CHURCHILL REVIEWS BRITISH WAR POLICY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 107, 8 May 1941, Page 8

CHURCHILL REVIEWS BRITISH WAR POLICY

CRITICS ANSWERED

Turkey's Position As A Neutral State

I'.ritisli Offli-i.il Wir-N-s--. Flee. 3 p.m. RL'GBV. May 7. Replying in the House of Commons to the debate on the war situation. Mr. Churchill said it had been marked by a high sense of responsibility in all who had taken part. Referring to Mr. Lloyd George's criticisms, he agreed that in Mr. Eden's speech much could have been said about Spain and about Russia, but he was not sure that there would have been any advantage by saying it. nor. would the House have profited by debating at lerigfh about the sad and squalid tale of what was going on at Vichy. In regard to Turkey he reminded Mr. Lloyd George no right, under the Straits GoiSention, to prevent ships passing Jlhrough the Dardanelles while at peace. To do so would amount to a decision to quit neutrality. Mr. Lloyd George had criticised the procedure of the vote of confidence, but after the reverses and disappointments in the field the British Government had a right to know where it stood with the Commons, and where the House stood with the country. Still more was this knowledge important for the fate of foreign nations, especially those which were balancing their foreign policy at the present time. It was very natural that the House should not be entirely satisfied with the recent turn of things in the Middle East, and that some members should be acutely disappointed. We had not been able to defend Greece successfully against the Italian and German armies, or we should have been able to keep or extend our conquests in Libya.

"For myself," said Mr. Churchill, "I have watched the fate of Greece after her valiant repulse of the Italian invader with agony. The only relief I feel is that everything in human power was done by us and that our honour as a nation is clear. If anything could add a pang to these emotions it would be the knowledge we had of the impending outrage with so little - power to avert from this heroic and famous people a fate so hideous and so undeserved.

"So far as the German invasion of Bulgaria is concerned, we had long and ample warning. It is three months since I stated in a broadcast that the Bulgarian airfields were being occupied. Every week one watched the remorseless movement of the vast German forces through Hungary, and through Rumania into Bulgaria, and towards Croatia and towards Yugoslavia, until at last no fewer than 40 German divisions, five of them armoured, were massed. Hitler told us it was a crime on our part in such circumstances to go to the aid of Greece.

"I do to enter into an argument with experts. That is not the kind of crime of which he is a good judge."

Do the Same Again " "Looking back, I can only feel, as the Prime Minister of New Zealand has so nobly declared, that if we had to tread that stony field, even with the knowledge we possess to-day. I, for one, would do the same thing again, and that is the view of all my colleagues in the War Cabinet, and on the Defence Committee and, I believe, that view is generally agreed upon by this House. "But military operations must be judged by the success which attends them rather than by the sentiment which inspires them. It remains to be seen whether the Italian invader, invading Greece, or the German invader, coming to the rescue and engaging Yugoslavia in a bloody strife, gained an advantage or suffered a loss, \Vhen the full story of the war is told. "From a strictly military viewpoint the addition of the Balkan peoples to the number of ancient, independent States and sovereignties under the Nazi yoke that must be held down by force and intrigue, may by no means prove a source of strength to the German Army, while in the political aspect nothing can more surely debar the Germans from shaping a new Europe—and one will certainly emerge—than the fact that the German name and the German race are becoming more universally and more intensely hated amongst all peoples in all lands than any race of which history bears record. "I derive confidence that the willpower of the British nation, expressing itself through a steadfast House, will once again perform its liberating functions and humbly exercise and execute a high purpose among men. "I say this with the more confi-' dence because we are no longer a small island lost in the northern mists, but around us are gathered in | proud array all the nations of the British Empire, and now across the Atlantic the United States proclaims j herself by our side, or at any rate near our side."

Great Tank Production Mr. Churchill, referring to Mr. Hore-Belisha's criticism of the Government on the admitted shortage of heavy tanks, said: "We are now making every month as many heavy tanks as there existed in the British Army when Mr. Hore-Belisha left the War Office, and before the end of this year we will be producing nearly double that number, without taking account of the immense production of the United States." Replying to Mr. Lloyd George's criticisms on the composition of the War Cabinet, he said there was in fact a, War Cabinet of eight, of

whom five had no regular Depart- J ments and three represented the main general organisms of the State —Foreign Affairs. Finance and Labour. It gave its broad sanctions to the main policy and conduct of the war. Under their authority the Chiefs of Staff of the three Services sat daily together, and he as Prime, Minister and Minister of Defence presided, .summoning when necessary the three Service Ministers. All j the larger issues of military policy , were brought before the Defence j Committee. which for several . months past had consisted of the, three Chiefs of Staff, the three Ser-; vice Ministers and four members of : the Cabinet —the Prime Minister, the ' Lord Privy Seal, the Foreign Secre-: tary and Lord Beaverbrook. '•That is the body and that is the machine which works easily and flexibly at the present time, and I do not propose to make any changes in it until further advised," Mr. Churchill continued. "In this whole business of Libya and Greece I can assure the House that no violence has been done to expert military opinion. All decisions have been taken unitedly, freely, voluntarily and with goodwill under the hard pressure of events."' Mr. Churchill said he noted a tendency in some quarters, especially i abroad, to talk about the Middle East } as if we could afford to lose our position there, and yet carry on the J war to victory on the oceans and air. But no one must under-rate the gravity of the issue being fought in the Nile Valley. i "The loss of the Nile Valley and I the Suez Canal, the loss of our position in the Mediterranean and of Malta would be among the heaviest blows we could sustain. We are J determined to fight for them with all the resources of the British Empire. and we have every reason to believe we shall be successful."

'•There it stands at bay. The Germans, as we know from the examination of prisoners, had no expectation of proceeding beyond Agadabia. They meant to engage our armoured troops so as to prevent the dispatch of reinforcements to Greece, while bringing up larger forces, but when they won their surprising success they exploited it with that organised audacity which ranks so high in the military art, and pressed on against Tobruk, where they met a hard"" and heavy prop. They came into contact also with the large force guarding Egypt. There for the moment they stopped.

Difficulties of Desert War "As long as the Germans have superiority in armoured vehicles, they will have an advantage in desert warfare, even if. as at present, the air forces are about equal. But this warfare must be conducted only by small forces. Thirty or forty thousand is the most that can be fed and supplied in the desert and it is very doubtful whether even this number can be maintained. For the invasion of Egypt in great force, such as Italy contemplated, enormous preparation would have to be made. Incidentally, the deserts of Egypt are the worst in the world for armoured vehicles. Here the enemy is confronted with a far harder problem than anything he has so far solved in Africa." Turning to Iraq. Mr. Churchill said so long ago as last .May the Foreign Office began to ask for troops to guard the lines of communication. We had not got the troops, and it was difficult to make headway against the pro-Axis intrigues of Rashid Ali, who had staged a military revolt against the lawful Regent and the lawful Government. Obviously his object was to have all ready for the Germans. However, in this case the British Government forestalled him, and three weeks ago strong British forces, which were being continually reinforced from India, were landed at Basra, and they had assumed control.