Speed-up

Last week news from Europe took on its greatest change. Correspondents who step by step and hour by hour had reported the inevitably developing crisis, now found their stories crazily whirling and blurring. If the last weeks of peace had the solemnity of tragedy, the first days of World War II were like one of those old-fashioned movies in which people jerked their arms, exaggerated motions, and in which automobile wheels turned backwards while automobiles raced ahead.

In ten days the War had almost everything that in older and slower wars was more painfully and with more suffering acquired. It had a victory--the march of the German Army to the gates of Warsaw (see p. 18). It had a daring raid--the attack of British airmen on Germany's naval base (see p. 20). It had a cautious advance as French troops fought on German soil for the first time in 70 years (see p. 16). It had its casualties, refugees, wrecks, ruins. It had its propaganda ministries (see p. 25) and it had its first peace offer when Field Marshal Goring spoke to German munition workers (see col. 3).

Audience. What gave World War II its hectic, high-speed air? Unlike any war in history, its outcome, scope, character, depended less on the antagonists than on those who watched the fighting. Not maneuvers on the plains of Poland, but Moscow's opinions about them, about the German army, about German plans, were historically decisive; not the sinking of British freighters, but Mussolini's opinion as to the strength of the British fleet, forecast the future of war. Only 206,000,000 of Europe's 462,000,000 were officially at war last week.* But never had contestants played to a bigger gallery; never had gallery opinion meant so much.

Russia. Biggest neutral, Russia, already indicating her preference by the German-Russian pact, headlined the news of German victories. Field Marshal Goring boasted vaguely of Russia's raw materials. As German troops reached Warsaw, the streets of Moscow suddenly became full of uniforms. Scores of high naval officers were summoned to the Defense Commissariat. Conscription decrees called nearly 1,000,000 men into service. Russia had 3,000,000 under arms.

Nobody knew whether Russia was going to grab a piece of Poland, once she cracked, or join up with Germany against the Allies--or neither.

Italy. Most strategic neutral, Italy was profoundly impressed by Germany's advance ; as the Army reached Warsaw, jeers at Britain filled the Italian press. Although Germany announced that after the Polish victory the Fuehrer would return to Berchtesgaden to have a chat with Italian Ambassador Bernardo Attolico, although the German radio ridiculed attempts to "lure away the Italians from their Teutonic allies," Mussolini lay low.

Old-Fashioned. Only Poland made no gestures toward the great gallery, broadcast no appeals for sympathy. Twenty-one days after the German-Russian pact, eleven days after the German invasion began, nine days after Britain's declaration of war, four days after Germany announced the capture of Warsaw, three days after Goring heralded victory and for propaganda purposes offered peace, the Polish gate between totalitarian Germany and totalitarian Russia was still defended. To convince the world it had fallen, Germans raced breathlessly in a week through the cycle--war for the sake of effect, victory for Germans at home, peace for the sake of propaganda. But even before the cycle was complete, as Britain and France remained unimpressed, the great weakness of the Polish-German lightning war became apparent to the world. If it were followed by peace, it could only be a lightning peace.

*China and Japan brought the total world population at war to 1,210,000,000 out of almost 2,000,000,000.

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