The Press TUESDAY APRIL 8, 1941. British Forces in Greece

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23299, 8 April 1941, Page 6

The Press TUESDAY APRIL 8, 1941. British Forces in Greece

The British Government has now disclosed, what most people had already guessed from hints which have appeared from time to time in the cable news, that a substantial force of British, Australian, and New Zealand troops is in Greece. The pride which New Zealanders will feel at the knowledge that their overseas forces, now integrated into a complete division, are about to take part in one of the great battles of history will be tempered by a sober realisation of the difficulties of the situation — difficulties which British official statements do not seek to minimise. So far, this has been a war of movement, and, other things being equal, the advantage has been to the side with the greatest freedom of manoeuvre. In preparing its attack on Jugoslavia and Greece, the German high command has had the greater part of the Balkan peninsula—Hungary, Rumania, and Bulgaria—in which to deploy its forces and establish supply bases and aerodromes. By contrast, the British forces have been sent to a small country whose inadequate transport sysr tern is already overburdened by the war iri Albania. Moreover, the main weight of the German attack is likely to be directed against the narrow strip of Macedonia, barely 50 miles wide, which lies between the Bulgarian frontier and the sea. A German break-through which cut off Greece from Turkey might make Salonika another Dunkirk. Lines of communication are another factor apparently favourable to the invaders. Henceforth, the. British Mediterranean fleets will be required to safeguard regular shipments of supplies across the Eastern Mediterranean against the activities of Italy’s substantial submarine fleet and German bombers. The strain on British naval strength and merchant shipping resources will be heavy. Finally, whereas the attack on Jugoslavia and Greece has been planned at leisure and is under one central control, the defence is being carried out by three separate armies. If there, have been any staff discussions' between the British and Jugoslav commands, they must have been crowded into the last three or four days. Nevertheless, the decision to send British forces to Greece was reached unanimously by Sir John Dill, General, Wavell, and Mr Anthony Eden and approved unanimously by the British War Cabinet after consultation with the Dominions. It was, moreover, taken well in advance of events. As far as can be gathered, the movement of troops into Greece began immediately after the movement of German troops into Bulgaria. There has been no desperate scramble to assemble, equip and transport an expeditionary force, as was the case with Norway. The public can feel confident that the manifest risks of the move have been coolly and realistically weighed. They will also know, from recent events in north and east Africa, that British generalship, which' in the earlier part of the war was not at all impressive, has how reached a high.pitch of efficiency and has thoroughly mastered the new technique of warfare. On other than military grounds, of course,' the case for intervention in the Balkans was overwhelming. It would have been a tragedy if the heroism of the Greeks and Jugoslavs had evoked nothing more than admiration and sympathy from Great Britain; and the swift defeat of these two peoples would have done much to consolidate Hitler’s ** new. European order.” As ft is, every day of successful resistance will in? crease the unrest among Europe’s subject peoples." Nor should it be assumed that the British effort in Greece ydll be confined to defence. From Jugoslav and Greek aerodromes British bombers will be able to strike at Italy’s Adriatic ports, at Germany’s southern industriarregions. and pqssifaly also at the vulnerable oilfields now under German control. ; , . ■ ■