natives, while still others must stand guard near the frontier of
 Spanish Morocco. While that flank is relatively safe at present,
 a potential threat exists because of Spanish relations with the Axis.
 
              In view of the above, Weygand has lost, in large measure,
 the freedom of action which he enjoyed prior to the arrival of the
 Germans in Africa. Formerly, he could join de Gaulle or the British 
without being exposed to immediate effective attack. This is no longer
 the case.
 
              The Germans exert this restraining influence by their mere
 presence near the frontier of Tunisia; they do not even have to move
 in Weygand's direction. Their arrival in Tripolitania also places them 
in a favorable position to dictate the division of the spoils in North Africa 
and facilitates the organization of Fifth Column activities among the
 natives. The advantages France gained by the stroke of sending Weygand
 to North Africa have largely been dissipated.
 
     To sum up, arrival of German forces in Tripolitania, in addition to
 helping  the Italians morally and materially and constituting a long-range
 threat to Suez, has the following effects:
 
     (1) The chances of Weygand joining the Britisti or of any establishment
 of an anti-German front in French North Africa are greatly diminished.
 
     (2) France is forced one step closer to the Axis.
 
     (3) Chances of eventual German occupation of Casablanca and
 Dakar are somewhat increased.
 
 
                         /s/SHERMAN MILES,
                         Brigadier General, U. S. Army,
                         Acting Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2.