ireland casualties toshlppmg have be~n fairly heavy. O.A. 204 lost five ships to thesame V-boat durmg the 29th when about 150 miles west by northfrom .Bloody Foreland, and H.X. 66 lost one ship on 28th when30 m!les north by east of Rockall and three more ships duringthe mght of 29th /30th, about 60 miles west of Cape Wrath.

20. The last three casualties were in the northern section of theconvoy; the southern section was also attacked on 29th, but the~orpedo passed harmlessly through its lines and the V-boat wasImmecl(atcly attacked by H.M.S. Mackay with the co-operationof a flymg boat.

21. .The A.M.C. Dunvegan Castle was sunk on 27th about100 mrles west of Bloody Foreland and on the same day two shipsof the Convoy S.c.! were sunk to the eastward of Rockall.

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7. RauIrtlioote have been active thisweek~j~~~j~6:verStrai15area, in airc]j3.ft rescue work and in mines.'1'eepiij'g, No E-boatattacks are reported. • ....' C5

8. Lorient is being used as a base for E-qoatS,wbrldng.m fu.eWestern Approaches, but no attacks have yet been made m thISarea.

Aircraft Activity9. The scale of operations ot the German Air Force against

Great Britain fluctuated daily during the week August 26­September 2. A salient feature of the week's activity has beenthe absence of dive bombers from the attacking forces. Raidshave ,been mainly directed against aerodromes and ports.Industrial plan15 and the aircraft industry have also receivedattention. Other raids were carried out against R.A.F.establishments and oil storages and there was a considerableamount of indiscriminate bombing.

10. A German broadcast to America on August 27 announcedthat the German Air Force had obtained air superiority overGreat Britain and that the second phase of the air war hadstarted, namely the destruction of military and industrialobjectives. This statement is of interest, but previous, as Itcoincided with the intensification of attacks by ·night.

11. Since August 8 the German Air Force appears to havebeen aiming at achieving air superiority by the employment oflarge numbers of short range bombers and fighters directedmainly against Royal Air Force aerodromes. The long rangebombers have operated on a small scale, the probable intentionbeing to employ them in force after having exhausted our fighterdefences. That they are now being employed by night and atfairly considerable strength is an indication of a change of policynecessitated by the failure to obtain air superiority. The employ­ment of bombers by night is in itself contrary to German policyexcept under conditions when targe15 are easily identified andhighly vulnerable.

12. It is still too early to state with assurance that the HighCommand has been forced to revise i15 offensive policy. It issignificant, however, that night attacks have been intensified.Furthermore, the claim to air superiority is probably an attemptto justity the curtailment of heavy attacks by day which mayhave become necessary due to losses.

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w~st of; Bloody For~land on 3Q:th...Ig>~V,~!l;1t«t~~;11~lg1a,nVtlle de Hassell and· the Gr~ek E'fPlot,a;~~\!1:I,§n~;t,l'I().w~es\>V,N;W. and 165 miles west ofBloody.Fqr.,<~\l",<;Th,?s.esNps\lV'<!"'! proc~~ding alon~ and w~r~ sunk.1:>Yl'li,{'I:¢WJ:tt'SnbI!la,~,!~;..

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German Merchant Ships ; ;.<;<, .. ,3.;,23. Narderney, 3,667 tons, at Para"BWZill,.js report~~tobe

completing her crew with certain ratin~fr6rn'flte Wini{h1J,.~.

24. Eurafe/d, 5,947 tons, at Teneriffe, loaded with 6,000 tonsof gas oil is reported as having been prepared for some time forsecret departure.

Norway25, On the completion of certain work; of a militaryua,mre

the port of Oslo, whieh was recently closed between the hoursof 0400 and 0600 on Wednesdays, has nO\lVbeen re-opcnedfornormal navigation. The restrictions applied particularly to thecha,nnels between Steilene and Sandvik m Oslo fjord and betweenHolmen and Strandheim in Bunde fjord (59 0 50' N.~lO° 45' E.).

Swei{en'2~; The concession whereby the Germans are able to use the

Swedish railways for troop movements between Germany andNorway is a tribute to the effectiveness of our mining in the BalticApproaches. Since the end of .Tune four routes have beenused:-

(a) Sassnitz-Trelleborg ferry, thence rail to Oslo.(b) Via the Baltic to Lulca, thence rail to Narvik.(c) Via the Baltic lo Sundsvall, a portin the Gulf of Bothnia,

thence by rail across the waist of Sweden toTrondheim.

(d) From Trondheim to Narvik, through Sweden by thestrategic railway via Ostersund and Gellivare.

These railways remain open through the winter.

PROJECTED OPERATIONS AGAINST THE U.K.

Genera) Situation on September 2, 1940, in German OccupiedTerritory facing United Kingdom and Tendencies affecting" . Invasion and Raids."orway

1. Troop movements norlhward have been confirmed and aGerman Naval Shore Command is probably also beingestablished in the north. Shipping used in connection with thesemoves has been observed at Narvik, Tromso and Trondheim.Some furtller military movement is expected on the Oslo­Trondheim rctilway shortly. hut its direction or purpose is notyet clear.

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2. The German military strength in Norway remains aboutten divisions, of which 2--3 divisions are now in the north.

S. The strength of the German Air Force in Norway andnorthern Denmark remainS unchanged at about 400 aircraft ofall types. Aircraft operating from Norway have taken part inattacks on Scotland and Northern England.

Germany, Denmark and the Batti"4. On August 28 an assembly of 40-$0 ships in Riel Fjord off

Holten:l;u w.as repor~ed. ThIS may have some significance inconnectIOn With eaIher reports of the reeall of certain GermanBaltic shipping to German ports. On the other hand theirpresence may b.e !n connection with suspected mining 0; othertemporary restrIctIon.

5. On the same date 350 small craft apparently of standardizedtypes of between 150 and 50 feet length were reported al Emden.On August 30, 300 only were sighted and it is thought possiblethat the remamder may h!'ve dispersed into the canal system,although they are not typIcal eanal craft. Their possible con­nec~ion with reports, still being received but never confirmed, ofvanous types of motor craft for invasion purposes cannot be19nored; b.ut he:e again there may be some simple explanationm connectlon WIth canal or other water traffic. An increase ofshipping was also observed at Emden on the 28th.

6. Fifty small craft also of a uniform and peculiar type,150 feet long and apparently selt-propelled, were seen atCuxhaven on August 30; these are not considered to be the50 vessels which had disappeared at Emden between the 28thand 30th.

7. Less .than a quarter ?f the operational strength of theGerman AIr Force IS now m ·Germany, and aircraft based inGermany have ',lot been engaged in .operations against thiscountry except mme-laymg and reconnaIssance by coastal types.

Low Countries and France8. The constructional activity in the Gris Nez area continues.

9. At Brest fishing boats, eaeh eapable of holding about50 rr:en, are repo:ted as being requisitioned at Douarnenez,15 mIles south. AIr reconnaIssance on the 30th showed a slightmcrease In the numher of small craft in the Port Militaire wherethere is now a considerable assembly. Exercises in preparationfor the mvasion of Britain are said to have taken place atSf. Nazalre and in the region of Quiberon. Such landing andembarkatIon exercIses are to he expected. They are said to beunpopular with the troops. I 7

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10. The main fighting strength of the GermaIl<AirForceremains disposed in an arc from Brest to Amsterdam;" Attacksby this. force on aerodromes, R.A.F. establishments andindustrial targets have continued.

General SituaUon11. A renewal of the campaign threatening ihvasionof the

United Kingdom is apparent. The dates now m¢htioned areearly September.

12. Althongh re~distributed, the forces for a raid<Jrdiversionremain available in Norway, as does the shipping to carry uptwo divisions. The transport of elements of a fu~therone to twodivisions in small craft is less practicable as winter appH)aehes.German activities in Norway are also consistent with consolida~tion of their position in the north as well as in. th" south.

13. There is now no doubt that Germany is~cctlInulatinglarge assemblies of small craft such as fishing vessels and perhapsspecial types in Cuxhaven, Emden and Brest. Fishing craft areknown to be available in Norway and in Dutch harbours.Landing and disembarkation exercises are lmownto have takenplace in Norway and are now reported from France. Theseactivities may be bluff, but if not their implication is towardsinvasion or raids.

14. The effort to gain air superiority over England, the pre~requisite of invasion, continues, particularly in the south.

LORRY~BOATS

1. A well~known Spanish airman recently watched a numberof German soldiers bathing at Biarritz. Three of them got intodifficulties about 150 to 200 yards from the shore, where thereare treacherous currents, and would probably have drowned, buta siren sounded and a motor vehicle, rather like a lorry but withapparently more than four wheels, carne down on to the beach,descending hy the wide steps which run down on to the sands,and went straight into the sea. It apparently had two propellorswbich took it out to the struggling men. The lorry~boat thenaltered course 16 points and returned to the beach. It ran upthe beach and the steps on its wheels and disappeared.

2. The Spanish officer was a little way off and there was a largecrowd, so that he could not say more about this strange vehicleother than that it had at least two mountings in it for machineguns. It was apparently open. There was quite a lop at the timeand waves \Jvere corning over the lorry at one rtlOnlcnt. The craft\vas definitely slo\v.

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3. The War Office believes this vehiCle may have been the 1­Trippel amphibian car which is known to be in use in the GermanArmy.

4. The Trippel-Schwimmwagen, primarily designed for recon­naissance purposes, is manufactured by Trippelwerke ofHomburg-Saar. It has a 2-litre SO h. p. engine with a 3-bladedpropellor which can be raised or lowered from the driving seat,and has a speed of 50 m.p.h. on the road and three to four knotsagainst the stream in water. The car has a good cross-countryperformance and has been seen to climb out of the water up abank of approximately 30° slope. The normal load is four tofive men but it is claimed that it can carry a load of ten men onthe water.

5. For land use there is a four-wheel drive. The gear box hasthree forward and one reverse speeds. The models, of whichphotographs have been seen, have a single propellor.

6. Another type of amphibian vehicle which is capable oftowing small half-pontoons is said to exist. This vehicle haspaddle-wheels about half way along each side between the frontand rear axles and also balloon type floats on each side to giveextra buoyancy, but this does not appear to fit in so well withthe details of the vehicle seen at Biarritz.

RED CROSS BOATS1. The German Government has notified His Majesty's

Government of some 64 small boats (some were Dutch lifeboats)as hospital rescue ships and claimed the immunity of the RedCross for them. This has been refused. .

2. The primary purpose of these ships is probably to bolster upthe morale of the German Air Force pilots by providing the meansof rescue for those shot down in the Channel, but there is littledoubt that these boats' would be used for reconnaissance purposesby the enemy.

3. Under the wording of the Hague Convention X, whichprovides that "military hospital ships.... constructedspecially and solely with the view of aiding the wounded, sickand shipwrecked ... shall be respected," the Germans couldmake a case on both legal. and humanitarian grounds; but para­graph 3 of artIcle 4 proVIdes that such vessels must in no wisehamper t~e r:'0ve!"ents of comJ:>,,:tants; this stipulation providesthe legal JustIficatlOn for the Bnltsh refusal to grant immunity.

4. Our own life boats and the R.A.F. crash boats which rescueG~rr:'an and British airmen alike have never sought anypnvileges under the Red Cross: and there are many instancesalready in this war of abuse of the Red Cross by the enemy.

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CAP GRIS NEZ

Summary at Developments in the Cap Cris Nez area up toAugust 29

1. EmplacemenLs shown on accompanying Map.(a) Cap Blanc Nez. One large emplacement was seen to be

under constructiOn early In June and was bombed by the R.A.F.on June 19. Smce thiS date no change has been observed.~ (b) F',ran:zelle. A group of four emplacements, approximately10 feet m dIameter, and 275 yards apart. The most northerly pairtook approxnnately five weeks and the southerly pair seven

Firing

1. Stretch out th~ 4.5 metre long ignition line so that it is not brokenanywhere.

'2. Remove the extension to the cartridge cap nut from the hole inthe same. Inspect the fuse lead in order to' remove possibleforeign matter.

3. Remove the wooden protector from the detonator and chief woodpiece. The fuse will then be seen.

4. Introduce the chief wood piece with the detonator in the cartridgefuse lead until the springs meet.

5. Guide the extension piece into the screw hole.

6. Turn the aluminium cap off the handle and draw out the huttoncarefully or the ring with the trigger line.

7. On the word of command the tear off fuse is set into operation bya powerful pull, but not with a sudden jerk.

8. Leave the place quietly. The ignition line burns 7 to 9f minutes.

Un,fitting

1. The tear off fuse is entered into the handle and the aluminiumcap put on.

2. The nut extension piece is pulled ouL3. The fuse lead nut is screwed off and pulled carefully out together

with the chief wood piece.4. The chief wood piece is loosened from the nut by pressing in oue

of the two springs.5. The wooden protection piece is pulled over the detonator.G. The nut is screwed back on the detonator fuse lead and the

extension piece is put into the hole.7. The ignition line is carefully rolled without breaking.

Stowage

1. The time bomb and detonator must be kept apart but easilyaccessible.

2. Avoid warm and damp stowage, as far as possible no temperatureof 30° C. ~

3. The packing cases are opened ouly for lise.

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SCUTTLXNG CHARGJt$>'j •...•.•..•.Notes and Direclions for the placing of SCu.tt!iiJ.g::Chatges foundon board the German s.s. Alster, intercepfe<j,\)y.FLM.S. Icarus

off Vestfjord .O!l April. llanq ta1<:eIli.Ul:pri~,

Detonator Mll and Time16m6~{gDescription

1. Detonator MIl consists of:. .•.•• •• •.••.•• .' ••..•.•.(a) The cartridge, made up of the cartridge:.c~eaudc~verand the

fuse lead fixed thereto.. To the hIseleadis sc~ewed a nut withextension to the fixing of the chief wood. piece on timebomb A. •..... .

(b) Explosive loading.2. Time bomb A consists of:

(a) The 4.5 metre long ignition line. .(b) The chief wood piece with protecting wood, insertion piece and

detonation cap, which is fixed in oIle~nd,of the ignition line.(c) Wooden handle-fixed in the other end of the ignition line-with

the tear off fuse which lies in the inside of the handle andwhich i", secured by an aluminium protection cap.

InstructionsGeneral

1. When fixing there must be no haste as it is necessary to workquickly and surely.

2. Do not rely on a single ,cartridge. but place several.3. Placing several charges together has .. no adva.ntages. More

effective is the placing of single cartridges.4. When several cartridges are employed, the fuses must be lighted

simultaneously upon command. .5. Before firing air outlets must be provided as otherwise the ShIp

)iVill float on the confined air. Therefore open all companion­ways, bulkheads, doors, hatches, shafts and scuttles.

Fitting of the CartridgesA. Inboard

1. The method must only be llsed when the holds arc wholly orpartly empty.

2. The cartridge must be laid with the base fast to thc area to beexploded. It is made fast by pressure of coal, sand, supportsor cargo or it is jammed under a connecting link between beamframes and fore and aft frames.

B. Outboard1. The cartlidge is sunk two to three metres under the surface of the

waler by the ship's side (as far as possible at a place wherethere is a bulkhead).. This is done with. the help of rope(flagline) or also by help of the ignition line if it is long enou((h.The line must first be measured, a two-melre mark bemgplaced over the cartridge.

