MR CHURCHILL'S WAR REVIEW

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23315, 29 April 1941, Page 9

MR CHURCHILL'S WAR REVIEW

Axis Defeat Held Certain VALUE OF AID FROM UNITED STATES (British Official Wireless and United Press Association.) (Received April 28, 7 p.m.) LONDON, April 27. The power of the democracies to beat the Nazis was the keynote of a speech broadcast to the world tonight by the Prime Minister (Mr Winston Churchill), who contrasted the military and productive might of the British Empire and the United States with that of Germany. Mr Churchill disclosed that two Imperial divisions —30,000 men—smashed Italy’s armies in Libya, and said that Australian and New Zealand troops formed half the force in Greece. They had been sent because they were the most suitable. To those liable to be discouraged, he pointed out that the position to-day was in no way comparable with the situation last year, when the battle of Britain resulted in a severe reverse for the Germans. Events in the east, he added, were in no way comparable with those in the west, where a grim struggle was being waged in the battle of the Atlantic. “Hitler cannot find safety from avenging justice in the east, the Middle East or the Far East,” he said. “To win this war he must either conquer this island by invasion or he must cut the ocean lifeline which joins us to the United States.” Every week Britain was strengthening her defences against invasion, and in the battle of the Atlantic every possible measure was being taken against Germany’s attack. Mr Churchill voiced the encouragement felt in the British Empire at the decision of the United States to send her navy far out into the waters of the Western Hemisphere on patrol to safeguard vital supplies for Britain, and he said that Britain would now concentrate her protecting forces more on the routes near home.

"I was asked last week whether I was aware of some uneasiness which, it was said, existed in the country because of the gravity, as it was described. of the war situation, so I thought it would be a good thing to go to see for myself what this uneasiness amounted to," said Mr Churchill. “I went to some of our great cities and seaports which have been most heavily bombed and to some places where the poorest people have got it worst. I have come back not only reassured but refreshed. ‘To leave the offices off Whitehall, with their ceaseless hum of activity and stress and go to the fronts, by L which I mean the streets and wharves I 'of London, Liverpool, Manchester, Car- ' difl, Swansea, or Bristol, is like going out of a hothouse on to the bridge of a fighting ship. It is a tonic which I should recommend to any who are suffering from fretfulness to take in strong doses when they need it. “It is quite true that I have seen many painful scenes of havoc, and fine buildings and acres of cottages and homes blasted into rubble and heaps of ruins, but it is just In those very places where the malice of our savage enemy has done its worst and , where'the ordeal of men, women, and children has been most severe that I found their morale most high and splendid. “Indeed, I feel encompassed by an exultation of spirit in ■ the people which seems to lift mankind and its troubles above the level of material facts. Indeed, that joyous serenity, we think, belongs to a better world than this. “Will Not Fall These People”

"Of their kindness to me' I cannot speak, because I have never sought it or dreamt of it and can never deserve it. • 1 can only assure you that I and my colleagues, or comrades rather, for that is what they are, will toil with every scrap of fibre and strength according to the limits that are, granted to us. We will not fall these people or be wholly unworthy of their faithful, generous regard. . "The British nation is stirred and moved as it has never been at any time in its long, eventful, famous history, and it is no hackneyed figure of speech to say they mean to conquer or die. They will triumph over fire and bomb, and it will be the triumph of the decent way of living we are trying to work for. . “It is a proof of our free institutions and a test of local authorities, societies, and customs which have been so steadily built. This ordeal by fire is even exhilarating the manhood and womanhood of Britain. . "The terrible experiences of the battlefield are now shared for good or ill by the entire population. Old men, little children, cripples, veterans of other wars, and aged women, the hardpressed citizen (or subject of the King as he likes to call himself), the factory workers, the skilled craftsmen, and all the volunteers of the A.R.P. services, as well as ourselves, have proved that We can stand or fall in the line together with the fighting men when one of the greatest causes is being fought out to the end. “Grand And Heroic Period”

