INDIANS IN THE WAR

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23301, 10 April 1941, Page 7

INDIANS IN THE WAR

ACHIEVEMENTS IN AFRICA BROADCAST ACCOUNT BY MR AMERY (Received April 9, 9 p.m.) (8.0. W.) RUGBY, April 8. In a broadcast account of the achievements already to the credit of Indian forces, the Secretary of State for India (Mr L. S. Amery) recalled his prediction four months ago that Indian fighters would win no less distinction in the present war than in the last. “Within three days,” said Mr Amery, "my prediction was fulfilled when Indian troops, side by side with British and Australian troops, delivered at Sidi Barrani the first of General.Wavell’s hammer blows which smashed like an eggshell ail Marshall Graziani’s elaborate preparations for an invasion of Egypt. Then, in one of those swift, secret switches which we are now beginning' to associate with General Wavell’s strategy, they vanished from the Libyan scene to reappear a few days later in the Sudan, a distance greater even than that from Boulogne to Bulgaria. "Here at Kassala and Gallabat a second contemplated Italian invasion had been held up for months by the skill and daring of another small Indian force. That invasion, too, now went the way of so many' of Mussolini's day dreams. "With irresistible dash, the reinforced British and Indian army of the Sudan broke into Eritrea. In a swift advance it reached the foot of the steep escarpment which separates the lowlying western half of Italy’s oldest colony from the central upland plateau. At Keren, dominating the one gorge through which the road leads to the summit, the Italians had massed more than 30,000 of their best troops. "To capture at the first onset a position so strong by nature and so strongly manned was an impossible task. Yet it all but succeeded in a week, an heroic effort during which almost unscalable banks were seized, lost, and regained. “After a month of preparation, another week of the hardest sheer fighting this war has yet seen broke the stout-hearted resistance of Italy’s finest fighting men. With a rush w T e swept over the crest across the plateau.. “Asmara fell without a fight, and at this moment our troops are .already closing in on Massawa as well as hastening south to link up with the victorious South Africans who forestalled them in Addis Ababa. "Some day the full story of the double battle of Keren will be told. It will, I believe, live in the annals of war and in the prouder recollection of all the troops. British, Indian, and Free French, who took part in it." Heroism of Troops The Minister recalled instances of heroism, collective ahd individual, in this fighting over precipitous, broken country in which the Indian troops always excelled. A Punjabi regiment, with a British battalion, stormed, lost, and recaptured Gogni Ridge, held by three Italian battalions. Mr Amery cited the example of one Indian officer commanding a platoon who was wounded in an arm but continued to lead his men until he was hit in a leg. Then, leaning against a tree, he hurled hand grenades at the enemy until he was again wounded. He told how an Indian non-commis-sioned officer, climbing a steep hill for 150 feet under a rain of hand grenades, stalked a machine-gun post with his bayonet before being killed* by a bomb. Another non-commissioned-officer, he added, led his men through heavy artillery fire until he was badly wounded in both legs. Then, lying on a stretcher, he continued to cheer his men until he died. “These difficult physical conditions were not overcome only by the front-line troops. They led to extraordinary feats of endurance and courage by the engineers and the supply and ordnance services. “A young Indian sapper officer was engaged for 36 hours without a break in the destruction of hundreds of land mines. After he {lad worked 24 hours without rest, .he was told to cease for a time, but he replied that he could do the work better than the others and must carry on.” Indians in Malaya After paying tribute to the stretcherbearers and the front-line medical service generally, Mr Amery dealt with the other theatre in which the Indians are playing a part—standing; guard with the British and Australians in Malaya, supplementing Burma’s preparations and, as always, keeping watch and ward on the mountain gateways of the north-west frontier. Of the achievements of the Royal Indian Navy in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Persian Gulf, Mr Amery said: “Over and above the arduous and continuous work of convoying and patrolling, Indian ships have landed troops and supplies on the Eritrean coast arid in particular they landed the first troops that recaptured Berbera. A word or two might be said about the fine spirit of our 40,000 Indian merchant seamen, many of whom have been bombed or shelled or have lost their lives on the high sea.” The Minister dwelt on the enthusiasm of the Indians volunteering for all services, including the Air Force, for which cadets were being trained as rapidly as machines could be secured. He also said that India’s interest was not confined to the raising of equipment for her own forces, and emphasised the value of . the financial effort made by the ruling princes and the poorest peasants alike. ■ In conclusion, he drew attention to the fact that the present political agitation was “aimed at. worrying the Government into a solution in favour of a particular party.” It (lid not affect India’s actual war effort. --It was that effort, whether on the field-, of battle or in the factory which, far more than mere political discussion, was steadily justifying India’s claim to . that equal place with the people of Britain in a free partnership Jn the British family of nations which was the declared goal of British policy and the natural' outcome of India's growth in self-government - and self-reliance.”

By-Election in Britain, —Mr P. W. Jewson Was'returned unopposed as National Liberal member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Sir Arthur, Harbord.—London, April 8.