2. The place should be chosen so as not to be protected by bunkers.

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weeks to complete. No attempt ~o catl1oufiagetl'f~q~IlSj:,uftionwas aPBarent at any stage, nor dId thereapPf'a,.,j:~,,~~~AYdeepexcavation.. .•. ' "·••·.i.'>. Guns appeared to be in all fourpositionst;.~~iiil¥tllmst 17.Photographs taken on August 22, showedth,e'••j}atter.of oneof these guns raised at 40 degrees from thehog~bntill'F"romavertical photograph taken on Augustl!3~.the.~."tPpearedto be 70 feet long (this measurement does. n()j:> allow forfore-shortening due to elevation). ...."; .

(c) Gris Nez. The exact purpose .ofth,~\Voik;b~ingcarriedout on Cap Gris Nez is still obscure. four.smail coast defenceguns were seen to be in position on the cliff-edge (jn.August 13.

(d) Cran-aux-Oeufs. At the end of July lorries were seenplying between the village and the cliffcedge, where' a roW of24 small circn!a.r pits, extending in 'a semice.ircle !-mile long,were clearly VIsIble. The purpose of these pits' is still beinginvestigated.

(e) Haringzelle. A group of four emplacements of approxi­mately the same size and distance apart as the Framzelle group;no guns in position on August 29. Although" from the largedumps of soil, these emplacements would appear to be far deeperthan those at Framzelle, the total time involved.in bringing allfour to an advanced state of construction was only four weeks.

Heavy cranes could be seen working on the emplacements onAugust 29.

(fJ Wimereux area. (i) Railway branch lines with threespurs under construction, two of whic!I may be intended to jointogether to form a loop. Two tum-tables had been added byAugust 24.

(ii) Three emplacements of sinIilar dimensions but less complexconstruction, on the high ground east of Wimereux. Guns weremounted in these by August 24.

2. Emplacements not shown on the Map.(a) Four guns on railway tum-table mountings at Etaples, in

position on August 11.(b) One turn-table under construction on a side-Iine

immediately west of the Calais citadel.

3. Conclusions.(a) On August 18 a shell estimated to be 30.5 em. (12-inch)

calibre fell in this country. The only guns in position on thisdate were the Framzelle group and the Etaples railway guns. Itis likely to be one of the former guns beeause-

(i) Sound tracks of the shells have passed through this area.

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1,IIIIIIIIIIInllllllllll,IIIIIINAA.003.0043

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(ii) The dimensions of the measured gun. were approxi­mately suitable for the 30·5 em. Getman .gun which isknown to exist.

(b) The rapidity of construction is an outstanding feature.All emplacements are on highest ground that is served by a goodroad, within one mile of the coast.o (c) The railway branch-line and spurs north of Wimereux are~uitable for use by railway guns. The large quantities of l'l.LT.;;Lnd stores near the line show that it is being used as an unloadingpoint for materials, possibly required in connection with thevarious large emplacements in the area. Ko other rail-head forthese materials has been located on the Calais-Boulogne line.

(d) The turn-tables are suitable for railway guns which arelikely to be approximately 28 em. (II-inch) calibre. Germanrailway guns of smaller calibre are believed to have a wideenough traverse to obviate the necessity of special turn-tablemountings.

."oi'"

Summary of Air Foree Prisoners of War ReportsAugust 11 to 26, 1940

MORALE. Over 200 prisoners of war are considered in thisappreciation. Except in the case of two or three bomber crewswhose morale was only fair and an odd fighter pilot, there is nodoubt that the morale of G.A.F. prisoners is still very high. Thismay be due to their belief in an early victory, based on:-

(a) Faith in their Fiihrer;(b) Realization of their superior numerical forces;(c) Ignorance of their real losses.

EXPERIE]\'CE. Nearly all G.A.F. prisoners have had con­siderable experience, their length of service varied from betweentwo to three years and nine years.

Prisoners were between 20 and 29 years of age. Their warexperience has varied considerably, some having been shot downon their first war flight, others having successfully completedmany.

TACTICS. Dive Bombing: Three ]u. 87's, each with 1,000 kg.delayed action bombs, clive together keeping VIC formationthroughout and release their bombs simultaneously. Thesetactics were used in the French campaign against a fort in theSaarbrucken sector and are stated to have been effective.

Another ]u. 87 is stated to have appeared over his target at1,500 feet.

Most of our fighter interceptions have been made at a heightof 15,000 to 18,000 feet, but one bomber is stated to have comedown to 2,000 feet before attacking an aircraft works.

13

AIR FORCE PERSONALITIES

GENERAL. G.A.F. senior officers have complained that salutingby 'G.A.F. junior officers leaves much to be desired.

...Crews of K.G. 55 have complained that experienced crews were's¢ntback to Gennany and replaced by inexperienced crews, whoafesent immediately on operational flights.

Pilots of fighter aircraft tend to be officers more' frequentlytban pilots of bomber aircraft.

the crew of one He. 111 included a press reporter as its fifthme1TIbcr.

15ill!llllliililllllmll~

NAA.003.0044

Generalfeldmarschall Hugo Sperrle

Sperrle first appears in Air Ministry records as a technical air adviser onthe staff of the German Fifth Division in November, 1914. Later in theGreat War he served in the artillery. In 1923 he was still interested inflying as he took part in the Rhon competition and was a member of anajrdetence mission to Sweden...... Early in 1924 he directed an air exercise in Southern Germany, andthe following year he became a member of the General Staff at theReichswchnninisterium.

The Hendon display in 1928 found him an eager spectator, and thenext year he spent in reorganizing German A.R.P.

He established his claim to greatness by his successful command of theCondor Legion in the Spanish Civil War. On being replaced inNovember, 1937} he returned to Germany where he was given jumppromotion to full General and honoured by Goering with a special flyingbadge made of gold set with diam.onds. He then took over commandof the Air Force in Southern Gennany and has retained this commandthrough its various reorganizations ever since,

At present his official appointment is Commander-in-Chief ofLuftflotte 3 which is now disposed in North-Western France, with thetask of attacking \Vestern England.

He is a hig man of bulky figure with a face which combines strengthand some brutality. He is known to be unus~.lly able and energetic.

Generalfeldmarschall Kesselring

Kesselring, Commander-in~Chief of Luftflotte '2, is responsible forattack on the eastern half of England.

He is now 55. During the Great War he served on the Staff ot the3rd Bavarian Army Corps, and after the war as a regimental officer withthe ~th Artillery Regiment.

In 1933 he helped General Stumpff in working ont the organization ofthe new Air Ministry, and ill 1934 he was head of Section ~ (Administra­tion anw.B.uildings) in the RLM. He ,vas at that time admired as beingpossessed of unusual fina.ncial and organizing ability, together withabundant energy and health.

.',,',,",'::.',','"

Th(3experimental Grttppe2tO C0T\sisting(jfFA"'05ta.f£eln ofMe. 1 to's and a Statfel of escortingMe.l09's:llas(hcen .formed asa fast homber-cum-fighter unit. Atfack",,\\,£>[enlade againstaerodromes at Manston .and CmydQnjtlllt~.e5'i~ly}<;\§uA,ltieS:weresuffered. The Me. 110 carriedahomtl)Qad;.~f[Qug111YJ,000 Itls.

The long range homher Geschwader. KG.,c4is,pemgusedformine-laying; (from other sources itisbelievedthatK.G. 3 hasbe~n similarly engaged). . ,< ••,.

Me. 110's are being used in long recorinais¥anceunits, andMe. 109's are being used for bombing. . ..' .

A Dornier 17 is claimed to .have made a reconnaissance overSouthampton at 900 feet. . .

ARMAMENT. The long range bomber aircraft of the G.A.F.(He. 111, Do. 17 and ]u. 88) have ing6neral increased theirarmament from three to five or six machine guns. This increaseusually consists of two in the lateral positions. Aircraft some­times carry three or four supplementary machine-guns loose 1ll

the aircraft which in two instances have heen described asTommy-guns.

The He. 115 seaplane is equipped with a cannon. The Me. 110is known in certain instances to he equipped with a 30 mm.instead of two 20 mm. cannon.

ARMOUR PLATING. Most German aircraft arc now fitted witharmour plating in the form of a bulk-head behind the pilot's seat.Rear gunners and W / T operators have been wearing thin steelhelmets covered with leather, as they used to suffer considerablecasualties through head wounds.

BOMB LOADS. SO far 2,500 Ihs. seems to he the heaviest loadcarried and the loads generally vary hetween 1,500 and 2,500 lhs.Both the He. tIl and the ]u. 88 can of course carry heavierloads. On one or two occasions homhs have been jettisonedhefore the target was reached. (The reason for this is notknown.)

SORTIES. The log hook of a dive-homher unit showed that atthe beginning or the May campaign they carried out seven dive­bombing attacks on May 10, four attacks on May 11, three onMay 12 and three on May 13.

A prisoner of a fIghter unit is reported to have done five flightsduring one day or the May campaign. In the August air offensiveagainst Great Britain, three fighter pilots stated that they carriedout three flights a day with every 4th day off, two flights a dayand one flight a day respectively.

14

On thecleath in a flying accident of tM lirstGeI1:I)"n(:,A:S~.(apostwhicjl corresponds rather to that of our D,CA,S,j,jle was appointed tofill the vacancy, bnt the following year he was1\ppointedG,O,C. ofLuftkreis 3 after a disagreement with GeneralM11ch,;".><;<

In 1939 he was appointed Commander-i,\"Chief?f;F~fti).otte 1 inBerlin, and in April of this year he took over LuftflotteZi,\>~rrieto dIrect'ts efforts during the drive throngh Holland andl3elgi~m.i~toFrance.

He appears to have been a very successful cornmaIi4~{and_as a resulthe has become one of Germany's twelve Field Marshals,

He has a good appearance and a pleasant manner.

ItalyBased on information up to September 2, 1940

Enemy Surface CraftL An air reconnaissance on August 27 disclosed the presence

at Tripoli of one cruiser, four or five destroyers, sjx large andsix to eight smaller merchant ships; also several auxiliaries, Anair reconnaissance of the coast from Bardia to ~na carried outon the same day showed that there were three medium-sizedships in the harbour at Bomba,

2, On August 27, a Sunderland flying boat fWm Malta carriedout a reconnaissance of the North African coast from GaletaIsland to some 60 miles West of Algiers, Four destroyers,thought to be of the Gregali and Folgare Class, with one merchantship were sighted approximately 75 miles West of Trapani; alsoseveral small merchant ships off Algiers.

3, On August 30 Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, withthe Mediterranean Fleet sailed from Alexandria for the CentralMediterranean, The opportunity was taken to pass a smallconvoy from Alexandria to Malta under cover of these move­ments, The s,s, Cornwall, one of the convoy, was bombed byItalian aircraft at 1715, August 31, when about 80 miles West ofCrete and het; steering gear disabled, She was, however, able toproceed, steering by her engines,

4, Four British submarines had previously been stationed onpatrol to the North-eastward of Augusta. At 1155 on August 31,Rainbow reported sighting three cruisers and one or moredestroyers 40 miles E.S.E. of Cape Spartivento, steering East.At 1230/31 Parthian reported sighting four cruisers and fivedestroyers 110 miles E. of Cape Spartivento. She attacked andestimated that she had obtained two hits.

5. At 1512 on the following day, September 1, a flying boatreported a large number of cruisers and destroyers, 062" Cape

16

$partivento 115 miles, course 330", speed 18 knots. Ana$pIifying signal sent at 1620 stated that the force consisted oft~()battleships, ten cruisers and fourteen destroyers. FlyingJi,)i"ts continued to shadow and the last report made at 1830/1'g<}ve the position of this force as 39° 10' N., 18" 10' E. (95 milesS.E. of Taranto), course 330", speed 17 knots, and stated that thep<lttleships were of Cavour Class. No further details are'9-yailable at the time of writing and it is presumed that this forcecontinued on its course to Taranto.

6. An air reconnaissance of. Tripoli and Eastern Sicilianharbours was carried out p.m. on September 1. At Tripoli thereWGre two destroyers of Turbine and Nembo Class. Except threeslUall destroyers sighted in the Straits of Messina, no warshipswere seen in Eastern Sicilian harbours, only a few merchantships.

Enemy Aircraft Activity7. MALTA. On August 24, six bombers and sixteen fighters

. attacked Hal Far and Kalafrana. There was some slight damageto buildings at Hal Far and one Swordfish was injured on theground. One enemy fighter was brought down and it is believedthat some of the enemy bombers were damaged.

8. Raids on Haifa on August 27 and Septembt\r 2 caused onlynegligible damage and a few minor. casualties.

9..ALEXANDRIA. A raid on August 26 resulted in the death oftwo British soldiers and the wounding of one soldier and threeEgyptians. Eighteen bombs were dropped but the damage wasnegligible.

10. PORT SAID. On August 28 there was one abortive raid onPort Said and the Canal area. No damage except possibly to anArab village some distance from the canaL

11. RED SEA. H.M.A.S. Hobart was attacked by enemy air­craft early on August 30 when 300 miles N.N.W. of Aden, butsuffered no damage.

Italian Submarines12. No significant report of any enemy submarines in the

Mediterranean has been received during the past week. Airreconnaissance has confirmed the use of Lero Island as a basefor Italian submarines.

13. It is probable that two or three Italian submarines havebeen operating in the Atlantic. This finds some confirmation inan Italian broadcast which stated that" Italian submarines areworking side by side with German V-Boats in the Atlantic." Itis thought that these boats do not return to the Mediterraneanafter each patrol and there has been a report, as yet unconfirmed,that Italian submarines arc using Bordeaux as a base.

17

~11'1111\1,\i~IIIII\II~!\\~NAA.OO3.0045

<28. On August 24, four Battles of S.A.A.F. carried out a dive­attack, 10,000~2,OOO feet, on fuel tanks on sea front; bombs fell

·2<l to 40 yards from target, causing fires. Direct hits, whichstarted. a fire, were registered on a store yard in the S.W. of,r.fogadlsclO; one A.A. post was silenced. All aircraft returnedS(l.fely.'>29. MASSAWA. On August 2~, a low level a ttack was made by

one Wellesley on aIr force hVIng quarters at Massawa; three'11~es were started m buildings believed to be naval workshops totI:te east of the aerodrome; all aIrcraft returned safely.

~IIIIIII,IIIIIIIII!IIIIIIIIIIIIIUNAA.003.0046

RcnHTks.

Of little fighting value.

--'--------

No evidence that any mOTe are beingbuilt.

N~ e:,idence that any more are beingDlult. -

19

!

j

i! Obsolete.

U.S.S.R.

414 upwards

P 7

S 9

N1

4L ,,-

~O

D I 15

SH-CII I 82M

II67

n 27_._._I

New ConstructionThere is further evidence of the continuation of the Soviet

0overnment's va~~ su}?marine progr~mme in a reliable reportthat about twelve S Class submarmes are under constructionat Gmkl on t!;? ul?per reaches of the Volga. In addition to these,at least three S Class are under construchon at Leningrad anda ~e~ type, deSIgnated as " K " Class, has recently appeared.ThIS IS pOSSIbly a~ Improved" S " or " P " Class, of about1,300 tons, WIth hIgh endurance. At least six" K " Class areknown to have .been completed, and probably three or four areunder constructIOn.

The building of the small coastal" ]\I[ " Class of 188 tons alsocontmues.