"This, indeed, is a grand and heroic period of our history, and the light of glory shines upon all. You may Imagine how deeply I feel my own responsibility towards all these people, my own responsibility to bear my part in bringing them safely out of this long, stern, scowling valley through Which we are marching and not to demand of them that their sacrifices he in vain,” . Statins that it had been imperative «ish policy should be upon the evel and honour be the only r Churchill continued: “Very le realise how small were the :th which General Sir Archiivell, that fine commander e cheered in good days and : through bad days, took the he masses in Libya prisoners, of his successive victories could General Wavell maintain in the desert or bring into action at one time more than two divisions, or about 30,000 men. “A call was made upon us which could not be resisted. Let me tell you about that call. You will remember how in November the Italian Dictator fell upon the unoffending Greeks and without reason and without warning invaded the country and how the pre«k nation, reviving its classic faith, held his armies back. “Meanwhile Hitler, who had been keeping and worming his way steadily forward, doping and pinioning one after another Hungary, Rumania, and Bulgaria, suddenly made it clear that he would come to the rescue of his fellow-criminal. "Lack of unity among the Balkan States enabled him to build up _a mighty army in their midst. While nearly all the Greek troops were busy heating the Italians, the tremendous German military machine suddenly

towered up on their other frontier, “In their mortal peril, the Greeks turned to us for succour. Strained as Were our resources, we could not say ■ them nay. By a solemn guarantee .given before the war, Britain had them her help. They de-

dared they would fight for their native soil even if neither of their neighbours made common cause with them and even if we left them to their fate. "But we could not do that. There were rules against that kind of thing and to break those rules would be fatal to the honour of the British Empire, without, which we> neither hope nor deserve to win this hard war. Such an act of shame would deprive us of the respect we now enjoy throughout the world. “Burlng the last year we have gained by our bearing and conduct a potent hold upon the sentiments of the people of the United States. Never in our long history have we been held in such admiration and regard across the Atlantic Ocean. In that great republic, now in much travail and stress of soul, it is customary to use all the many and varied solid arguments about American interests and American safety which depend upon the, destruction of Hitler and his foul gang, and even fouler doctrines.

“But, in the long run. believe me, for I know, the action of the United States will be dictated not by a methodical calculation of profit and loss, but by moral sentiments and that growing flush of resolve which lifts the wills of men and nations and springs from the spiritual foundations of human life itself.

“We for our part are. of course, bound to harken to the Greek appeal to the utmost limits of our strength. We put the case to the Dominions of Australia and New Zealand, and their Governments, without in any way ignoring the hazards, told us they felt the same as we did. “So an important part of the mobile portions of the Army of the Nile was sent to Greece, in fulfilment of our pledge. It happened that the divisions available and best suited to this task were from New Zealand and Australia, and only half the troops who took part in • this dangerous expedition came from the Mother Country. “I see that German propaganda is trying to make bad blood between us and Australia by making out that we used them to do what we would not have asked of the British Army. I shall leave it to Australia to deal with that taunt. Greece’s Neighbours “Let us see what happened. We knew that the forces we could send to Greece would not by themselves alone be sufficient to stem the German tide of invasion, but there was a very real hope' that the neighbours of Greece would by our intervention be drawn to stand in line together with her while time remained. How nearly that came off will be known some day. “The tragedy of Jugoslavia has been that this brave people had a Government which hoped to purchase an ignoble immunity by submission to the Nazi will. Thus, when at last the people of Jugoslavia found out where they were being taken and roge in one spontaneous surge of revolt, they saved the soul and the future of their country; but it was already too late to save their territory. They had not time to mobilise their armies, but were struck down by ruthless and highlymechanised German armies before they could even bring their armies into the field. , . “Great disasters have occurred m the Balkans. Jugoslavia has been beaten down. Only in the mountains can she continue resistance. The Greeks have been overwhelmed. Their victorious Albanian army has been cut off and forced to surrender, and it has been left to the Anzacs and their British comrades to fight their way back to the sea, leaving their mark on ail who hindered them. "I turn aside to indulge for a moment in a little light relief. I dare say you have read in the newspapers that by a special proclamation the Italian Dictator has congratulated the Italian army in Albania on the glorious laurels it gained by. its victory over the Greeks. Here, surely, is a world’s record in the domain of the ridiculous and contemptible. "The whipped jackal Mussolini who to save his own skin has made all Italy a vassal State to Hitler comes frisking up on the side of the German tiger with the yelps .not only of a puppet—that could be understood—but even of triumph. I am sure that a great many millions in the Empire and the United States know that m the final reckoning this absurd impostor will be abandoned to public justice and universal scorn. “While these grievous events were taking place in the Balkan Peninsula and Greece, our forces in Libya sustained a vexatious and damaging defeat. The Germans advanced sooner and in greater numbers than we or our generals expected. The bulk of bur armoured troops, which played such a decisive part in beating the Italians, had to be refitted, and the single armoured brigade which had been judged sufficient to hold the frontier until about the middle of May was worsted and Its vehicles largely stroyed by a somewhat stronger German force. “Our divisions had to fall back upon the very large Imperial armies that had been assembled and can be nourished and maintained in the fertile delta of

