Daily Post - 21.05.1943, Blaðsíða 2

2
DAILY POST
Planning A Landlng On
The Contlnent — 3
This is the third and concluding part of the article by
Tom Wintringham, the well-known military writer, first
published in “Picture Post” of April 17th.
DALIT POST
is published by
BlaSahringurinn.
Editors: S. Benedikteson.
A. L. Merson.
Office: 12, Austurstræti. Tel.
3715. Reykjavík. Printed by
AlþýðuprentsmiSjan Ltd.
Friday, May 21, 1943
East Of The
Atlantic
Arabs, usually recitent and
conservative people and uncon-
cerned with strangers are show-
ing a marked friendliness to
R.A.F. men in N. Africa. A
fighter pilot, injured recently
was sent to a hospital for a
week and was visited daily by
three Arabs he had met before.
They brought him oranges, eggs
and minerals and when he left
hospital entertained him and
his friends to dinner. The
pilots, aware of the poverty of
many Arabs hesitated before
accepting, until a Frenchman
assured them that each of the
Arabs was a millionaire (in
francs).
HOPE FROM THE FAR EAST
Information comes from Eng-
land that many Britons who
took part in the fall of Singa
pore are safe, prisoners of War
in Japan and in Japanese occu-
pied territories. Many homes
in England have received let-
ters through the International
Red Cross Committee and dis-
tribution is proceeding.
AMERICANS CALL
ON A DUKE
Americans in Britain have
found many of the aristocracy
more approachable than they—
and perhaps the average Eng-
lishman before the war—
would have imagined. When 5
American coastguards gate-
crashed the Duke of Argylle’s
castle in Scotland recently they
expected to get a cold recep-
tion.
They sneaked in past the
Black Watch who were guard-
ing the grounds.
“We knocked on the front
door and asked the butler what
was cooking,” said one of the
party. “In a couple of minutes,
out came the Duke of Argyll
in kilts. He did not ask us any
questions but began showing us
ALTERNATIVE COURSES
That stage is the considera-
tion of “courses”. What alter-
native ways of doing the job
are open to us? At first, the
number of possible “courses”
seems very large. Here is an
army: there are five hundred
beaches on which bits of it
could land. Then “factors” be-
gin to be related to these pos-
sible “courses”, ana a lot of the
“courses” disappear. They are
not possible. Or they are pos-
sible, but clearly too costly.
These beaches are too strongly
defended, these too far from a
port that could be seized. There
are no useful spots for air-
borne landings near a third lot
of beaches, and therefore we
write them off. The “courses“
narrow down to a number of
alternatives.
“WAR GAMES”
These alternatives are still
more closely studied and re-
lated to the “factors” involved,
particularly the enemy reac-
tion. “War games” are played,
in which officers are given com-
mand of so many German divi-
sions and “play” with these
against an invading force that
is to land at beaches M to S,
and should size ports T, X and
Y, with air-borne occupation of
the area U-V, and the local po-
pulation armed and aroused |
throughout the whole of Z.
These ' v.ar games” are studied
and should seize port T, X and
main job is to studv the Ger-
around. Boy what he showed
us! And how proud he was. He
invited us to stay for supper.
We had fish and chips. After-
wards he sang us some arias
from Italian operas. He asked
us whether we could sing and
we said ‘Just swing and jive’
Was he tickled! Then he made
us sign the guest book—right
along with the Kaiser and a lot
of other big shots. When we
left, the guards at the gate
scratched their heads in amaze-
ment.”
man technique of war, and by
officers whose main job is to
see that our technique is ahead
of theirs.
QUESTIONS OF EMPNASIS
“Courses” proposed have also
to be considered in relation to
past experience: Gallipoli, the
Japanese landings in Malaya
or New Guinea, Dieppe, etc.
Some of the “courses” mainly
differ from others in the em-
phasis placed on some of the
principles of war, at the ex-
pense of others. The principle,
for example, of concentrating
on your main effort, and the
principle of surprise.
PRINCIPLE OF SURPRISE
Surprise is emphasised, there
might be landings far apart in
Norway, Holland and Northern
France, perhaps—and the Ger-
mans would be left uncertain
for days or weeks as to which
was the main effort. In France,
thrusts towards Lille, towards
Paris and towards Cherbourg,
would be designed to hide from
the enemy what our first big
objectives were. But any such
scattering of our forces would
expose them to the danger that
the Germans could mop them
up one by one; our forces land-
ed at one point could not sup-
port those landed at another.
PRINCIPLE OF
CONCENTRATION
If, on the other hand, the
principle of concentration is
emphasised, there may be feints
but there will be one such ef-
fort—which will soon be clearly
seen as the main effort.
THE FINAL PLAN
The main alternative courses
are now weighed against each
other. Finally, the one which
stands up best to criticism be-
A Year Ago Today
Red Army breaks into
Kharkov as inner defenses
■,
crumble.
£
London reveals that two-
thirds of Britain’s population f
are engaged in the armed
forces, civil defenses and
war industry.
Naval authorities an-
nounce Normandie to be
salvaged.
comes the plan. But it is not a
single plan, with all alterna-
tives left out. It is a “plan with
branches”. It includes “extras”
—luxuries we should like, but
are not sure we can afford. It
includes alternative combina-
tions to meet likely or unlikely
enemy reactions. It includes op-
timistic variants and pessimis--
tic ones. It can answer the
statesman’s queston: “What do
we do, if so-and-so happens?”'
Object, factors, courses, plans
—of course anyone going shop-
ping for a new hat has to tackle-
the job the same way. The aim
is defined: a hat rather like the
one . . etc. Factors include
finance, the weather in the
streets, hours at which shops.
shut, the friendly assistant in
the Centre Street Stores. Cour-
ses include window-shopping,
trying the local place first,.
going straight to Centre Street.
Transport—even perhaps secre-
cy—has come into the picture.
Finally, the plan is made. And.
in the case of most people, it
seems usually to be “a plan.
with branches”. It includes al-
ternatives—or, at least, it did
in the leisurely days when sh >p-
ping could be treated as a sport.
Multiply that process millions
of times, and you get the mili-
tary way of planning, wliich
remains the same as that of
Mrs. Gamp going out to buy
a hat. And yet very different;
all our future depends on it. If
Mrs. Gamp buys a nat like her
old one, no one wili mind very
much. On the other hand if
those who are planning a Sec-
ond Front.make mistakes, none
of us will escape the results.
Medleal Ald to Russia l
Remitted to Mrs. Churchill .. 10,000.00 krónur ^
Further Contributions: V
Already Acknowledged ......... 3,414.08 krónur
V.