. Present estimates of Soviet submarines built and building aregIven m the following table:-

~las~uiIL_1_ BUildi~~/ I

IK 8' 3' IN. I cw class. Number:> will probably

, lncrcase.i No evidence that any more are being

Ibuilt.

12, l)Ossibly 15 Successful type. Xumbers will, probably increase.

Italian Merchant Ships14. SHIPS ATTACKED. Leopardi, G.T. 3,298.--R~p()rt from

Susak says that members of the crew of this sl)ip,-¥ho havereturned to Fiume stated that she was torpe<ioegilI)dsurrk onAugust 13 in the Mediterranean by submarine.. (.I\.3,()()()-tonship was sunk by Osiris on August 15 in the Adri<ltiC.)

15. Filipa Grimani, G.T. 3,431, made S.O.S.,having beenattacked by submarine in 41 0 13' N., 18 0 55' E. on August 26.

16. Rorqual reported having sunk two Italian merchant shipson August 21 in approximately 000 0 Ras el Hilal 10'.

17. SHIPPING MOVEMENTS. Celeno (T.l. G.T. 3,470, leftVarna for Batum on August 27.

18. Livenza, G.T. 5,a43, left Fiume August 26 for unknowndestination. Believed in ballast.

19. Duchessa d'Aosta, G.T. 7,872, at Fernando Po wasreported on August 29 to be preparing to leave during the next48 hours. (Her departure has not yet been reported).

20. Arcola (T.), G.T. 6,349, at Teneriffe is authorized to dis­charge her entire cargo of 7,895 tons fuel oil into another tanker(unspecified) .

21. F1-icso (T.), G.T. 4,910, Aequitas, GT. 5,335, andLaura Lauro, G.T. 5,787, all at Ceara, Brazil, are report~d tohave becn put under Brazilian guard, and Aequitas to have hadparts of her machincry removed.

22. A.lberto Fassio (T.), G.T. 2,289, and Porto Fino,G.T. 6,420, sailed from Fiume August 30 for unknowndestinations.

23. Nino Padre, GT. 4,171, sailed from Fiume August 27, foran unknown destination with coal and general cargo.

24. It is reported from Susak that a new naval tanker, namenot given, 14,500 tons dead weight, left Fiume August 28 withescort, believed for <lcceptance trials.

Enemy Ports25. DERNA. On August 27, 17 Blenheims carried out a high

level attack on shipping in the harbour; hits were registered onships and jetty, starting two fires on ships.

26. BARDlA. On night of August 24/25, one Bombay attackedBardia; results were not observed.

27. MOGADISCIO. On August 23, Battles of S.A.A.F. dive­attacked the M.T. Depot; direct hits were obtained causing largefires in north and centre of depot and it is estimated that 800 M.T.were destroyed.

18

21

(someotherSuch

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~IIIIIII~IIIINAA.003.0047

be further postponed, attempts might still be made to seize·.••.~!~dfB and Ireland in order to assist the plan of subjugatingiJ .v"",-,u by blockade.

any case Germany appears to have enough troops

1j~;~ri~r~::~eqUiPped for colonial warfare) to undertakeat the same time as an attack on Britain.

might be-

(a) an attempt on Egypt from Libya, with the intention ofdriving the British fleet from the EasternMediterranean, obtaining control of the Red Sea,ensuring the transport of oil from the Black Sea,and eventually relieving Abyssinia; or

(b) an advance to the south-west to obtain control of theWestern Mediterranean, to increase the number ofbases for interrupting British communications, tobreak the British blockade, and to threaten Britishinterests in West Africa.

Ii is thought unlikely that Germany will at present advancesouth-eastwards; only by keeping the Balkans quiet can shecQntinue to draw supplies from them without hindrance. But ifmilitary action were undertaken in the Balkans its ultimateobjective might be Syria and Palestine, as part of a pincer attackon the Middle East.

German morale, both civilian and military, still appears on thewhole to be high, though British bombing is reported to haveaffected it to some extent. The legend of the impregnability ofBerlin has been shattered; and not only workers in bombedindustrial centres, but soldiers abroad whose families are inthreatened areas, are believed to be feeling the strain. Troops inNorway and France are said to be somewhat dissatisfied withtheir present conditions and anxious to return home. AllGermans, soldiers and civilians alike, arc at one in wishing thewar to be over quickly, and are still, it appears, confident that,soon or late, Germany will win. Faith in the Fiihrer is still suchthat nothing short of military defeat can be hoped effectively tobre;tk down the morale of the German nation.

Mr. Hoover's assertion that in German-occupied countries" 18,000,000 persons are facing starvation" must be treated withreserve. A plain and positive answer to this statement cannot begiven because, among other factors,

(i) much depends on the effectiveness of the blockade;(ii) it is uncertain to what extent German needs will be

supplied by R1ISsia;

Germany

PART II: POLITICAL

Germany's chief object must be to finis~ ~e war as soon aspossible, if only because her econormc condItions are unlikely toimprove. High party circles are repo~ted to be dISturbed at the" intransigeant" refusal of Great Bntam to respond to p~~ce

feelers and at the prospect of a war of attrition betwcen Bntishand German air forces. A quick end to the war can only beobtained by an invasion of Britain, which Hitler probably hopedto attempt in late June or early July, but postponed, among otherreasons, owing to the need of reorgamzmg the Luftwaffe In !tsnew bases in the Low Countnes and France. One p~e-requlS1te

of successfnl invasion is air superionty, and until thIS IS wIthinsight no date can be settled: but, although.no tell-tale assemblyof shipping has yet been detected, preparations for an aIr-borneand sea-borne invaSIOn are believed to be already comp'lcte andprobable dates are ,continually advertised. It IS pOSSIble thatmany areas in the Umted Kmgdom would be mvaded slmultl.ll­eously with the object of dispersin)5 the defence an<;l concealmgthe main thrusts, and dIverSIOns mIght be made ag.amst Iceland,the Faeroes and Ireland. If invasion of the Umted Kmgdom

20

Northern Sea Route-1940 SeasonThe following is a summary from a recent press article: __

The 1940 Season opened on June 20, The steamer Herzenhas proceeded to Novaya Zemlya with provisions ~nd170 passengers. The icebreakers Stalin, Lenin and Litkeare to attend on vessels sailing in the Karski and LapteySeas. Similarly the icebreakers Kaganovich and K;ra.sslnwill cover the Eastern Sector, The icebreaker Malygm IS toundertake surveying work in Henrietta Island and in otherIsland groups in the Eastern Sector.. Several other. hydro­graphic vessels, mcludmg the Papamn and Taros will carryout surveys all al?ng the N<.Hthern S~aRoute. As mprevious years aenal ~econnal~s31nce wJ1l be used on anextensive scale as an aid to shlppmg.

These figures seem to show that the So~iet Uni~n is now con­centrating more on building large submall?es of ):ugh enduraI\ceand less on the intermediate types, but IS continumg to buddnumbers of small coast defence submarines.

it is equally uncertain how niuch the. remainingindependent countnes willbeilllowed to I~port;

(iv) it is not pOSSible to estnnateexactlyelther Continental. stocks or future production.It is, however, certain that the danger oUamine \las been muchexaggerated. .

The severity of last winter, the late spring. la1:\Our shortages,and the destruction caused by warfare have resulted In a smallerharvest than that of 1939, but in Germany at any rate ~hedeficiency can be made up out of the reserves. At.the begmmngof the war stocks of grams m Europe were well m excess ?f anormal year's imports and they have not yet been s,ubstantiallyreduced. The maintenance m future years of supplies of meat,animal products, and to a lcssextent grains, depends on adequatesupplies of fodder and ferlihzers.· On the whole there ~re noindications of a senous defiCIency of either. The most dJf'ficultquestion is that of fats. Before the war the Continent produ~edjust over a third of its total consumption of vegetable oils, whicharc used for making margarine and compound lard. Bothvegetable and animal fats are used in industry for the makmgof soap and lubricants, and also, of course, e.xplosives: Above acertain minimum, fats are nvt an essential Item of diet, so evenif they are not abundant, famine does not necessarily follow. Inmany ways, partly On account of the econ~mic and agriculturalpolicies pursued by Germany and Italy m recent years, ~eContinent is either self-suffiCIent or nearly so, and unless there ISa succession of bad harvests, the· total supply of food sl:0~ld beadequate at least till well on into 1941-prov~d.cd that It IS notwasted or diverted to tlie manufacture of mumtions.

The fact that there is enough food produced and stored On theContinent to meet subsistence needs does not mean that nobo4Ywill starve. It means that nobody need starve. There Willcertainly be shortages in the Low Countries, Poland, Norway andFrance but German boasts of ample food supplies are trueenough' to enable Gennany to sustain the peoples she hasconquered. So far as quantity is concerned Europe need notsuffer from famine, provided that Germany honestly attempts

(i) to produce as much food as possible in the countries nowunder her control;

(ii) to utilize the production in the mo.s! economical manner;(iii) to distribute the a.vailable food fairly among the peoples

under her dommalion.Whether such anhonest attempt, in the unli.kely: event of its bei~gmade, could succeed, is however dou?tful m VI:W of ~ermany sneed to economize fuel and of the conSiderable dlsl?catlOn ,?f com­munications already resulting from R.A.F. bombmg. It IS more

22

cpf6bable that Hitler will choose to accumulate stocks of food in. X;~.rmany and hmve the ~nhabitants of. th~ oceupi:d countries to~¢)¥>f4te,.hopmg to slir up hurnamtanan .f~elmg across the**'j11,~!ltic, to try and shift the blame to the Bntlsh blockade, and9&10 embitter Anglo-American relations.

Italy.except for participation in the dismembering of Roumania,

Italy has indulged in no new activity durin!; the week. She hasK<:>pt up her sabre-rattling on the frontiers of Greece and¥,1Jlgoslavia, though whether merely to remind her Axis partnertn.at these two countries are her own proper "sphere ofinfluence" in the Balkans or with same actual military movein view has not yet been made clear. Perhaps the presentoffensive is the prelude to demands for strategic or politicalcontrol of Greece. In any case it may be considered certainthat any military move would only be made with Gennanpermission. It seems, however, on balance unlikely that thetime has yet come, in Axis plans, to disturb the peace of theBalkans; supplies are better ensured without war, and sabre­rattling, noisy to democratic ears, is the traditional, if para­doxical, Axis method of preserving quict.

The settlement on Hungary's terms of her demands againstRoumania~" the readjustinent," in Gayda's phrase, " of theirconflicting viewpoir:ts "-is regarded ~y the Italian press as atriumph for AXIS diplomacy. It was m Vienna m November,1938, that Ciano and ]{ibbentrop arbitrated the frontier conflictbetween Hungary and Czechos10vakia. In Vienna again inAugust, 1940, the same arbiters have "made good anotherinjustice of Versail1es without tlle need for the cannons tospeak . . .. The policy of the Axis Powers," says LavoroFascista, " always prefers construction to destruction." Italyis proud to have played a part in what Tribuna describes as " acompromise which can form the basis for a fruitful co-operationbetween the Hungarian and Roumanian peoples."

Italian home propaganda has been directed largely -to keepingcivilian morale, which had slumped somewhat, at the higher levelto which the conquest of Somaliland had raised it. At first thestrategic advantage of the conquest was emphasized. Later,perhaps because the public was growing disappointed that thestrategic position was not immediately exploited in a decisivemilitary victory, propaganda turned towards the economiC gam:Italy, Messagero pointed out, had acq11lred at the expense ofAden " a world monopoly of the valuable African incense and

23

Illnllllllllllllllll.111111NAA.003.0048

perfume trade." Finally the press and radio, w!th.an occasionalside-glance at the valuelessness to Great Bntam .of Fre?~hEquatorial Africa, have concentrat<;d upon theIr ~amiliarexaggerations, and even. complete mventlOn~, of a~r andsubmarine successes. TheIr more fantastic claIms c~ntinue. tocause amusement in those parts of Egypt and Palestme WhIChknow, on their own eycs' evidence, how fantastic they are.

The Low CounlriesIt is reported from a German source that 23,000 Belgian work­

men have gone to Germany to work m the metal, textile andbrick"making trades. The German propagandists say tJ:at thesemen went of their own free will, and that they re:clve goo.dwages, part of which they are allowed to send t? ~clglum, but Itseems that unemployment and want are the pnnclp!'-l means bywhich pressure is exercised o,n men whose professIOnal skIll ISwanted in Germany. Accordmg to the Germans there are nowone million unemployed in Belgium. It is said that compulsorydeductions are being made from the wages of those who areemployed, for the ~enefit of various social scrvices to beorganized by the NaZIS.

The Belgian trade union movement, forn~erly powerful andwell organized, has ceased to exist. M. Henn 4e Man, Presld~ntof the Belgian Labour Party, has issued a mamfesto, necessanlywith the approval of the Nazis, in which he st'ltes tJ:at the taskof the Socialist movement IS ended. At the same time he pro­claims the formation of the National Economic Party, or" Natec .. for short. There is no reason to suppose that thIShas made any headway among the rank and fIle of th~ BelgranLabour movement, by whom de Man has for some tIm!, beenregarded with misgivings, partly because ~e sho,,:ed, dunng !hefirst eight months of the war, a strong bIas agamst the AllIes.

TlIere is evidence that all Belgians are not settling down un~erthcir Nazi taskmasters. The German-controlled Bmssels WIre­less station revealed that a rubber factory had been entIrelydestroyed by fire, and that inv:estigations ',Vere bein&, ,made by tllepolice. A case of sabotage m the prov!l1ce of LIege was alsoannounced: cables belonging to the Germany army had be~ncut. The announcer said that this was not the first case of Itskind, and in consequence all men belonging to the "formerBelgian amy" who are now residing in three certain communeswould be seized by the Germans as prisoners of war. If theguilty parties were not discovered shortly, more repnsals wouldtake place. Similar warnings have been uttered m Holland.

24

';,-Whitre the Commander of the German Forces, General". ,\SJiristiansen, has threatened to Impnson hostages m cases of

i:;c~ij.:potage or assista'.'ce to the enemy. Acco~ding to repo~,";'~trnan menaces did not prevent demonstrations of loyalty m

'~lland on Queen Wilhelmina's birthday. The Dutch, Britishijj;ij7¢!,United States flags mysteriously appeared ou some pu~lic):JIilildings in Amsterdam. :rhe Gern;ans prevented the gathermg-ofi,lilrge c~owds by soundmg the aIr alarms, and persons who

-'fl:l1i!ilined m the streets were eIther arrested or heaVIly fined.:,-.The Netherlands Prime Minister, Jonkheer de Geer, has asked_Qrt~en Wilhelmina to release him, for reasons of health, fro.lt1: hisp~st. J:le wi~l,be succeed<;d by Professor Gerbrandy, tJ:e Mlmsteri)fiJushce. Ihe Du~ch Gove~nmentwas conshtuted Just beforetj);cwar to follow a Ime of stnct neutralIty, but the new Govern­'Jr\~jrt will devote itself to the prosecution of the war, .and m~yiri¢lJIde representatives of the big Dutch financial and mdustnalconcerns, which have world-wide interests. Vichy this weeks~vered diplomatic relations with the Dutch Government._Control of ore mines in Luxemburg has been assumed by the

Gennans, and some new mines have been opened. The GrandDiichess of Luxemburg has arrived in London from Lisbon, andit is reported that she will reorganize the Luxemburg Govern­ment in London.

