GREEKS MAY PROVE NEMESIS IN HITLER'S ADVANCE--LANGER

England, in a much stronger position than it was six months ago, may turn Adolf Hitler's latest coup in the Balkans into another African campaign, William L. Langer '15, Coolidge Professor of History, and expert in Balkan affairs said yesterday.

"The Greek seaport of Thessalonice, or Saloniki, holds the key to the tricky Balkan situation," he said, explaining that this city, located in the strip of Greece that borders on Bulgaria, can be used as a base for operations against the Germans as they sweep down towards Greece.

"If the British have a large enough force at this vital spot, they can out Hitler off on his march into Greece, and may give him as great a surprise as they gave Mussolini in Africa," he continued. "On the other hand, if the British have failed to concentrate men and mechanical equipment there, the result may be disastrous."

Balkans Will Not Fight Alone

"We cannot tell if the Turks or the Greeks will be the recipient of the attack. It is all a guessing game because we get so little news aside from the official communiques. If the Greeks are attacked and are inadequately supported by the British, there is little question that they will be wiped out, and the Germans will be in a position to threaten the English in the Near East. I don't believe that either Balkan state will stand up against Hitler unless the British are really powerful in Saloniki or in front of Constantinople. They will certainly not fight alone."

Langer then continued to say that Russia will not help the English by resisting the German penetration in the Balkans. If Hitler felt that there was any chance that Stalin would open up on him, he would never have undertaken the Balkan venture. "Russia is probably not strong enough to worry the Nazis, anyway," he concluded.

Disagreeing with many other people, Professor Langer remarked that "the Nazis may not have to invade the British Isles. They can starve England out, however, by torpedoing and dive-bombing all their merchant ships. I'm afraid that the British are in for it from this quarter this spring."