HITLER COVETS STRATEGIC ISLES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 173, 24 July 1941, Page 6

HITLER COVETS STRATEGIC ISLES

LONDON, June IS. "/"•RETE," Goering told the Luftwaffe, "has shown that no island is unconquerable."

While future events win show that the Rrichsniarshal went further beyond himself in .saying no island, there is every reason why the bracing of our effort following Crete should extend to a special watch on islands in general and on our own home islands in particular, warns Ferdinand Tuohy in the "Daily Mail."

Hitler wants islands as steppingstones by means of which he can circumvent his absence of sea power. He wants islands because they can be swiftly turned into air fortresses founded on a few strongly protected airfields.

In fact. Hitler likes islands; they have helped him in the past, and lie assuredly counts on them for the future now that the advent ol" airborne invasion as a process of its own has given them a new importance. The. First Moves Hitler opened his assault on the west by secreting troopships among Norwegian isles stretching from Stavanger to the Lofotens. Next, just a year ago. he collared the Channel Islands, which were mainly of propaganda value—the first' part of Britain bitten off already! (But it has remained the only part.)

For the ba lance of 19-10 Hitler appeared to limit his interest in islands to fortifying the Channel group; to fashioning a greater Frisian Islands barrier from the Dutch Helder througli Heligoland to Danish Esbjerg; and to organising the principal French Atlantic islands of Ushant, Belle-Isle and Oleron.

But no sooner was 1941 signalled than he showed himself as already installed on the biggest Mediterranean island, Sicily. This move was forcibly to affect later events in the Eastern Mediterranean, since it enabled the Axis to smuggle Panzer forces to Africa through Tunisian waters.

Now, too, Malta had to withstand the full impact of German air attack. On the other hand, the Dodecanese did not fall into our hands as the confidently expected ripe plum. The retention of this group provided Fascism with one of its few achievements.

Hitler's appetite for islands became clear for all to see when, within little more than a week of attacking Yugoslavia and Greece, he hopped over to Samothrace and Lemnos at the mouth of the Dardanelles, after which he proceeded to gorge himself on a fresh Grecian isle almost every morn. Until Crete.

Crete lasted twelve days, and a new chapter in (he history of islands was written. To-day Hitler is able to swing his advanced Mediterranean

base from Sicily to Crete. And, meanwhile, we are expecting Cyprus to be attacked from another island, Rhodes, or maybe Rhodes will yet be used for a move upon Upper Syria.

A little later Hitler was found to be making passes at the biggest island in the world, Greenland. Then he dispatched to Martinique, with Darlan's approval, a boatload of "German refugees."

And he was strongly suspected of harbouring immediate projects in respect to Oceanic isles. At any rate. President Roosevelt came out with a vigorous "Keep Off These!" in relation to the Cape Verde Islands and the Azores.

The United-States is very much concerned with islands, too. Our leasing of bases mainly involved islands (Trinidad. Barbados, Bermuda), while the United States Navy is now patrolling Martinique and Guadaloupe, where there are still Vichy warships, air personnel and gold. Channel Threat At the other end of the world America pours material into the island of Singapore and strengthens her island bases at Manila, Guam, Wake, and Pearl Harbour. Japanese Formosa and the Carolines lead the opposing groups.

But from far prospects let us return—to our own little Isle of Wight. With no wish to disturb residents. I would point out that "the Garden of England" lies almost a like distance from Cotentin (Normandy) airfields as did Crete from those of Southern Morea.

I merely ask—Has a new checkover been made against a possible German attempt at crash landing in bulk, followed by swift digging-in, on this island that closes in Portsmouth and Southampton Water? The flat Scillies are only 25 miles from Cornwall, but their value to the enemy is not so obvious. Lundy is presumably too small, though admirably located in the Bristol Channel.

Then there is Eire. Can one treat Eire as an island for purposes here under review?

Emphatically "Yes." and the danger in respect of Eire is that airborne Germans might succeed in garrisoning airfield fortresses for many crucial weeks, during which they would be much closer to the Atlantic battle.

The Nazis could even get up to such tricks as landing at first only on the bleak, but importantly placed. Aran Islands—and would Mr. de Valera call in British aid on that account?

Anglesey is an isle only in name but are we absolutely certain about the Isle of Man? Here's a wellplaced island from Hitler's point of view.

Next, the Scottish isles reaching from the Clyde to the Outer Hebrides. Everyone knows the Home Fleet are apt to find these latitudes useful, and they are mostly under 400 miles from Norwegian airfields. Is any one of these islands capable of being converted by a lightning process into the new-style air fortress? Of course, the physical lay-out decides in each case. And so on to the Orkneys, the Shetlands, and the Faroes. The Shetlands are only 200 miles from Bergen. And, by the way. I never heard an explanation of their early bombing back in 1939 ("First bombs on Britain—rabbit killed"). Was that just long-distance practice by the Nazis or preparation for a move afterwards postponed but capable of being revived? We've been on Iceland 14 months, and indubitably our cutting-in ahead of Hitler last spring gave him a transient headache. Iceland grows in importance as America moves relentlessly "in."

One hesitates to say what can or cannot be exclusively carried by air, yet it looks as if seaborne convoys would have to back up any descent on Iceland, situated as it is'SOO miles from the nearest Luftwaffe bases. And the Canaries Besides those Atlantic islands on which Roosevelt is keeping a stern eye, do not forget the Spanish Canaries. They could be of much greater use now to Hitler than the Balearics, whose value was largely anti-French. A Nazi-Franco arrangement might well include the taking over by Hitler of'bases already existing on the Canaries.

Another island to watch is Fernanfm Po, commanding the approach to British Nigeria and the Free French Cameroons. where lies 1914 Germany's port of Duala. Bej'ond these I shall only mention French Madagascar as worth closer inspection, lest this article should slip into becoming a geographical survey.

It will be more profitable to conclude with a domestic suggestion: That the War Cabinet call at once for a three-Services report on the lessons of Crete as applied to the islands round our coasts.