ScandinaviaDENMARK

There are indications from various sources that politicalchanges may be expected in Denmark in the near future. Thoughall the statements made are clearly speculative, and though theirba.sis is not in every case the same, they agree in suggesting thatparliamentary government will be wholly or partially abandonedand that the powers of the King will be extended. Aceordingto a recent German newspaper article on the adjustment ofDanish politics to the" new order," it is well known in Denmarkthat the appointment of HI. Scavenius as Foreign Minister wasdue 10 personal intervention by the King (an interpretationwhich, in view of HI. Scavenius' strong Gennanophil bias, wouldcommend itself to a German newspaper); moreover the Stauning­Scavenius Government cannot be regarded as a permanentinstitution, and its chief value is to give the Danes time to becomeaccustomed to the great changes which are in store for them.;l'here are many circles, the newspaper asserts, which favour thelmmediate introduction of an authoritarian regime, and if theDanes proceed with their traditional slowness and caution thefivalsteps in the change may have to be taken in haste.

2S

1!lllllllllllllllilllllllmllllllllNAA.003.0049

VI

A Danish Supreme Court judge (quoted by a Gerffian agency)has demanded a new Constitution with increased prerogatives forthe King, greater authority for the Ministers and the replacementof the elected Parliament by an advisorypaneLrepresentativ~ofbusiness and the sciences. The president oithe trade unIons(again according to a German report) has dec1aTed that theworking classes are convinced of the need for.a wholly neworientation and for a break with the Social Democratic Party." Within six months," a writer in the Danish Aftonbladet hasprophesied, " we shall have a dictatorship in Denmark, bu~ It WIllbe led by neither the German nor the Danish Nazis. It WIll be adictatorship in accordance with King Christian's wishes led bya man like Knud Hojgaard. The Kingto-dayistl}e mainspnngof Danish politics, and Stauning's days are numbered."

Knud Hojgaard is an engineer who has hitherto playe~ no partin Danish politics but who is reported to have been appomted lastmonth to the chairmanship of a committee charged to take overfrom the Ministry of Transport a thorough revision of the roadsystem and the construction of bridges over the Great Belt andthe Oresund. He may well be no Nazi-the Danish NaZIS are atpresent out of favour with the German-but the impetus behindthe improvement of communications in Denmark, as in Norway,is German military needs and Hojgaard's appointment can onlyhave been made with German approval.

NORWAY

From Norway is reported the completion ,in D?vre. Fjeld of" one of Europe's most remarkable roads WhICh IS shor~lyto be opened by Terboven and which will doubtless make easIerthe passage of troops and war materials between Oslo andTrondheim. Other new roads are in progress, and many of thelarger waterfalls are !,eing l,rarnessed to produce I?o",er for theresumption of work m the Iron and other mdustnes. Germanpropaganda suggests that these developments are for the good ofNorway. They are likely at least to be at the expense of Norway,and will add to the account which has already been presented toher for the maintenance of a German army within her borders.

The German army of occupation seems not to be altogetherhappy. To rumours of ~isaffection and mutiny are addedreports of soldiers seen chamed together m gangs. One causeis said to be terror of the sea; they do not want to fahren gege,nJingelland. A sidelight is thrown on the recent Getman demandthat" troops on leave" should be allowed to travel throughSweden by a report that troops are" wildly anxious " to go homeby that ronte---though this anxiety may hardly be enough toaccount for the projected bridges over the Oresund and the Great

26

'::\'>:7",A;

'C)_~i'l~kInstruetions~re cont.inually being issued by the Germ~n-/:/':/ .orities agamst tne publrcatron of any reference to the behef-:,,( .. ackerel eat human flesh, a story having gone round thati:-'._ . .. _ackerel had been caught with swastikas on their backs.i/:-:JlJlJ:lJi)i)-yof the Gemlan disasters at sea have been glos.sed over as

:.1'/ia.turkatastrophen, .and stones of floods and landslrd~s seve.ral/yj;i1'F~old are refurbIshed to explam the great loss of Me dunng1iti!"lnvaslDn of Norway.'i'!illie Norwegian people are reliably reported to be imbued withasfubborn spirit of resistance to their oppressors and to be grow­

·ilil!' more nationalist and royalist. The suppression of pressitefetence to the King's birthday clearly had the opposite effectftlilfii what the authorities intended; the one newspaper which

'<\~C'aped the ban (the German censor being apparently unfamiliarWith War Cry, the organ of the Salvation Army) sold moretopies than ill all its history. A" chain letter." said to be ofW!i<k and <;u1l1ulative circulation, contains "Ten Command­fiii!hts for Norwegians" of which the general tenor is-ObeyKing Haakon whom you chose yourself, and Treat as traitorsall who associate with Germans and Quislingites. There is nofoundation for the rumour, said by 1lhe French radio to becurrent in Stockholm, that King Haakon has promised a promptand (by implication) favourable reply to a Norwegian demandfor his abdication.

Last week the National Association of Young Workmen, attheir confercnce in Oslo, adopted a resolution condemningQuislingismus and demanding a Government based onNorwegian national and democratic traditions. Meanwhile thenature of Quisling's plans, and the extent to which he figures inthe programme of his German masters, remain obscure. He hasreturned from Germany, after a visit lasting several weeks, toissue a far from prccise declaration of policy which suggests thathe is about to reconstitute the Norwegian political machine.The Germans had dropped him once, after his first failure toform an administration acceptable to any section of Norwegianopinion; if, as it appears, he is to be allowed another bid forpower, there is no reason to suppose that his compatriots will findhim any more acceptable now.

FTench Empire!.Jhe example of the Government of Chad in declaring for

Q."neral de Gaulle has now been followed by the Governments ofthe Cameroons, Gaboon and the French Congo. There are stillWa.verers, particularly in Caboon, who hesitate to renounce VichyfOI';the greater cause of France; but continued proof of British

I 27

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII~IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINAA.003.0050

111111111~IIIIlIIDI~III~NAA.003.0051

ability of resist Germany may before long be expected to dispeltheir doubts and win their allegiance outright. At Brazzaville,the capital of French Equatorial Africa; the Govemor-Generaland the Administrator were removed from their posts by a groupof French officers, and amidst scenes of enthusiasm authority wastaken over by General de Larminat, the emis$ary of Generalde Gaulle. Apart from the economic resources of FrenchEquatorial Africa, which are potentially valuable though not yetgreatly developed, the formation of a wide belt of Allied territoryright across Africa from Nigeria to the Sudan is of much politicaland strategic importance. It will be ellcouraging to th:neighbouring British territories and to the Belgian Congo, and Itmay influence other part,; of the French Empire where allegianceto Vichy is not firm. The Belgian Congo has always been theobject of German colonial dreams. German agents had alreadyreached Dakar and were operating in Senegal and Angola: oncethey had been able to establish themselves in the French Congowith enough aircraft they might have been able fa seize theBelgian colony.

The first French unit formed in the Middle East to fight for aFree France is now attached to the British forces in Egypt. Thenucleus of this unit was composed of officers and men from a con­tingent of the French Colonial Infantry who at the time of thecollapse of France decided to throw in their lot With the British,and its numbers ha.ye since increased.

Economic conditions in French Morocco are reported to bedifficult, for communication with France has been restricted,owing to the French collapse and the British blockade. There isa serious shortage of petrol and foodstuffs, strict rationing is inforce. and the sale of alcohol has been forbidden. Matters havebeen further complicated by the influx of refugees from France,and it is reported that the blockade is causing a serious spread ofanti-British feeling.

FRANCE

The attitude of the Germans and Italians towards the VichyGovernment remains contemptuous, and conditions in bothoccupied and unoccupied France show few, if any, signs ofimprovement. The two zones are kept apart, the Germansallowing little communication between them. Many Frenchmenwishing to return to the occupied zone are unable to do so. Whenthey have been 3.llowed to cross the frontier, it is said that inmany instances they have found German evacuees from theRhineland and the Ruhr installed in their homes. "Anythingwould be better than this imp3.ssable barrier," complainsParis Soir, and the Jour,Echo de Paris speaks of " increasing

28

..."~,."," .--

CO ;"~/_::,::,

ii(1~I)1oWlization owing to the total absence of news." TheiIl't~Iltionof the Germans in tightening control of the frontier may

"il:i~SJtlartly to entice the United States .to send .food to unoccupied.JVt~l1ce, The propaganda rnachme whIch once boasted

"'(jj;!'1rttnany's ability to feed Europe has now switched over to the'lihii·that Britain is to blame for the lack of food.

\tfWhe press in the unoccu]Jied zone attributes the increasingsrlPl'tage of food in occupied France to heavy German'tj:iUrchases" with "occupation marks," and asserts thatlabourers are required by the Germans to work thirteen hours"-'clay with only brief pauses for meals, severe penalties beingiiiflicted on those found guilty of " ill-will."

SwitzerlandTwice during the latter half of August the Swiss Government

. protested to the British Government against allegetl violations bytlk R.A.F. of Swiss" air space." H.M. Government offeredapology for any violation that could be proved. The Swiss presshas. been clamouring against the repetition of these incidents afterthe first British reply, not only because they expose Switzerlandto danger and to Axis threats, but because they make it impossibleany longer " to rely on the word of those we thought we couldtrust." But while many newspapers assert that there is noreason for aircraft to cross Swiss territory when bound to or fromItaly, it is noticeable that German-language newspapers innorthern Switzerland have commended the accuracy of Britishbombing in the industrial districts of Germany north of the Rhine.

The Federal War Food Commission has decreed the supensionuntil October 13 of the retail sale of sugar, rice, farinace,;msfoods, cooking fats and other commodities, and the public havebeen authorized to draw upon the reserves which it was instructedto. create last January. The reason given for this order is that thecoWllry's food stock is reduced to a minimum and that itis impossible to foresee the future of the import situation. Home­produced foods, such as bread, meat, milk products and freshfruit and vegetables are unaffected, and supplies are reported to beadequate. The reference to "the future of the imports.ituation " perhaps reflects the Government's growing anxietyattlle prospect of complete German control of the sole remainingtre(( .line of communication through southern France and Spain.Once. German control is fully established a stiffening of the Britishbloclfade is considered inevitable.

The future of the League is occasioning considerable searchingof heart on the part hoth of the. Genevan and of the Federalauthorities. Even if Swiss neutrality continues, to be observed,

29

The Balkans

,/!.;'i\creconstruction of the Portugucse Cabinet which has been:'e~1?ected for some time past has now been brought about by the';~~9intrnentof the Minister of Educa1;ion, Dr. Carneiro Pacheco,;ij.~·.j?0rtugueseAmbassador to the Vatlean. The most significant_.' . re of the reshuffle is that Dr. Salazar is now President of the

cil, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for War. He",{resigned from the Ministry of Finance. A new Ministry

.<{J'iJ~conomy has been formed, combining the former Ministries"f~;1\l$nculture and of Commerce and Industry. Various othera·ppomtmentshave been made which will probably have the effectqf¥strengthenlIlg. the administration. Its policy is not likely toitQ:ange, except m so far as its pro-British sympathies may be~qre pronounced.

31~1,11\1\1.lil\i\I\\I\III~

NAA.003.0052

The b.reakd'own of the negotiations between Hungary andRoumama was followed by a number of violations of Roumanianterritory by Hungarian aircraft, which dropped bombs andleaflets. Frontier incidents between Soviet and Roumaniantroops were also reported from Moldavia. Russia's attitude hadhitherto been ambiguous, and hopes had been held in Roumaniathat she. might have c~lUnteracted the pressure brought onRoumama by the AXIS Powers. Now, however, Russiasuddenly, warned Roumania against " provocations" on herBessarablan border. Apparently Russia was acting in tacitco.!1aboration with Germany, and the warning probably decidedKing Carol to accept any solutiOn that Hitler might impose on hisfriendless country.

Ribbentrop and Cia~~ acco!dingly met the Hungarian andRoumaman ForeIgn Mmlsters m VIenna and dictated the termsof settlement, forcing Roumania to yield a large measure of theH;Ull€;a1!an demands in exchange for a German guarantee of herremammg terntory. The ceded territory comprises the whole ofN9rthern Transylvama and the three countries in EasternTransylvania inhabited by the Szcklers, who are racially akin to,the ~agyars_ Hungary will acquire a number of districtsInha.1l1ted by a Roumanian majority. These people are to1,>e¢9me Hungarian subjects, hu! may, if they wish, again become~5wmaman vnthm a penod or SIX months: in that case, theyV\'.Jllhave to leave Hunganan terntory. The settlement has beendespribed by.Ribbentrop as final, but Hungary will now have<t1,>out. a mllhon unvl1llmg Roumanian citizens to add to her1l1!n?r!ty problems, and also the greater part of the" Saxon"~!110~lty of Transylvania, who are said to be enthusiasts forHItler._

The economic situation continues serious and causes anxietyto General Franco. It is one of the main reasons why he hasstruggled to keep Spain out of the war. The pro-German andtherefore pro-war section of the Government are doing all theycan to exploit this situation for ·their own advantage an<1 in thisthey are backed by the Germans who would rather see a state ofanarchy in Spain than a Government who will not play theirgame. Indeed, any internal disturbances would provide themwith an excuse for sending troops into Spain ostensibly to keeporder. The efforts of the British Government to give economicassistance to Spain are therefore of particular interest. TheSpanish press is, however, under German control and each timean agreement on trade matters is about to be reached launches aviolent attack on Great Britain. If an Anglo-Spanish economicagreement could be given publicity the forces working for peacewould be considerably strengthened, more especially as tilegeneral public is reported to be impressed by Great Britain'sresistance to German air attacks and is less sure of Germany'sultimate victory.

30

Spain and Portugal

itisfeared that the diplomatic status of theLeague will be sharplyquestioned by the Axis Powers. On the other hand there ISreason to believe that the Reich, with the complaisan.ce of someFrench authorities, might like eventually t9 "ada.pt"the Leaguemachinery to her plans for a Gerrnan"coIttt€111ed,9rganization ofthe Continent. M. Avenal, the French Secretary-General,resigned with effect from August 31.M.. L¢ster, the DeputySecretary-General, will become Acting SecretaIy-General, andit is unlikely that a successor to M.. Avenol will be formallyappointed. Members of the Economic and .Financial Sectionof the Secretariat are bound for the United States in response tothe invitation from Princeton Urtiversity.; the staff of theInternational Labour Office is being transferred to Canada, andmembers of the Social and Economic Sections of the Secretariatwill, it is hoped, go to Princeton, now that the obstructiveinfluence of M. Avenol has been removed. It is hoped to holda meeting of the Supervisory Commission in September toapprove the budget and the various administrative steps whichhave been taken. The actual headquarters of the League willdoubtless remain in Switzerland, provided that Swiss neutralityis maintained, but measures have been taken to prevent its assetsbecoming a tempting bait to the Germans.

Middle East

',W~il she fears.. A German move into Roumania might be thel,~~15~~1 for a RUSSian ~dvance to Cilnstanza and Galatz: In any>i;~~~j1,thepotential SovIet threat to Turkey and Iran remains.):,iF§+ee~e is still aIlXious about the intentions of Italy, for con­,1'!'J.':lp:at!ons of Ita!Ia~ tr?OPS on f!:1e ~lbaniali border are being',B',"'l.l1tamed. An IIldleation ofAxI~ a,ms is possibly to be foundilJ!ltlIe Gr~ek broadcasts from ~erlm, whic~ have been attacking"8F~rk shiI' owners for accepting the navicert system and for15"'~lllg then vessels on long-term charter to the British Govetn­IJ'le.nt. The AXIS may mtend to try and force Greek shippers to,j;)p~~k theIr contracts, .abandon the navicert system, and leasethf;lr ships to the AXIS mstead. One of Italy's obvious purposest~,to cause the Greek Government to mterpret neutrality in asense more favourable to Italy.

