SERIOUS BATTLES IN ENSUING MONTHS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 36, 12 February 1943, Page 3

SERIOUS BATTLES IN ENSUING MONTHS

CHURCHILL REVIEW

Allies Have Complete Plan Of Action

British Official Wireless Rec. noon. RUGBY, Feb. 11. "The Allied plan of action decided upon at Casablanca is to be carried out during the next nine months." This was one of the most impressive points in Mr. Churchill's war review in the House of Commons. "We have to make the enemy burn and bleed in every way physically possible as he is being made to burn and bleed along the vast Russian front, but it is not as simple as it sounds," Mr. Churchill declared. "Britain and America formerly were peaceful countries ill-armed and unprepared. They are now warrior nations, walking in the fear of the Lord, heavily armed, with an increasingly clear view of their salvation." Speaking of,the Allies' inflexible insistence on unconditional surrender of the enemy, Mr. Churchill said: "That does not mean that we should stain our victorious arms by wrong and cruel treatment of whole populations, but justice must be done to the wicked and guilty. "No vestige of the Nazi-Fascist power or the Japanese war-plotting machine will be left when the work is done, as it will be," he declared. "We have now a complete plan of action, which comprises the appointment of forces as well as their direction and the weight of different particular movements has been decided.

| "I regretted that M. Stalin or some i of his distinguished generals could ! not be with us. M. Stalin is supreme ! director of the whole vast Russian I offensive, which was then already in j full swing, and is still rolling re- , morselessly and triumphantly forI ward. First Break Nazi Power "British and American strategists ! and leaders are unanimously adhering to the decision of a year ago, namely that the breaking of German power must have priority in the decisive phase of the war. For the time being in the war against Japan the British effort is confined to the Indian theatre. Marshal Chiang Kai-shek has concurred with our plans for future action in the Far East." Speaking of his visit to Turkey, Mr. Churchill warned against reading into the communique anything that was not there. "It is no part of our policy," he said, "to get Turkey into trouble. 'A disaster to Turkey would be a disaster to Britain and all the United Nations. We are now in a position to supply Turkey with new weapons. At our conference I made no requests of Turkey, except to get the rearmament business thoroughly well organised, and a joint military mission is now sitting at Ankara." "There is no need to exaggerate the. danger from U-boats, or to worry our merchant seamen by unduly harping on it. Progress is being made in the fight against the U-boats. We are more than holding our own. "I think it desirable to leave the enemy guessing at the real figures, but I may say that in the last six months British, American and Canadian construction exceeded all the losses of the United Nations by over 1 250,000 tons. Nevertheless, our losses are very heavy and are prolonging the war. However, we have had hardly any losses from troop convoys. Of 3,000,000 men transported only 1348 have been lost. - "The rate of destruction of U-boats has steadily improved. From January to October, 1942, U-boat sinkings were the highest in the period of the war and from November to the present date the sinkings- rate has improved more than half as muchagain."

Enemy Strength in Tunisia^. Mr Churchill said that the landing in North Africa had been accomplished with fewer losses far shipping than the additions which had fallen into our hands. "Nearly 500 000 men were landed successfully. Very serious battles will have to be fought, including those against Rommel's army. There must be nearly 250,000 enemy troops in Tunisia yet. "We possess very powerful and growing forces, with great masses of munitions coming along. The problem is to bring these forces into afction. America has vast oceans to cross in order to close with the enemy. We also have seas or oceans to cross in the first instance and, then, for both, there is the daring and complicated, enterprise of landing on defended coasts and also building up the supplies and communications necessary for vigorous compaigning when the landing has been made. Because of this, U-boat warfare takes first place in our thoughts." "I accept, in the fullest degree, responsibility for -the plans devised," Mr. Churchill concluded. "We await the unfolding of events with sober confidence, and I am sure that Parliament and the British nation will display in these hopeful days which may, nevertheless, be clouded over, the same qualities of steadfastness as when the life of Britain and the Empire hung by a thread."