NEWS OF THE WEEK
FEARS (though the effect from the Allied point of view would not necessarily be adverse) of the extension of the war to Belgium and Holland or to Norway and Sweden have had a solid basis. In the case of Holland and Belgium the motive for a German attack—the outflanking of the Maginot Line and the acquisition of aerodromes and sub- marine-bases from which to wage a new and more intense air and sea war on Britain—were plain, and the evidence of preparations for attack unmistakable. Whether actual attack was ever, or is still, intended remains doubtful. Papers captured from German aviators who were forced down in Belgium conspired with other evidence to lead both countries to put themselves in a state of immediate defence.. Berlin thereupon characterised the alarm as a fit of nerves, and ascribed it to Allied instigation. The attack may still come, though the demonstration that Belgium and Holland would stand inseparably together, and the certainty that they would receive immediate support from the Allies, may have resulted in a change in the German plans. It may be that the threat of attack was simply part of Herr Hitler's regular technique of causing uncertainty and anxiety wherever possible, or that the Low Countries' state of pre- paration was being tested with a view to an actual attack if any sign of weakness was revealed. And there is, of course, always the hope that repeated alarms may cause the Dutch and Belgians to relax preparations which involve them in an expenditure that lays heavy burdens on them.