EGYPTAccording. to, press reports, Hassan Sabry has successtlilly

readjusted hIS Cabmet. He hImself has taken over the Ministryof: the InterIOr.. The Wafd have had.a particular objection tothIS portfolio ~elllg, a~ It has been up till now, in Saadist hands.Has~an Sabry s solutIOn mIght therefore have been expected torr;odify then non-co-operative attitude. In fact, however,Nahas Pasha slJll prefers to remain aloof from the presentGovernmen t.

Axis propaganda has over-reached itself of late and is inconsequence somewhat dIscounted in Egypt. The Berlin state­ment that Great Bntam had forbidden the Said Zaghlulsel,ebratlOns. was, published. after the celebrations had actuallytaken place and nad been Widely reported ill the Cairo afternoonpapers of the same day. In the same way the Italian claim to!rave razed Alexandna to the ground is disproved by those livingIII the town who see how li1;tle damage has been done there. Asa result the EgyptIan pubhc has less faith in German claims tohave destroyed the British Air Force.

ARAB STATES

'fhe collal'se ot Frailcc and the consequent period of doubt of1111mate Bntish vIctory were seized 011 lJy SOme of the ArabAi:b'~ 'Is an opportu!"o/ to put forward their plans for a jointIra.' tate. The marn Imp~tus seems to have come from thelqI qovern~entwho have 1Il turn played upon less responsible

~ eutents outSIde Iraq, particularly in Syria.. There appears,d?Y"f;ver, to be no common, aim:. moreover, mvtual rivalries and

Iver.gent ambition:; make It unhkely that one will be evolved.

33I!IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

NAA.003,0053

~C3S976_1) C

It has been officially admitted in Roumaniathat the decision toaccept " arbitration" by the Axis Powers was takellby theCrown Council after they had received Notes from theGermanand Italian Governments "which had the character of anultimatum," and that Roumania, absolutely> isolated amongenemies, had therefore to choose between.continningorceasingto exist as a state. An authoritative· statement issued inBucharest says that Ribhentrop and Cianosignified.that theycould not spare more than two days for the Vienna meeting. Thestatement goes on to speak of painful losses btttvitalguarantees:it might better have called them vital losses and painful guaran­tees. The cynicism of the German dictate is well shown 1:>y anarticle in the German newspaper published in Bucharest, whichremarked that" in the new Axis order discussiollS about a fewsquare kilometres are ridiculous."

The news of the cession of Transylvanian territory immediatelyled to demonstrations at Cluj, the chief town; at other towns,where in some instances Germans were mobbed; and atBucharest. The Roumanian troops sent to break up the crowdsat Cluj aTe said to have joined in with them, and Dr. Manin,leader of the National Peasant Party, has telegraphed to Hitlerand Mussolini stating that Transylvania will not accept theVienna verdict and asking them to suspend it. M. Manoilescu,the Foreign Minister, expressed in a broadcast the views of theGovernment. He admitted that there had been no negotiationsat Vienna, merely "arbitra!!on," but. laid stress on theimportance of the. Axis guarantee of the territorial integrity ofRoumania. He might have said a guarantee of what is left ofRoumania, for the Bucharest press points out that by giving\IP Bcssarabia, Northern Bukovina, Southern Dobruja, andNorthern Transylvania, Roumaniais losing nearly 40,000 squaremiles of territory, and more than, 4,000,000 Roumanians.

1£ the internal unrest increases to any great extent the Germansmay occnpy the country. In any case, they have taken anotherstride nearer Ploesti and the Roumanian oil wells, they canbe trusted generally to tighten their economic and politie<il gripon Roumania, and it is already suggested that German plans forthe" new order in Europe" are likely to lead to the eliminationof certain Roumanian industries. According to One report,Germany's intention is to employ Hungary, Roumania andBulgaria as buffer states where the manufacture of war materialcan proceed undisturbed.

Although there would appear to have been Russo-Germancollusion all along, there is rcason to suppose that Russia's object

. is to try and outwit Germany without incurring German hostility,32

Ibn Saud has showp.,a rar~loyaltytpBis M'!J,"~\Y's ,Govern­ment. While his devotion to th'" Arab c<iusci~unqu,"stioned,hehas consistently display,"d a readines,s )6 <l;skWeiradvice onmajor questions of policy and to be ,guided by, i,t". HisMajesty'sGovernment have made their pohcy clear ,on a, number ofimportant points. They have told him that it has always beentheir aim to promote friendly feelings betwee.nArab States. andthat lhey would view with sympathy practical proposals whichhad the support of all the Arab grows for someforru of mutualco-operation, provided that the essential interests and inter­national obligations of Great Britain, were safeguarded. Theywould not, however, support a scheme which favoured one ArabState at the expense of others, and for that reason did not approveof the Iraqi idea of a federation between Iraq, TransJordan,Palestine and, later on, Syria, which appears to ignore theinterests of Ibn Saud. They are strongly opposed to the holdingof an Arab Congress, as advocated in the Baghdad press, in whichnon-official delegates would take part, because it would inevitablycome under the influence of the extremists and receive muchundesirable publicity. They would, however, raise no objectiousto consultation between the Arab Governments on matters ofcommon interest, although they think that positive results areunlikely in present circumstances. Such a consultation might atany rate be useful in revealing the real aims of the IraqiGovernment.

IRAN

An agreement has.now been signed between the Anglo-IranianOil Company and the Iranian Government by which the pay­ments made by the company are to be greatly increased. Theagreement is only in force till the end of 1941 and the companyhopes that it will then be possible to obtain more acceptable terms.

Both Germany and Russia are endeavouring to control thepolicy of Iran, but Germany's influence, owing to the delayedinvasion of Great Britain and to repressive measures of the IranGovernment, is now less strong. In spite of German efforts toembroil Iran with the U .S.s.R. there are signs rather that theGovernment, fearing aggressive action against the northernprovinces, are anxious to placate Russia.

Far EastAccording to Japanese wireless reports, the " new political

structure" is to be centred upon a National Council with amembership of about 300, of which the Prime Minister wi!! beex officio chairman. It appears that the House of Representa­tives, now composed of elected party politicians whose parties

34

~<:i'",5:::' .

.•~y~ dISsolved themselves, will in effect be superseded by the',~<igonal Council. In the ,"vent of a General Election, the

'iP~p,ple would pr~umably b," expected to vote, on a list of•i~Qx,"rnm,"nt normn,","s approved by the National Council. The',*ll,panc;se system would thus conform to the model of unopposed,.i.~l,"c~or;~ " established ,if Rus~ia .and Germany, with PrinceKpn.oe s . ne~ structure functionmg like the Communist and~lfP parties In tho~e countries. Bnt though Japanese totali­tainanlSm ~ay be mfluenced by European prototypes, it will§i£ier conSIderably from them, for it must be inspired by andsubservIent to th," Impenal authority. No national leader couldbpast. of his conquest of I:0wer, for, by tradition, he could only,"xercIS; power by delegation from the " divine" Emperor. InKO~lOe s ~wn words, a system which renders permanent therulmg pOSition of one p3;rty, headed by a dictator, " is not accept­abl~ to Japa~, because It IS contrary to the basic principle of ournational pohcy of 'one Sovereign over all '." FurthermoreJapan h~s J.lot develope§ .Nazi o~ .Fascist parties because th~army, WIth Its strong pohtical posItion and direct responsibilityto the Emp,"ro~, already embodies in itself the fervent nationalisticsentim~nts WhIC~ HItler and Mussolini have exploited in theirrespectIve countnes.

The organizing committee of 26 members chosen by Konoe willappar~ntly ch.oose the rest of the members of the NationalCouIl;cil.. B~s~des representatives of political, official and com­merCIa} hfe It mcludes memb~rs of extremist patriotic organiza­tlons, am'.lllg them the notonous ~lack Dragon Society. Thisdoe~ not I~ply that extremIsts WIn at once influence Japan'sfo!e!gn pohcy but ratl:er that Konoe, with the support of the WarMinrs,~e~, Gen.eral TOJ?, feels strong enough to take the " wild~e!! mto hIs followmg. He may think them less dangerousmSlde hIS commIttee than outside it.

The Japanese Government continue to emphasize that Japan'sfirst concern I~ the speedy settlement of the" China Incident"At the ~am.e til,ne the " new structure " calls for an econo~icreorgam~ation In t~e F ~r East compatible with the aims of thenew Japanese nationalism. In pursuit of this double policyr.apan may be expected to seek further understandings on the~es of the ~urma Road Agreement, in thc hope of facilitating

t e prosecution .of the War against China and at the same time~1war~my}he third party intere~ts th~t stand in her way. British,

enc, utch and even Amencan mfluence is threatened TheK~~~ o.f .expansion will depend on the extent to which the]" nu.s~ may be able to carry away the more moderate

dyrn9nts m Pnnce Konoe's Government. This in its turn maepend largely on the progress of the war in the West. ' Y

i 11111111111~III.mlllll 35NAA.003.0054

j:,

I

There .are some signs in the Japanese pre~soilt slight uneasinessabout Germany and an awareness tbat a vict()ri9us GermaI)YjIlight assert herself in tbe Far East.T!leforrner Berlmcorrespondent of Asahi draws attention. inthltt paper to t~eNazi habit of breaking treaties when. they have. served tbelrpurpose, and sugges~ that, whalt3~e~ adv'l'ntag.e~ mitht accruefrom an agreement w1th Germany, It IS nece$saty .tohave a clearunderstanding of the real nature of Nazi foreign policy.

An official communique issued in Saigon, French Indo-China,states that an ultimatnm was presented by the Japanese onSeptember 1 for the passage of troops through Indo-China. Theultimatum was refused. The Japanese Foreign Office in Tokyo,however, when questioned about the report, declared, "Thereis absolutely nothing to it"

U.S.A.In a message to Congress, President Roosevelt announced tbe

conclusion of negotiations by which the- United States hasacquired the right to lease naval and air bases in Newfoundland,Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Antiguaand British Guiana, in consideration of tbe transfer to GreatBritain of 50 over-age American destroyers. He described tbeagreement witb Great Britain as " tbemost important action forthe rcinforcement of our national defence" smce tbe purchasefrom Napoleon of Louisiana in 1803. The President haspublished the opinion of tbe Attorney-General, Mr. Jackson,thattbe arrangement" may be concluded as an Executive agree­ment effective witbout awaiting ratification." In his message toCongress, tbe President said tbat the agreement

" is not inconsistent in any sense witb our status of peace.Still less is it a threat against any nation. It is an epochaland far-reaching act of preparation for continental defencein face of grave danger."

Altbough he will not have to fear any. ,:o!,siderab~e pu~lic.dissent,he will of course be vehemently cntic1zed by 1solaholllsts andpacifists; Senator Walsh, Chairm?-n of the Naval Affai;; Com­mittee, has already protested agamst what he calls an act of

"war.It is pointed out tbat the bases will be granted to the United

States on a 99 years' lease" free from all rent and charges"except for the payment of compensation to owners of privateproperty for loss arising out of tbe establishment of tbe base~.

Most Americans had hardly hoped for more tban bases mNewfoundland, Bermuda and Trinidad. Now all tbe mainpassages in tbe Caribbean Sea tbat command the entrance to thePanama Canal will be covered.

36

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!IIII. '" .' ..' I NAA.003.0055e,;on,scriptiou Bill has passed the Senate by 58 votes to 3l..~iJ'l ~ n9W before t!'e. House of Repr~entatives'alld is\1:te}Ho be<;;orue.law ~thin a ~ew days. In its present fonu

..9,-yi<,les for the 1mmediate regrstration of all males between'g.es of 21 and 31, of whom not more tban 900 000 are to be

,,,,R!!Jd ~or military training in anyone year. The period of.<;tj:;l!",,'~~ 1S not to exceed twelve mqntbs so long as the United·~t~s IS at peace, and ~he men will not be required to serve

'9!"tslde the ~estern He,?!SP~ereand the territories of the UnitedS~tes, rnclu.di!,g the Philippmes. An amendment was carried intJ.ieSenate gI':'JC1(; tbe Government au,thorily to take over factories

"~Q.dotber fac1hties necessary for national defence if their owners(l!flfsed to employ them for tbis purpose. This amendment ise..¥~~eted to. help the Bill in its passage tbrough the House of~e]JresentatIves, where there IS a.strong feeling that conscription0t. ,ffi3;n-jJower .would be unfan unless accompanied by aC()!"sCllption of mdustry. -

~ow that som~ form .of conscription. has ~een virtually decidedupon, attenh~m 1S tnrlllI!g to the Pres1denti\l1 election campaign.Mr. Wall~ce s sp.eech, In acceptance of h,S nomination as tbeDe:nocratic cand1date for the Vic~-Presidency, struck.a some­1<IhaJ unexpected note. !Ie descnbe.d tbe Republicans as " aparty of appeasement whIch the totahtarian Powers will back inevery way possible," and state~ in effect that a vote againstRoosevelt would be a vote for HItler. His reasoning is hard to~ollow, for much of the strongest support of Britain is to be foundmthe an(,-Roosevelt press.

American admiration for the triu~l?hs of the Royal Air Forceand for the steady athtude of the Clvlhan population of Britain isunbounded, and the issues at stake are more thoroughly under­stood t?an ev~r before. Pres1dent Roosevelt, after calling out forayear s trammg more t~an 60,000 National Guardsmen (a stepunprecedented m peace time), made a speech asking for

. "abs?lute national unity to defend the American way ofhfe agamst the. greatest attac~ e~er launched against thefreedom of the I11d1VIdual, whIch 1S nearcr to the Americasthan ever before."

Mr. Greep, president of the American Federation of I abour hasp~edged ItS full Support without rcserve for the llatio~al deienc~f!r~g;ramt."e. "We hope and pray," hc said, " that Britain willtjij'¥lctonous 'J;.. :<. . •

:,~tfurther evidence were needed of tbe growing realization on~l).t.part of the. peo~le of the T!nited States that their safetyt,~~YB~sqn the mtegnty of Bntam and tbe British Fleet, it is to~~?undm a Note addressed by Mr. Cordell Hull to Lord Lothian

37

OIl".4llgtlSt 29. Mr. Hull enquired whethe~Mr. Church!l!'s s~ate­inelllin .theHouse of Commons on June 4,that We.l:!pfi$1} tleetwoi.lldIlotbe scuttled or surrendered but sent qyetseastCi defendofherparts of the Empire, represented" the settled polity of the1l.ritisiJ, Gbvernment." Lord Lothian replied in the af11rmative,adding: . ....

" Mr. Churchill must, however, observe .thatthese hypo­thetical contingencies seem more likely to. concern theGerman Fleet or what is left of it than the British Fleet."

Latin AmericaPresident Ortiz remains in office but the rest of the Argentine

Cabinet have resigned. Their action was not unexpected, as thereorganization of the Cabinet was considered inevitable. SenorCastillo, the acting President, has formed a new Cabinet, whichis considered to be rather reactionary. Foreign policy, however,is not expected to change appreciably. In some quarters it isbelieved that the new Government will only last some weeks, afterwhich Dr. Ortiz, if his health permits, will reform the Cabinet.The presence of Senor Roca in the Cabinet, an old and trustedfriend of Great Britain, may be expected to act as a deterrent toany of his colleagues who might Wish to show favour to the AxisPowers.

