NEWS OF THE WEEK
THE fall of Cherbourg may not be quite as imminent as some enthusiastic correspondents on the spot were predicting on Wednesday, but on the whole the prospects of prolonged resistance are small. The Germans made no great show at Sebastopol, and Cherbourg will suffer far more heavily by bombardment from the sea than the Crimean base did. On the whole the port seems likely. to be in Allied hands within a week, and it should be possible to make limited use of it at once. Its value, once the port facilities have been restored will be immense. Meanwhile, the capture of another port, Viborg, in the eastern theatre, after a ten-days' cam:- paign, opens up great possibilities. The loss of this fortress in two meant Finland's capitulation. History Cannot long be prevented from repeating itself, for whatever truth there may or may not be in the many rumours of Finnish feelers for an armistice, her armies, outfought and outnumbered, are in -full retreat. That negotiations for an armistice will require a reorganisation of the Helsinki Govern- ment is clear, although the possible alternative leadership is not ; the Germans, of course, are doing everything possible to frustrate any such development, and have succeeded at any rate in delaying it. Two further developments are also clear. One is that the Germam, despite the perilous position of Dietl's troops in Finland and their many commitments elsewhere, will make every effort to show their Balkan satellites what happens, as Goebbels said of Italy, to people who "jump off a moving train." The other is that the Russians are unlikely to offer the Finns terms as favourable as were available to them in the spring. By its stubborn and short-sighted alliance with Germany, the Finnish Government is alone responsible for its country's present plight. Events since the rejection of Russian terms in April have further underlined the menace to the Soviet Union of a German-controlled Finland. Certainly the cession of Petsamo, demanded in April, will again be a stipulation ; and the Russians would be justified in adding Hanel to their demands, at least for the period of the war, since both are vital strategic bases against Germany. The suggestion that such terms would destroy Finland's national independence is easily answered. Finland has no national independence at present. She lost it when she admitted German troops to her territory, and she can regain it only by their internment, expulsion or destruction.
