CHEERING SURVEY OF WAR SITUATION

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 165, 15 July 1941, Page 7

CHEERING SURVEY OF WAR SITUATION

CHURCHILL SPEAKS Huge Tonnage Of Bombs Dropped On Germany U.P.A. and British Wlrrtos*. Rec. 1.30 p.m. LONDON, July li. The Prime Minister. Mr. Churchill accompanied by Mrs. Churchill' reviewed London civil defence units at Hyde Park to-day. Addressing the parade, he said they had just come out of one long, hard battle and might at any moment enter another. London's defence services were typical of those of the rest of Britain, which in everv city, town a.id village had acquitted themselves with distinction. 'The defence of London last winter against Hitler's act of terror showed decisively that the assault upon our lives and homes, launched indiscriminately upon men, women and children, military and civil, old and young alike, failed utterly in its purpose of breaking the British spirit," he said. "The defence of London, in which you bore your part, was a counterpart of the defeat of the German air force by our fighters a few weeks earlier in the Battle of Britain.' , Men and women who had never thought to fight had emulated the courage of the bravest soldiers and comported themselves with discipline and confidence under enemy fire. Mr. Churchill continued. That quality was universally spread among the British people, and on that foundation the righteous war for freedom and the future of mankind would be prosecuted to the end. Mr. Churchill said the enormous advance of the United States towards making its contribution to British resistance had been largely influenced by the conduct of the men and women of London and elsewhere in standing up to the enemy bombardment. Although at the moment there was a lull in air raids over Britain, and it was true that some of Hitler's forces were attacking the lives and rights of another vast branch of the human family, the Nazis had large forces close at hand, and the British people must prepare themselves to receive visits in the future. "We shall be ready," he said. "We shall be more ready than ever. We are now bombing him at a heavier rate in the discharge of tons of bombs than he in any monthly period bombed us. but this is only the beginning. We shall continue this process, and upon a growing scale, month after month, until at last we shall beat down this horrible tyranny which has reared itself against our lives and against the honour of every free people in the world." Plans To Meet Worse Raids Mr. Churchill spoke at a luncheon given by the London County Council following the civil defence parade. He devoted the opening of his speech to a tribute to London's response to the German attack. Although there had been a lull in enemy air attacks recently, plans had been made to meet even worse raids in the future. Britain could take it and would return it two-fold I and four-fold month upon month. I year upon year, if necessary, until the Nazi regime was exterminated, i or torn to pieces by the German people. It was time the Germans in their own homeland suffered as Londoners had suffered. I The RAF. had dropped over Germany in recent raids half the tonnage of bombs dropped over Britain since the outbreak of the war. He had p.sked the Ministers concerned to prepare for the autumn and winter, for the same ordeal as last year, only rather worse. "We shall have no truce or parley with Hitler or the grizzly gang who do Hitler's wicked worst" Mr | Churchill declared. "We say to them I 'Do your worst. We will do our , best'." "Italy Will* Hare Its Share , ' Increasingly heavy bombing of Germany and the counter-action by the Nazis were both foreshadowed by Mr. Churchill. He said that if the people of London were asked whether a convention to discontinue! the bombing of cities should be entered into, the overwhelming majority would cry "No." but would say to Hitler: "You have committed every crime under the sun. Where you have been least resisted, there you have been most brutal. It is i you who began indiscriminate bombing. We remember Warsaw within the first few days of the war We , remember Rotterdam. We have been 1 newly reminded of your habits by j the hideous massacres at Belgrade ! We know too well the bestial assault I j you are making on the Russian i people, to whom our hearts go out in their valiant struggle." ' ■ Mr. Churchill said that for a month past a systematic, scientific and large-scale bombing of the German cities, seaports, industrial and other military objectives had been carried on. and he believed it would be in British power to keep the process going on a steadily rising tide, month after month. Each month the tonnage of bombs and the range of the bombers was growing, and as the nights lengthened that unhappy and abiect subject province of Germany, wiiicn u<ed to be called Italy, would have its fair, j share tou. i