Increased tension is reported from Mexico, where GeneralCardenas delivered the usual presidential address on September 1at the opening of Congress, which is expected to declare officiallyin the next few days the result of the presidential election. Itseems certain that the official candidate, General Camacho, willbe declared elected, in spite of the manifest preference of theelectorate for General Almazan. The latter, who is at presentin the United States, has not yet shown his hand. It is notimpossible that we will set up a rival Congress in some northernstate capital, and that a revolt may break out before the newPresident's assumption of office on December 1.

British EmpireSOUTH AFRICA

A motion proposed by General Hertzog in the UnionParliament, deploring the Government's war policy and demand­ing immediate peace with Germany and Italy, was defeated by83 votes to 65. Both the leader of the Opposition and hislieutenant Dr. Malan saw in the outbreak of war a chance to severSouth Africa from the British Empire, and they cannot forgive

38

General Smuts for defeating their plans. They were wellans",ered in the debate by speakers .on the Government side whoquotedspeec1}es made by General Hertzog during the AbyssinianWil:r;inwhiciJ, he showed how vitil:lly SouthAfrican interests wouldbe threatened by the southward approach of an aggressive nation.Now that the danger has materialized he is in favour of runningaway from it. Gener~l Smuts, in a crushing reply, said hewould not follow the example of Petain, for he only believed inone kind of peace-peace through victory. Kenya and the otherAfrican. colonies were South Africa's main lines of defence, andSouth African troops were already there. "General Hertzogasks how long South Africa will prosecute the war. I tell himnow we shall go on till we have achieved victory."

General Smuts, in spite of his firm statesmanship, is not likelyto find his task altogether easy, for there is no reason to supposethat the "backveld" elements-republican by tradition,susceptible to anti-British propaganda, and by no means freefrom personal and political rancour-will modify their opposi­tion. On the other hand, Hertzog and Malan have not so farpulled well together, and General Smuts has proved himself morethan a match for them.

AUSTRALIA

The campaign for the federal election of September 21, whichhas been forced on Mr. Menzies by the intransigeance of theOpposition, opened in Australia last week. There is nosuggestion that the Opposition are against the war, or even inany serious particular against Mr. Menzies' conduct of it.Mr. Curtin, the Labour leader, has taken his stil:nd on the" democratic" principle that the country should choose theMinistry entrusted with war policy and that without a specificmandate the Opposition should not enter a National Government.The principle is very fine: in practice, however, the election willinevitably give rein to party dissensions unrelated the war-andthere are innumerable sub-divisions of the main parties-at atime when national unity is of the first importance. EvenMy. Curtin is unsure of his own hold on the Labour party." There are those who dislike me," he has said, " because I willnot tie the Labour movement to Molotoff's foreign policy, andthere are others who dislike me because I will not' scab' on theBritish Commonwealth of Nations."

Mr. Menzies, hampered in his election campaign by the more~1fgen~ task of prosecuting the war, has announced his party'smtention of " ranging itself behind the brave and inspiring policyof Mr. Churchill" and appealed to Labour to support aNational Government programme.

!!illllll!!~lillll~ll~ 39NAA.OO3.0056

f. i

I. :

ri,,f~

INDIA'/<1

<"A11:ilou!?lifhe Congress Party have rejected the proposals for"!,,,panClmgtlie Vic<jroy's Council, the AMndia Moslem LeagueWtir¥IDgCommittee have passed a resolution welcoming tbeseproposals which are Clescribed as a considerable a<lvancetowardsthe point of view of the League. The Committee also expressedsatisfaction that the British Governmenthadpractieally met i:h;eMoslem League's demand for an aSsurance that no future consti­tution of India would be adopted without its Consent Qr approval.Auother resolution passed by the Working Committee permitsmembers of the Moslem League to join war committees and otherwar efforts. Hitherto such freedom had not been given pendingan examination of the British Government's offer. The removalof the ban is therefore significant.

PART III: SPECIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

The Typical NaziThis article presents a composite picture derived from diverse

indications of Nazi character. While a considerable degree ofuniformity has been observed, it is obvious that no individual Naziwill exactly conform to the pattern.

The typical and dangerous Nazi is not the bloodthirsty sadistof the S.S., but the ordinary decent German who has succumbedto propaganda and is unaware that his cultural standards havedeteriorated. His chief characteristic is complete subjection tothe Fuhrerprinzip; this is achieved by the legend of Hitler'somnipotence and omniscience, which events unfortunately havesupported, and also of his humanity and kindness. The resultingidea of Hitler is not unlike a sentimentalized Old TestamentJehovah. The Nazi is always right; he has the pure gospelaccording to Hitler, which admits of no question.

The gradual and more or less unconscious acceptance of theNational Socialist creed and of its modifications, which are some­times sudden and unexpected, is due to insulation against mentalinfluences from outside and constant, intense suggestion fromwithin. The unintelligent Nazi absorbs not only the ready-madeideas but also the ready-made phrases, which he repeats as a sortof litany. The more intelligent rationalizes them historically,geographically, morally, but these variations do not affect themain theme.

40

~11111111111111!"llnl~I~1, NAA.003.0057

9ne of the eJ1:ects of this propaganda is a surprising ignoranceofnnportant facts, not only abroad but at home. Hitlerknowstha.ttp.e bllstialities committed in his prisons and concentrationcamPS 'Would repel tl;Je ordinary German; they are thereforesurro~nded by mgemous and elaborate methods of secrecy,Ol;CasI()nally d!srupted, as by. the November Jewish pogroms, butsoon re;=stablished. Th~re 15 theref?re widespread ignorance of0PJ;lrellSIOn at home ap.d In the occupIed areas, and a desire not tob~mformed,a.n unmIStakable taboo; if inforn:i.ation is offered it isdISpose1 of WIth a shrug as " atrocity propaganda." But assome hmt of what is happening is bound to leak out here ~ndthere, ~e virtue of discipline, the need for stern measures inrevolhtio~ary times, is inculcated, with ~e idea that Germanyhas been III a state of dormant warfare SInce 1933. With this iscoupled constant reiteration of the mental and moral inferiorityof all oppop.ep.ts of ~he regime-primarily, of course, of the]ews. .German:J: IS In

fPlelril, an<!- .self-preservation calls for the ruthless ,I.

s~Pl?r~sSIon 0 . a oppOSItion. Only a diluted form of military •discIplme .apphed to the civil ~pulation can keep the country I

safe.. This throws a cloak of VIrtue over such cruelties as areadffiltted.

. !'c leading characteristic of the Nazi is his deep-seated sense ofmJury and resentment-feelings which are concentrated roundthe Treaty of Versailles. With the doctrine of German dynamismgo~s resentment that the German viItues have been ignored andbelittled abroad. The" unacknowledged geniuses " who startedth~ movement .have infeete? the nation with what was once theiratfitude to theIr person~l hves. There is therefore a good dealof more or less conscIOus Schadenfreude at the prospect ofhumbhp.g t~e more popular and successful nations. But therom~ntic, historical sense which teuds to see German history as ade~lme from. Charlemagne and the early Roman-GermanUnIversal .Relch. m~kes Nazi Im~erialism a resumption ofp'reVlOUS ;~ght~. Justl~ed by the effiCIency and dynamism of the ,

young ThIrd Reich and by the sufferings of blood-brothers ,.under the foreign yoke. .1

The acceptauce of all this <!-ogma di.minishes the power to weigheVIde~ce ap.d reach ratiOnal Judgments. The Nazi tends to thinkless WIth his head and more with his belly. This means that thementally. lazy, who are the great majority, give up thirikiiIg atall, lea.vm.g that unpleasant task to the Fuhrer and other leaderswho,ha,?ng been selected by the Fuhrer, share his infallibility.The less mtelligent .show.very little interest, even in the progressofthe war, except m t~eIr personal part in it and in the fact thatthey <l;re apparently w!nnIng. Even among the more intelligentthere IS an almost entire absence of speculation over the future

41

mo~t fanta~tic tactics, forced on··us several times befqre,. wer~·again .used.Artillery WIth no infant;,v. to eO"eLi! took stand and held up the Germanssmgle-hallded,,"-for a time.. My own guns were inaction!otthis laststand.from 7.15 to 8.50. When ammunition gave out it Was a.Jniostdatkand disaster was averted for the night. We withdrew a few miles and wereready to take up the fight at 4.0 a.m. No munitions, however,· hadarnved. At 5.0 we learned that all was over-a complete surprise.

« I do not think that organizt:d resistance could have gone {)nformpretha~ twelve hours. It would have cost the lives of some thousandsoldiers an~ ten ~mes more civilians, and that to no purpose. Therewere no ships avaIlable; no help was forthcoming, nor indeed possible,I do not see what else could have been done: The recent declaration ofMr. CUdahy, U.S. Ambassador in Brussels, should be understood in thisway. I thmk It wo~ld be a mistake, and very bad tactics, to construethe declaration as fnendly to Germany: it stated a fact. I fear that allthese event~ have been too eon~istent!y interpreted in the light ofM. ReJ:11aud s ndIculous and hystencal stories, which do not even deservef;futation. I consider th<:tt one mistake only was· made by our HighCommand when surrendenng: not to have warned us in time for US todestroy our guns."

IV. De.mobilization

u During ~he first. two days there was sOJ?e confusion. Many regimentshad ~cell dIsorgamzc? and broke~ up mto small parties. This wasespccially true of the mfantry and m general of those services with thewors~ officers. Many b~lieved or feigned to believe that it was all over;that It was allowed, and mdeed a duty, to leave immediately and go home.Thousands of men fled and, 1 am sorry to say, some officers. Most ofth?m were caught by the Gennans and set to work rebuilding roads andbndges.

" We waited almost a week on bad and insufficient food. most of whichcame from the British supplies at Dunkirk. I killed thr~e horses a dayand traded a few .more to the peasants for potatoes. We were thenord~red off, spreadmg out over the country leaving our guns and riflesbehmd.us. There were no Gcnnan guards, and our men were commandedby theIr own officers who had been allowed to keep their (unloaded)revolvers.

" Instructions ~ventually came for the demobilization. They had firstheen... dra:vn up, .It seems, by the political sections of the Gennan. Staff.All lJlemIsh SOl~l~n> were to be set free, all Wa;lJoons to remain prisoners.Imp.ortant addrtIons, were, however, soon Issued, coming this time,I thlllk, from the economic sections. Among the Walloons were to befreed all those working in agricultm:e, industry, commerce and the publics,er:1ces, all doctors, *policc, etc.--:--lu short, practically everyone exceptlawyers and teachers. Ev~n so It was easy to cheat the regulations asthe. German officers cont~ollIng .the work were eager to get it finished:thelt French was bad, theIr Flenush worse, and their geography more thanhazy. In the meantime all the reguh.rs~officers, N.C.O's. and men~had been sent to Germany to remain prisoners until the eudaf the war."

.1!t.Morllle or the German Troops .At/irst sight they are bursting with pride at their great victories and

with co!>linence that they only need one more effort to finish off England,thean;h-enemy. Behind this, however, is a gnawing anxIety, especIallyamong the more mature, the married and the oflicers.

Vi¢tory they have had in plenty, but the end oUhe war does not seemto be in sight. Since Britain did not collap>;e &he must be lllvaded.Beyond lies Canada, where Government and. Fleet might seek refUge.Beyond again, America. And what of Russia? Communism was to?,active a reality in pre-Nazi Germany, a threat too widely insisted on untila year ago, to be quietly dismissed in a moment by thinking people.If ouly they knew what would mark the end-the end of the killing of theyoung meu, of separation from families, of ceaseless, intense activity.

Worse still is the hombing of the unprotected and peaceful civilpopulation at home. Victory is bitler if it marks the beginning of dangerimmediate and inescapable, for the victor's wife and children. Thisanxiety> confirmed by many examples, is a vital factor in the present st~teof the troops' morale, the more so because Gennans are not-used to It:they have carri~ war and terror elsewhere, but never in living m~moryhave they suffered death and destruction in their own country. Yet It doesnot impair their loyalty to the Fiihrer and to the powerful new regImewhich he has created: anxiety, blind as yet and inarticulate, has not beentranslated into conscious thought, still less thought into effective action.Useful as bombing may be, if only to change the German attitude towardswar in general, it does not seem that any revolution of feeling coul~ occurinside Germany before a real military defeat which they could not Ignore.

The airmen arc, in this respect, a class apart. They alone have beenfighting continuously; they alone have 111et with serious resistance andsuffered heavy casualties. On two occasions in June parties of about fortyainnen were seen with hands· bound and under anned guard; they werereported to have revolted and to be on their way to be shot, though thisis unconfinned.

III. Surrender of the Belgian ArmyThe surrender could not have been avoided. From May 22 the front

held by the Belgian Army was extended,. in order to free British troopsfor a counter-attack in the south, to 80 kIlometres. Each weak dIVISIOn

had 7--9 km. to hold, and there were no reserves. Intensive dive­bombing, inteILsc enemy pressure on land, no. sign of Allied aircraft, anever widening gap between the northern anmes and those south of theSommc-sllch were the general features of the six-day battle on the Lys.

"On May 27 munitions began to fai~.. The artillery on my ri;;htstopped firiug altogether at 3.0 p.m. MunItions, as well as other supplIes,must come from the rear; but our rear was only about fifteen mIles deepand only a very small fraction of the country, which explains ~~y supplieswere running low. Besides, the 800,000 people normally hvmg m thISdensely populated strip of land had been more than doubled by refugees,to say nothing of the army.

" On the afternoon of the 27th the infantry on my right, unsuPjJortedby its guns, gave way. By 5.0 p.m. there was an 8 km. breach m theline and H.Q. had not a single organized battalion to throw in. The

44

.. I;he writer of the report is a University Professor in private life.....,

,

45 : 1!111111~~!lIlllmmINAA003.0058:.

V,.!3elgian Public Opinion,l1i~ernalAffairs. "Th.ere is a diffUse but strong feeling of resentment

a~ain,st the responsible public o~~iaIs who abandoned their posts. Thisapplies not only to local authonbes but to .post office and bank officIalsw\J.p "bsconded with cash and currency and to doctors who made off WIthhospital equipment and radimn. It appIles .even more strongly to thePierlot Government who were the first to mn. This Govemment is hatedand despised by all Belgians in Belgium. It is ignored by the Genuans.It has no influence with the Belgian refugees in Southern France who,beIleving themselves tricked into flight, are now fast retuming home.Many stories arc current of the hopeless bltinders of the Governmeutduring the period of Belgian resistance and after.

" Pierlo!'s worst mistake, however, was the attitude which he tookup towards the King after the capitulation. After a moment of hesitation,born of their ignorance of the true military situation, the immensemajority of the population rallied round the King.

" The King's position is naturally ambignous, the Constitution givinghim the double title of Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Head ofthe Government. As Army Commander he thought better to stick tohis men and share their lot-which was, by the way, that of the majorityof his people. As Head of the Government he would no doubt have beenbetter away. Obliged to choose, he preferred the more painful course,fraught with the greater hardships, dangers and responsibilities.

" The King is now a prisoner. I have direct evidence that his intentionis to carry on the war. When speaking to his visitors he always insistson the purely military nahrre of his surrender, on his systematic refusalto bind himself in any way to the enemy. That is why he preferred tosurrender rather than to accept any annistice conditions."