the Nile. The fortress of Tobruk, which flanks any German advance on Egypt, we hold strongly. There we have repulsed many attacks, causing the enemy j immense losses and taking) many prisoners. "That is how the matter stands in Libya and on the Egyptian front. We must now expect thg war in the Mediterranean on the sea and, above all, in the air, to become very fierce, varied, and widespread. “We have cleaned the Italians out of Cyrenaica, and it now lies with us to purge the province of Germans. That will be a harder task and we cannot expect to do it at once. You know I never try to make out that defeats are victories. I have never un-der-rated the German as a warrior.” Recalling that he had warned the nation a month ago that misfortunes must be expected, Mr Churchill said that the only thing certain about war is that it is full of disappointments and mistakes, and he said it remained to be seen whether Germany’s recent expeditions into the Balkans and Africa should prove mistakes. "This, however, I will venture —I would be very sorry to see the task of the combatants in the Middle East exchanged, and for General Wavell’s armies to be in the position of the German invaders. That is only a personal opinion. I can well understand there mav be different views. "It is certain that fresh dangers besides those threatening Egypt may come upon us in the Mediterranean. The war may spread to Spain and Morocco. It may spread eastwards to Turkey and Russia. The- Germans may lay their hands for a time upon the wheat lands of the Ukraine and the oil wells of the Caucasus. They may dominate the Black Sea. They may dominate the Caspian. Who can tell? We shall do our best to meet them and fight them wherever they go, . . “But there is one thing certain, one thing which rises out of the vast whirlpool which is very sure and solid, and which no one in his senses can mistake. Hitler cannot find safety from avenging justice in the East, the Middle East or the Far East, To win this war he must either conquer this island by invasion or he must cut the ocean lifeline which joins us to the United States.” Dealing with the question of invasion, Mr Churchill said:—‘‘When I spoke to you early in February many believed the Nazi boastings that invasion was about to begin. The invasion has not come yet and every week we are stronger at sea, in the air, and in our armies. When I compare the position to-day with that in the summer of last year, even allowing for the increased mechanised elaboration made by the Germans, I feel we have much to be thankful for and believe that provided our exertions and vigilance are not relaxed for one minute, we shall give a good account of ourselves. To say more would be boastfulness, and to say less would be foolishness.” Battle of Atlantic Turning to the battle of the Atlantic, the Prime Minister said: “What would happen if so-many merchant ships were sunk that we could not bring in food and war materials which are being sent in such enormous quantities by the United States—what then? In February that bad man, in one of his raving l outbursts spoke of a terrible increase in U-boat and air attack, not 'only on this island, but aided by his French and Norwegian bases and, thanks to the denial of Irish bases to us, on our shipping far out in the Atlantic. All possible measures are being taken against this deadly at‘"The battle of the Atlantic has got to be won just as decisively as we beat the Germans in the air in the Battle of Britain last August and September.” . . , ... Mr Churchill spoke admiringly of the men who build, repair, load and sail the merchant ships. 'These ships, however, are easy to sink, he stated. There are never fewer than 2000 ships afloat and never fewer than 300 to 400 in danger zones. ■ ~, “It is with indescribable relief, he continued, “that I learned of the tremendous decisions lately taken by Mr Roosevelt ai\d the people of, the United States. The American Fleet and flying-boats have been ordered to patrol the wide waters of the Western Hemisphere and to warn peaceful shipping of all nations outside the combat zone of the presence of lurking U-boats or cruisers belonging to the two aggressor nations. “We British will, therefore, begin to concentrate our protecting forces far more upon the routes near home and take a far heavier toll of U-boats there.” , The President and Congress of the United States, fortified by the elections, were solidly pledged to give aid because they believed in Britain’s cause and because their safety justified it. The United States was being heavily taxed and a large portion of her gigantic industrial resources was making munitions for Britain and she would give or lend Britain weapons of her own. He could not believe that that high purpose would be frustrated and American products sunk. The German U-boat warfare, Mr Churchill declared, was being carried on entirely contrary to the international agreement to which she freely subscribed only a few years ago, and was forming no effective blockade. It constituted ‘‘only merciless murder and marauding over wide, indiscriminate areas utterly beyond the control of German sea power.” “Give Us The Tools”

