MIDDLE EAST

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 172, 23 July 1941, Page 6

MIDDLE EAST

BRITISH CAMPAIGN RESULTS JUSTIFIED EFFECT ON NAZI STRATEGY (By R.N.> Much adverse criticism of the war in the Middle East has been levelled against the authorities, especially in regard to the Libyan. Grecian and Cretan campaigns. Is this criticism justified? First, take the Libyan campaign: General Waved embarked on this adventure, with, admittedly, comparatively small forces and equipment, but having met the enemy and found them lamentably weak as a fighting force, though strong in numbers, was he not justified in continuing the advance, more especially as he was probablv given to understand bv the Royal Navy that the enemy could not obtain reinforcements by s?a in large numbers? It was not known at the time that the Germans and Italians were using French territory and territorial waters in North Africa for pushing in supplies and reinforcements. By the time these reinforcements, which were mainly German, had materialised we bad practically annihilated the Italian Libyan Army and were able to withdraw in face of superior German forces with comparatively little loss, and not before destroying aerodromes, planes, oil reserves. tanks, guns, ammunition, motor transport vehicles and other equipment. The Tobruk area was not evacuated but continued to be held by a strong force, thus endangering any advance on Egypt and the Suez Canal. Did not this result justify I the campaign? " j

Through Greece to Syria In regard to the Grecian and Cretan expeditions, it seems fairlv obvious now that Hitler's intentions were to march through Greece to Syria, thence to the oilfields in Iraq and thence to the oilfields in Iran and on to the East. The revolt in Iraq was to be timed to coincide with the arrival of »he German Army in that country. The holding up of the German forces in Greece undoubtedly prevented their plan materialising on schedule, but it did not give us quite the amount of time we required to suppress the revolt in Iraq and to commence the occupation of Syria Hence, when the evacuation of Greece became imperative, it was of vital importance that we should hold the enemy up for as long as possible by the occupation of Crete in order to enable us to pour reinforcements and equipment into Iraq and Svria and this the gallant resistance of the forces in Crete enabled us to do Again Hitler was forced to alter his plans. I Hitler, finding his way through •Syria and Iraq barred, embarked on the war against Russia in order to endeavour to obtain control of the Russian oilfields, of which he must be in desperate need and possession of which would enable him to menace the oil wells in Iraq and Iran Against this theory it can be argued that it would have been easier for the Germans to have advanced through Turkey. leaving the Russians seriously alone, but this would have left their flank open to attack at any time by Russia, who surely would not have welcomed the Germans as neighbours so close to their main supplies of srrain minerals and oils. What Of Russia? ~ As *&fL, res H lt of our operations in the Middle East, so far the Italian Army in North Africa has been destroyed, more than half the Italian Navy has been sunk. Abvssihia has been liberated. Italian Somaliland and East Africa taken. Syria. Iraq and Tobruk have been occupied, and the German advance to Egvpt the Suez Canal and the East barfed.' It now remains to be seen whether the Russians can defeat the Germans, or whether the position will develop into one of stalemate, or in Russia s collapse. In anv case, Hitler appears to be in a tight corner though not at the present time with the enormous resources at his disposal, a desperate one and it will be interesting to see what his next move will be. His final one inevitably must be an attempted invasion of the British Isles