Foreign Affairs. .. The Germans are considered everywhere and byall as the enemies. Their present good behaviour is acknowledged, butnot tmsted. Everyone hopes that they will eventually be defeated, andco-operation against them is readily achieved.

l< Public feeling towards the French and British is more variable,complicated and subtle. There is undoubtedly some superficial ill-feelingtowards both countries, the most obvious reason being disappointmentat not being effectively helped against the common enemy." Moreover,the British are accused of much wanton and useless destruction, as well asof plundering---allegations which German propaganda grossly exaggerates.l< In a general way British troops on the Continent too often behave ina ruthless manner: this might be important to note in view of futureoperations, all the more so because of the restraint shown by Germanoccupation troops."

" But it must be understood that this ill-will is quite superficial. BothFrance and Great Britain are considered as Belgium's allies, fighting thesame fight, with the same ideals. The deep-rooted traditions of the lastwat, enhanced by the general hatred for Nazi Government, make thisquite clear. And the least incident will cause these feelings to flare upspontaneously. "

46

PART IV: WEEKLY.NAVAL NOTES

CurrenLEvenfs 11"1II11!'1'"IIIII1II~NAA.003.0059

The Navy Department in Washington has already made tllnecessary arrangements for the first grou f' h . earrive at Halifax on September 6 The tra::Sfur ~~gt~ des~,;oyersdtothe new Anglo-American Agre~ment wilI b es~ s IpS nIl erRear-Admiral Reichmuth, U.S,N. e supermtended by

The fulI complement of each destroyer is 139 . I di .In order to have creWS instantly available I 680 'B~~'~ ':i\' officers.men have been sent to Halifax. It is 'intended t:~t °si:er~ a~dtransferred destroyers are to be maI1lled by the RIC 0, t eNavy. oya anad,an

In the course of operations in the Mediterranean b t 'Augnst 30 and 1800 on September 2 the Comma d .e "eeIlreported considerable aircraft activity' After the ~ e~-m-~.hlefConvoy had been bombed on Angust 31 'when the Briti ~Ca tOf?11,288 tons, was damaged, One enemy aircraft was sh~t doynw~ ,fig~ters from H.M.S. Eagle. On September 2 two ene own yWhIch were attempting to shadow the Fleet were shotmd atrcra~at 1600

bon that day the er:emy made an unsuccessful att~~2::i~h

seven ombers, two of whIch were shot down TIJ 87 ' f' . . Ie presence of_u. aIrcra t IS reported. During the same period a forc f·

GIbraltar was also at work in the Western Medl't e romA t 31 Sk erranean and onugns uas shot down oIle enemy aircraft engaged l' h d .On th f II . I . - n s a owmg

e a owmg ( ay mne Swordfish carried ant a succe 'sf I . tt kon the :,-erodrome at Elnas m Sardinia and on September'2:t: acCagha';1 where they were hampered by bad visibility. In all~~~doperatIOns thrce of our aIrcraft werc lost. ·sc

Thc chi:f objectives of the enemy air attack on the U ..Kmgdom m the seven days to September 3 were aerod nrteddmdust 'al . th M·l' romes ann areas 1lI e 1 1< lands partIcularly Liverpool l' hattacked on the night of Angnst 29 and 30 a:nd aga' ' ~ IIc waswhen public buildings in the centre of the town we~~M ugus; 31the Nelson and Clarence Docks. Docks were also att~~;~t a~Tilbury on Septembcr I and again on the foIlowln da . e .1

first OCCaSIOn damage was done to the premises of li y. HO~theand Wolfe, to the railway, and to houses and sho;srsTheart~~~

47

The first fIgure given in the Table under a Type indIcates thenumber certainly brought down; the second gives the numberprobably destroyed.

(C3S976-1) D

on August 30 and Septem.ber2for. twentyctwo each day, onSeptember.l for twenty.five::and on September 3_ f"rseventeen orfCWl42 during the week as compared With 15I last week. Duringthe montho! August, CoastalCommand provided air escort for 642convoys, as compared with 475 in July and 346 in June.

illllllillll'"IIIII~NAA.003.0060

Another Victim ofa German RaiderThe surprise attack on the British Davisian, 6,433 tons, by the

Gennan raider Narvik, which was at the time masquerading as aSwedish merchantman, and the subsequent treatment of the Britishcrew by the Germans, is described by Mr. J. R Kelley, the merchantseaman gunner of the Davisian:-

We Were bound from Cardiff to Barbados with a full generalcargo and mail. We were 'Inned with a 4-inch, Mark IX guu,and we had wireless On board. We were not flying the ensign atthe time of the attack. All confidential books were thrown over theside by the Master. The crew, including the Master, numbered 50,six of whom were injured.

We left Cardiff in convoy on June 23. After four days the convoybroke up and we proceeded independently for Barbados, steering acourse of S. 44 W. We proceeded without incident until July 10at 1205, when in position 447 miles N.E. from Barbados we sightedwhat appeared to he a Swedish vessel bearing about 100 on theport bow. We were travelling at a speed of 13 knots. She wassteering an almost parallel Course and when she was about 800 yardsoff the port bow, without any warning, she opened fire at us withall her guns both fore and aft. We were taken very much bysurprise as, even through the binoculars, nothing could be seen toindicate that she might be an enemy ship, she was so cleverlycamouflaged. She looked like an 11,000-ton vessel. I was on tltegun deck when they started firing at us, and I should estimate thatshe put 40 rounds into the Davisian. One rOl1lld hit us for'ard; onewent into the funnel; one hit the fo'c'sle, seriously injuring threemen, includingChief Petty Officer Plimmer, and One went into thehatches. The first round completely shattered the wireless aerial.

When she ceased firing we carried the injured men on to the afterboat decks, and then One or two of the men wanted to go downbelow to get their tobacco or something. However, when they

49

52934243210

144

-.- 28:142~ 1 -:- 9:10

20: 6 -:- 62:1810: 5 -:- 85:34

Damaged byAircraft orA/Afire

10

19; 117: 7

13: .(4~; 21

14: 4 3: 2 -:- 25:1020: 8 8: 59:- 51:186: 1 11: 8 -:- 26:11

9

14

15

29

1: 2 -:~

~.:~- -:-23: 7 -;_6:-- _;_

1:- -:_2: 1 -;-_-;- 1:_

Broughtdown by

A/A fire.

-:- -:--;- -;-

5 :33: 34: 21:--

2:- 1:- 1:­-:- -: 2 _:_ -:_-;--- 2: I _:_ .......c:_-:- 10: 6 - ~:-

-:-

Total

Aug. 28293031

Sept. I23

I I I DID I I H. -, H •. \ 'ie: -I M,. ·1 M•. I Un- ITotal,.i~ ~r I~_ 2l~. Golha. 59.. III.. 113. .109. 110 '1'=

-

"­to other than RA.F. persOlmcl during the week is

~if~~::~~,:a~;t~3~67 killed and 1,856 wounded. These figures cover the~ and are liable to revision.

The following Table prepared from the da,ilyR.A.F. an~ otherofficial reports (the figures in whIch are pr()VI;;19nal a?d subject tosubsequent revision) shows the numbers of the,vanous types ofenemy aircraft brought down in the Hom~ area and over the NorthSea and Channel, and the dates when they were brought down .~

A~~ _:_ 4: 129 -;- -;­30 1:- 3:­31 1:- 12: 2

Sep~ _:_ 2: I __ .;2 -:- 9: 13 1:- 2:-

The figures for enemy aircraft reported as having been shot downby A/A fire from the ground and for those reported as havmg beendamaged by aircraft or A/A fire ashore or afloat durmg the weekwere as follows :-

In addition to its other activities the Coastal Comrmnd of theRA.Fo' provided air escort for convoys during the week as follows :_On August 28 for sixteen, on Angust 29 and 31 for twenty each day,

48

to go below, the cnemy must havefuistakentheirin1l!,~,ti('llI\,',b<eClll11se they owned fire with a ,pom-ponr and machine­

Then they must have realized what the men wereand so they ceased firing, and came round on our

obrbomd bow.

We put the injured men into the starboard boaf (Chief PettyOfficer Plimmer was unconscious), and successfully lowered both portand starboard boats. The captain told us while we were in theboats that he had thrown the confldential books over the side beforeleaving.

TREATMENT ON BOARD

The enemy vcssel was about half a mile aWay and we had beeninstructed to row out to her. When we arrived they instructed usto put oUr injured men on the Neil Robinson stretchers wl1ich theylowered, and after having pulled the men on board the remamderof Us wcre ordered to climb up the ladder one by one. There wasa wire rope stretching along the deck and we were made to fall inand toe thc line with our backs to the Davisian. They askedifanyonc felt faint, and two of the older men admitted feeling nottoo good so they were permitted to sit down and were allowed toretain their lifebelts. The rest of us were relieved of everythingwith the exception of our belts and shoes.

A motor launch was thcn sent over to the Davisian and, althoughthey didn't touch the cargo or the mail, they took over all ourpmvisions.

We were then told to takc a shower, and were afterwards talcendown to a pen about 30 ft. by 11 ft. which was situated one deckdown on the starboard side. I noticed afterwards that they had alot of mines stored next to our pen.

Having had all our possessions taken from us we had nocigarettes and so, when we found a stack of clothes in the pen weinmlediately searched them. We discovered that they belonged tothe crew of the British Petrol. We found about 50 cigarettes whichwere divided equally, and when our guard knew what wc had donethey first of all threatened to shoot us, and then to cut our cigaretteration, which was fifteen cigarettes, for five days.

We were on board the enemy vessel for three days, during whichtime we were allowed on deck in small batches for 20 minutes intIte morning and 20 minutes in the evening. We were withoutdothes the whole time, but it was very hot and so we did not mind.The guards used to make a practice of s-tanding outside to drinktheir beer while we were waiting for our water ration.

50

I

" 1IIIIIIIIIIillllllll~IIIIIII!1I NAA.003.0061

We were allowed togo oVer the decks,and do 'tnoreorless1as weliked,but werenotpernlitted to go for'ard. The OtilytiIJif"I'V'eli~for'ardwas when I was ordered to carry some verylargelol:ive~c;)fblack bread. . .

1 noticed duringiny time aboard that all notices we~e .iI)Spanish ,q.nd I was. able to observe 01' very c1ev~r camouflaging- o.f p1W. guI)S,rangefinders, etc., all of which observatIOns I have embodied·.inthedrawing of the vessel which I have left in your possession. I m.<lYad~ that the:y"!yere a1)leto ,C~l£:e~~b-itR\'...i!~~and Ibeheve that partorthefunnel Was detachable. She had electricammunition hoists and I discovered later that the rate of firing ofthc 6-inch gun was much slower than that of our own. Everyoneon board. was armed With either revolvers, bayonets or rifles, andsome of the sailors wore ribbons bearing the name Gra! Spec. ;

We were given our first meal at 0530 to 0600 and this consistedof black bread and lard with jam, and a mp of black coffee withOutsugar. However, before partaking of the food the Captain alwaysread the German Martial Law to us. As near as I can rememberit read: "Capt:,in, the war between your ship and mine is ended.You are my pflsoners and yon will be treated according to yourbehavIOUr. 1 here 18 only one pumshment on board my ship nomatter what the crime, and that is shooting." '

At 1200 we got our second meal which usually consisted of blackbread, and some sort of meat puddiug with currants in and blackcoffee without sugar. '

For tea at 1600 we again had black bread and lard witheheesewhich we had to squeeze out of tubes, and black coffee.

During the afternoon we all had to sit in circles round the wirelessand listen to Lord Haw-Haw.

It was " lights out" at 2000 and we were not permitted to smokebetween the hours of 1900 and 0600. They had given us a pack ofcards to use, but they told us that if one was missing they would dealout 14 cards and the man who received the fonrteenth card wouldbe shot, so we did not usc the cards. Thc same punishment appliedIf we did anytlllng " wrong," and if thc culprit wouldn't admit hisguilt the 14 cards would be dealt out.

THE GERMAN CREW

The average age of the crew I should think was about 28. TheCaptain, who was very decent to us, was the eldest, being about 50.The guard was about 20 to 25, and there was only one youngster onboard of about 18. The officers au the ship always used the Navalsalute, but the remaindeT of the crew used the Nazi salute.

51

Enemy Submarine Activities'In the regional grouping of the following reports of submarines

or of ships attacked by them the following geographical expressionsarc used:-

I was transferted, Mr. Jolly being in charge, to a metal boat which~ad yome from the British Petrol. The boat was damaged but notm a serious condition. Both the other boats were very baaIy holed,but they floated all nght. One yontained 25, and I don't know howmany were in the other one. In my boat there were 15 from theDavisian, 15 from the King john, and 15 from the Santa Margarita,",hlch. was sunk by a submarme on July 2, one of her men was killedm the King john, together with two of the King john's own crew.

When we left the enemy ship the Captain shook hands with uswished us the best of luck, and hoped that he wouldn't see us again:He told us that there was an island bearing W.S.W. and to make for~h:t.. He gave us some provisions, including dressing for the minorInJunes which some of the men had sustained.

We proceeded as instructed on a W.S.W. course, and at about 1655on the same day we watched the sinking of the King John.

The weather was very good when we started, but on the secondday out there was a big swell, and to enhance the possibilities ofbemgplcked up we deCided to spread out fanwise. We kept two orthree miles apart so that we could just keep each other in sight onthe crest of the swell. However, we continned On our W.S.W.course, and somehow we lost the other two boats.

After five nights and four days at sea we eventually fetched upat St. Bartholomew on July 17. I have since heard that the boatcontaining 25 men was picked up by a Norwegian vessel, and thethird boat landed at Dominica. The latter travelled up to St. Kittswhere we met them. We stayed there for four days and lived inthe school house.

llllllllllllllllln~NAA.003.0062

SET ADRIFT

North of 55 : 00 N., and West of the Orkney andShetlands, and of 01 : 00 W.

The area East of 02: 00 E., to the North of57: 00 N., and East of 01 : 00 W. io the Northof61:00N.

The area between that line and a line runningfrom Dover to Cape Cds Nez.

West of that line as far as a line running from theLiz.ard to Ushant.

West of the Channel, South of 5S: 00 N. andNorth of 36 : 00 N.

Tho area South of 36 : 00 N. and West of TarifaStraits of Gibraltar. '

53

« North-Western Area"

(C38976-1) E

" Coast of Norway"

<' The Channel "

.. Western Ar&'1, "

" North Sea"

'( African Coast "

G"rnlan sailors could speak English quite well, but,permitted to converSe toget!ler.IIl fact, the

'''~,_..__.. ()p"rator, who could speak Gerl1)an; was threatened withhe was discovered talking with. one of the

However, after" light'jlout," when the guard had had toodrink they used to talk. We discoveredthatpriQr to gettiug

nsfhey had got a Norwegian vessel and the British Petrol. . We alsolearned that they were starting back for GeITl1any at the middle ofAugust, and on their way back they were going to stopa neutral shipand put uS on board. They were firmly convinced that they wouldWin the war, and related to uS how Hitler was soon coming toLondon and that they had all been chosen to be his personal guard.The. general morale of the crew was very good, but I think ourWjToperator might be able to give you more details of the talks,and perhaps ofthe messages which we used to heat coming over thewireless, because he could understand the language. They alsotold us that they had been at sea for about four and a half months.