After recalling his request that the United States should “give us the tools and we will finish the job,’ Mr Churchill continued: “I meant ‘give them to u's and put them within our reach,’ and that is what it now seems the Americans are going to do, and that is why I have a very strong conviction that, though the battle of the Atlantic will be long and hard and the issue is by no means determined, it has entered upon a more grim but it seems to me, a far more favourable Ph ‘Wlien you come to think of it, the United States is very closely bound up with us now and has engaged herself deeply in giving us material and, within the limits I have mentioned, naval support. , ~ , “It is just worth while, therefore, taking a look on both sides of the ocean at the forces which- are facing each other in this awful struggle from which there can be no drawing back No prudent far-seeing man can doubt that the eventual total defeat of Hitler and Mussolini is certain, in view of the respective declared resolves of the British and American democracies. "There are less than 70,000,000 malignant Germans, some of whom are curable, some killable, and most _ of whom are now engaged in holding down Austrians, Czechs, Poles and many other ancient races. The people of the British Empire and the United States number nearly 200,000,000 in their homelands and the British Dominions alone. “They posses unchallengeable command of the ocean and will soon obtain decisive superiority in the air. They have more wealth, more technical resources. They make more,steel than the whole of the rest of the world put together. jJThey are determined that

the cause of freedom shall not be trampled down nor the tide of world progress be turned back by criminal dictators. . “While we view with sorrow and anxiety happenings in Europe and Africa, and *maybe Asia, we must not lose our sense of proportion and become discouraged. We must remember with new confidence the trials of the past we have overcome and remember that nothing is comparable with the gravity of the position last year. Nothing in the East is comparable with the situation in the West. “Last time I spoke to you I quoted lines of Longfellow, whiclAMr Roosevelt had written for me W his own hand, I have some other lines which seem apt and appropriate to our fortunes to-night and I believe they will be so judged where the English language is spoken and where the flag of freedom flies:—

For while the tired waves, vainly breaking. Seem here no painful inch to gain, Far back, through creeks and inlets making, Comes silent, flooding in, the mam.

And not by eastern windows only, When daylight comes, comes in the light; In front, the sun climbs slow, how slowly, But westward, look, the land Is bright.

These verses are from a poem by A. H. Clough.. Mr Churchill’s broadcast was eagerly listened to in all parts of Britain. Among the most enthusiastic listeners were the people of Plymouth who have been bombed out of their homes and are housed in temporary homes and rest shelters. Wireless sets were installed in some of these, which varied from a church crypt to a labourer’s home.'

French Seamen Rescued.—A Portuguese steamer picked up 19 officers and men comprising the remainder of the crew of the French vessel Aurillac, of which 21 have already landed at Funchal.—London, April 28.