Their treatment of US generally was quite good, but they took allour English money from us, promising to send it to the addresseswe'gave them when the war was over. Some of the saHors used togo out of their way to be kind to us unknown to the guard, of course.On .several occasions they slipped tobacco under our door. Therewere 61 of us in the pen and once or twice a day the guard gave uSa match and told us that we had to make it manage for all of us.H they wanted any work done they used to detail a number of ourmen to do it. The Chief Officer was a very unpleasant type of person.He was never satisfied, and used to shout and create scenes aboutnothing.

On July 13, at about 0700, when we were on deck for our usual20 minutes exercise, the vessel suddenly started to pick up speed.Normally, she just drifted about during the day and then cruisedduring the night. She attained a speed of about 20 knots and we allfelt sure that she had sighted something. A guard armed witha revolver came from amidships and lined us up. He said that aBritish vessel, which we afterwards learned was the King John, hadbeen sighled, and that if we attempted any funny business we wouldbe shot. We then marched down to our pen and were locked upand a guard placed over us.

At about 1145 Ihe enemy's guns started firing at the King John.There was one ventilator in our pen, and soon glass came flying throughit so that we had to cover our heads with the lifebelts. We were leftentirely alone, not even having our usual midday meal. At about1~ a guard conveyed us all, with the exception of the iujured, the0I,ptain and the deck boys, on deck. We were told that the K ing johnhadillanaged partly to get an SOS away which had been picked upby an American ship and a shore station; that they had no food to:feed us and that they were going to set us adrift.

52

NORTlI-WESTEfu'l AREA

55

PART V: STATISTICS

!,I

~i1IIIIIIIIlIlIIIIRIIIIIIIINAA.003.0063

Reported by aircraft

British ilvington Gourtattacked.

Greek Theodoras T.attacked.

Reported by patrol vessel.

Reported by aircraft.NORTH SEA

60 : 29 N.--OI : 08 E., 06 m. 108"Muckle Flugga.

52: 54 N,--03: 37 E., 45 m. W. ofTexeL

1710/30

0520/2

CHANNEL2015/30 I 50: 05 N.--D5: 31 W., 4 m. S, of ! Shore report.

Penzance.WESTERN AREA

/26 37: 10 N.-21: 50 W., 155 m. 084'Santa Maria, Azores.

2130/27 50: 10 N.-19: 50 W., 400 HI. 259'Fastnet.

1828/28 51: 23 N.--D3: 37 W., 3 m. 255"Nash Point.

AFRICAN COAST

/29 1 14 : 53 N.-23: 35 W" 1800 5an- I Reported byBritish Consul,tiago Island, Cape Verde. St. Vincent.

British ShippingCONYOYS, The following table shows the number of ships, British,

Allied and Neutral, which have sailed in escorted convoys during thelast week and since the beginning of the war; together with Ilielosses suffered frOTH enerny action :­

---:---:---:-----* In cornpUling timber imports a fath~m of soft wood is taken to weigh

3 t.ons, and a standard of timber 2t tons.

Imports in ConvoyImports into Great Britain by shiJls in convoy during the week

ending August 31 were 912,752 Lons compared Witll 1,152,541 tonsduring the week ending August 24, They were 54,745 tons belowthe average for the previous ten weeks. Oil ilnports, in 19 tankers,totalled 210,189 tom, a decrease of 63,169 tons on the previous sevendays, but 2,310 tons above the average for the previous ten weeks.Mineral imports were 277,929 tons, of which 211,296 tons were steel,scrap Iron and iron ore. Cereal imports were 121,660 tons, nine shipsbeing fully loaded with grain. Other food imports totalled62,660 tons, of which 20,675 tons were refrigerated and tinned meat,11,500 tons were sugar and 1,720 tons were fresh 'Iud tinned fruit.The Philotis, 880 tons, was fully laden with 815 tons of wine fromCadiz, and the Procyis, 1,033 tons, with 656 tons of wine from Oporto,and the total wine import fOT the week was 3,116 tons, There werealso 383 tons of rum from the West Indies. Timber and pulpimports were 134,600 tons'

Belgian Ville de Monsattacked.

Reported hy Brit.ishGlintonia.

British Thornlea attacked.

Norwegian Eva attacked.

A.M.e. Dunvegan Castleattacked.

Finnish EUe aLtacked.

Reported by BritishIlindpool.

Reported by H.M.S.Leith.

Reported by BritishKyno. .

British Astra II, Dalblm,rand Hartismere attacked.

Convoy HX.66B atLacked.

Swedish Alida Gorthanattacked.

Reported hy aircraft.

British Empi1'e Mooseattacked.

Reported by aircraft.

British Chelsea and MillHill attacked.

Reported by aircraft.

Dutch Vo£endarn attacked.

British A nadara andGreek San Gabriel at­tacked.

Periscope reported byaircraft,

Reported by BritishDunster Grange.

Belgian Ville de Hassettattacked.

Greek EJploia attacked.

Reported by H.M.S. Fiji.

Reported by H.M.S.Skate.

Reported hy aircraft.

57 : 48 N_~II : 50 W.. 03m_ 78'Rockall.

54: 50 N. - -11 : 00 W_, flo m. 258"Bloooy Foreland

57:40N--12-20W 43w. 086"Rockall;

55: 14 W_~IO: 10 W. 67 m. 275"Bloody Foreland.

56 : 59 N .--09: 50 W., 76 m. 2800

Barra Head.58: 06 N.-i3: 26 '1il., 30m. 015 0

Rockall.56: 03 N.~12: 14 W., 148 nt. 294"

Bloody Foreland.56 : 50 N.-09 : 53 W., 76 m, 273"

Barra Head.Approximately 56 : 06 N.--12 : 12

W., 130 m. W.N.W. BloodyForeland.

Approximately 56: 06 N.-12; 12W., 130 m. W.N.W. BloodyForeland.

56 N.~12: 59 W., 100 tn. 166'Rockall.

58: 48 N.--D6 : 49 W., 58 m. 280"Cape Wrath. .

56 : II N.-09: 50 W" 83 m. 321"Bloody Foreland.

56: 04 N.--D9: 52 W., 76 m. 318"Bloody Foreland.

56: 04 N.--D9: 52 W., 76 m. 318"Bloody Foreland.

56 : 10 N.--D9 : 43 W., 76 tn. 322'BloodyForeland.

54: 42 N.-IO: 16 W .. 70 m. 248'Bloody Foreland. .

56: 30 N.-l~~ W., 179 m. 2970

Bloody Foreland.55: 26 N.-13: 01 \V., 164 m. 2760

Bloody Foreland.58: 10 N.-12: 55 'vV., 137 m. 278 0

St. Kilda.55: 33 N.-07: 41 W., 29 m. 021"

Tory Island.58: 32 N.---Q8 : 28 \'1., 29 TIL 3000

FlanEan Islands.55: 18 N.-07: 07 W" -:\". Co;.t:::it of

Ireland.58: 20 N.~12: 00 W .. 115 nt. 286"

St. Kilda.56: 30 N.-14: 15 VV ,221 Hl. 292'

Bloody Foreland.55: 41 N.~14: 20 W. 215 m, 280"

Bloody Foreland.

2330/29

0136/30

2220/30

2300/30

0040/31

1801/1

11111/2

1305/2

1541/2

1717/2

2207/2

0524/31

1121/31

1709/31

0421/1

1720/1

54

1530/29

1432/27

2307/27­

0352/28

1130/28

1620/28

2000/28

0445/29

1233/29

/29

i

j'

I,

•

'"

Aug. 28 i Sept. 3, 1939- I Total No. TotalSept. 4, 1940. Sept. 4, 1940. of ships, loss by

British, enemyConvoy

oj~

Allied, actionRoute. ,,;

-ci "'Z ,,;-ci Neutral, while

.~~ -P. m

"-P

ES~ "' ~-P convoyed in.~

~~ ~

~ " .~

" to date. convoy.P'I Z P'I , «: zCurrent Convoys

Mcthil outwards. 144 18 6 138 612 128 36 776 4Liverpool

125 3,757 :134 336 4,427 13outwards. 86 23 16Orfordness to

12Firth of Forth. 212 18 3 233 6,864 659 623 8,146Firth of Forth to

15Orlordnes.<>. 193 18 3 214 6,325 646 321 7,292Gibraltar

outwards. 21 7 2 30 39 8 4 51 -Gibraltar

4homewards. 12 2 3 17 1,596 174 193 1,963Halifax

23homewards. _. _.. - - 2,183 344 271 2,798Sierra Leone

1,175 4homewards. 35 8 4 47 1,054 80 41Firth of Forth to

Tyne 85 II 1 97 1,400 219 462 2,081 -Channel Convoys 23 2 - 25 283 46 4 333 i3Clyde to

251 57 16 324 2Firth of Forth. 38 8 2 48Sydney, N.S.

8 22 40 1homewards. ~ - - 10

Convoys not nowru,nning

N. Foreland 2.961 408 157 3,526 8outwards.

Gibraltar to 74 2 - 76 -Port Said.

Port Said to 77 5 - S2 -Gibraltar.

Kingston 84 10 _. 94 -(Jamaica)

homewards.Norway 144 - 472 616 -

outwards.Norway

I

146 18 698 862 --homewards.

Humber to 167 6 13 186 -Southcnd.

Southcnd to 190 10 93 293 -Humber.

Grimsby to Tyne 5 - 6 II -Tyne to Grimsby 21 - 8 29 -

_._-~- _..._--- ----- -I~---Totals .. 819 115 40 97,1 28,243 3,162 3,776 35,181 99

During the week under review 6 Dritish and 2 allied ships were repor~ed

lost by enemy action while in convoy. Proportion.s of losse~ to total s1;ipsconvoyed since~the...beginning of the war are:-British, 1 m 336; Allied,1 in 316; Neutral, 1 in 755.

56

I JI~~il~~~I~~~!Sinkings, Attacks, and Minings

Losses during week Total Losses up toAng. 26-Sept. 1. September 1.

No. ofTonnage.

No. ofTonnage.Ships. Ships.

British .. .. 10 53,512 394 1,540,588

Allied .. .. 5 15,038 102 469,035

Neutral .. .. 3 1l,144 252 766,840I

Totals .. 18 79,694 748 2,776,463

(The Sinkings are in accordance with information received np to1200 on September 3.)

BELATED REPORTS

British.--The Stakesby, 3,900 tons, which was torpedoed onAugust 25 while sailing in convoy and was subsequently towed intoStornoway and beached, is now to be considered a total constructiveloss, having been completely gutted by fire. The same day, theGoathland, 3,821 tons, bound from Madeira to Liverpool with6,320 tons of ore, was sunk by aircraft about 200 miles W. of CapeClear, Co. Cork; nineteen survivors were landed in Ireland.

Allied and Neutral.-On August 22 the Norwegian Keret, 1,718 tons,outward bound in ballast from the Tyne to Sydney, Nova Scotia.was sunk by submarine abont 520 miles W. of the Bloody Foreland;seven of the crew were saved. It is now known that the HungarianKelet, 4,295 tons, was torpedoed and sunk on August 19 off theWest Coast of Ireland and thirteen survivors were landed at Galway.

57

1111111111111111~1111111.1111111111NAA.003.0065

ALLIED SHIPPING LOSSES DURING WEEK ENDINGSEPTEMBER I

'S

).

Fate ofCrew.

Fate ofCrew.

I_T~n~I' Position and Cause.".Mige. .

I Ton- I Position and Cause.nagc.

Natiw.

Name.

NEUTRAL SHIPPING LOSSES DURING WEEK ENDINGSEPTEMBER I

Date. INationality·1

Date. INationality. i

August 27 Norwegian FVG- . . 1.599 63 m. E.N.E. of Crew saved

• RockalL Sub-marine.

August 3Q Norwegian Norne 3,971 58 m. WN.W. (')f II survivOI(in COIlVOY). Cape 'Wrath. Sub- (1 injured

mariue.Augnst 3Q Norwegian lVlarstenen I,R32 Duricansbv Head. 21 saved.

A..ircraf{August 3J Belgian .. Ville de. 7,461 179 m. 297" Bloody 13 landed.

Hasselt. Foreland. Sub-marine.

August 31 DuLch .. Marne .. 175 Oft North Tyne Pier -Light. Mine.

BRITISH LOSSES DUE TO ENEMY ACTION.

Losses during week Total Losses up toAug. 26-Sept. I. September 1.

No.of Tonnage: No. ofTonnage.Ships. Ships.

Submarine · . 8 37.040 160 827.873

Mine ·. · . .- - 104 331.399

Surface craft · . - - 26 120,647

Aircraft · . · . 2 16,472 76 198,918-Captured · . · . - -- 4 15,628

other causes andcause unknown .. - - 24 46.123

-Totals · . 10 53,512 394 1.540,588

7Iugust 28 Finnish .. Elfe 3.868 43 m. E. of RockalL 2 killed, 2

(in convoy). Submarine. survivors.ugust 31 Greek .. ~,jploia 3,867 164 nt. 276" Bloody Crew saved.Foreland. Sub-marine.

ugust 27 Greek Theodoros. T. :-J,409 400 m. 20'59" Fastnet. Crew savedSubmarine. (3 injured)

A

A

A

Fate of Crew.

Crew saved.

35 saved.

ere'''' saved.

J4 Lascars missing.

5 missing,remainder saved.

Cre\\I- .'>:'ivecl.

21 survivors.

Crew in boats.

11 survivors.

Overdue ShipsOne of H.M. ships reports that the Norwegian Tropic Sea,

5,781 tons, scnttled herself about 150 miles N.W. of Finisterre at1000/3. She had a German prize crew on board. which. with theNorwegian crew, is in a lifeboat. The ship also reports that she hason board the Norwegian Master and his wife and the Master and 23of the crew of the British Haxby, S,~07 tOIlS. The Tropic Sea wasdue at Panama On July 10, and the IIaxby had been overdue atCorpus Christi. Texas, since the beginning of May.

59

~llllll :I!~I~I'IIIII~III ~III:INAA.003.0066

There is still no news of the Norwegian Talleyrand, 6,732 tons, theBelgian Bruges, 4,984 tons, or the British Turakina, 9,691 tons.The latter, it will be remembered, was attacked by an enemy raideron August 20, about 420 miles W.;\I.W. of Wellington. It is nOWlearnt that the British Lurigethan, 3,564 tons, which had beenconsidered overdue at Freetown, is proceeding direct to Durbanwhere she is due on September 7. The British Harperley, 4,586 tons,which was seven days overdue at Colombo, arrived at Calcutta onAugust 26 and the Egyptian Rada-mes, 3,575 tons, due at Capetownon August 20, reached that port seven days later. The BritishWestbury, 4,712 tons and 9 knots, which sailed from Durban onAugust 6, arrived at Aden on August 28, six days late, and thetanker British Reliance, 7,000 tons and 10 knots, bonnd fromTable Bay to Abadan reached Basra on Augnst 27, five days ov~rdne.

The French NotQu, 2,488 tons, bound from Newcastle, N.S.W., forNoumea, New Caledonia, where she was due on August 17, hasnow been posted as overdue at Lloyds. The Norwegian tankerNew Zealand, 9,311 tons, which left Bombay on August 8 has notyet arrived at Fremantle where she was due on August 25.

60(C38976) 2,400 9140

l'II,.jl'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'1111111rJAA003.0067

. . ..