GERMAN QUEST FOR OIL

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23479, 6 November 1941, Page 5

GERMAN QUEST FOR OIL

THREAT TO CAUCASUS ASSESSED . SIGNIFICANCE OF DRIVE IN CRIMEA (8.0. W.) RUGBY, November 4. Reports of German progress in the Crimea, the success of which would alter the whole position in the Black Sea, are regarded very seriously in London.

The probable effects on the future of the war are discussed by “The Times,” which says that the enemy "has been so far successful that he is now approaching the next links in the chain — the first interruption of the flow of oil to the Russian armies from the country’s main source of supply, and doubtless after that the acquisition of these supplies for himself. And it seems certain that this does not exhaust his programme. “A pause long or short might follow the last step indicated above if it succeeds, but beyond that are set out projects for an attack on the forces of the British and their Allies in Africa and Asia, and for the capture of the British naval bases in the Mediterranean. ~ , , , “This is a threat which has long existed. It seemed to come very close after the campaigns in_ Greece and Crete, and receded again when the attack was turned upon Russia. Now it once more has approached. It is not yet acute, because the Germans will soon be struggling against the winter, in which season the Caucasus may prove an Insurmountable obstacle. Yet even if it could not come into force before the spring it would have to be regarded seriously. “The race between the German advance on the one hand and our efforts to prepare for the shock and aid our Russian allies on the other, is in paft a race between methods of transportation.” . . . "The Times” adds that transport in Iran shows how laborious the British task is likely to be, and cites as an example the poor port facilities of Bandar Shahpur and the steepness of the gradients on the trans-Iranian railway. . , . The organisation of such communications is a task which the British administrative staff and services have m the past frequently carried out with great skill, and “The Times” urges the paramount need of speed in view of the fact that the tempo of warfare itself has quickened. GUERRILLAS BEHIND GERMAN LINES RUSSIAN PHOTOGRAPHS OPERATIONS LONDON, November 4. One of the strangest films ever made, showing Soviet guerrillas operating behind the German lines, has been brought back by a Soviet cameraman, Serge Loskutov, who crossed the front in the neighbourhood of Novgorod, after which he journeyed far to the rear of the German line, and moved slowly southward before ho recrossed the front a month later. Icelander Joins R.A.F.—Tlie latest addition to -the league of nations represented by pilots in the R.A.F. is a 19-year-old sergeant pilot, formerly of Reykjavik. Iceland, who has made his first operational flight, and attacked barges in a canal in Northern France. —London, Nov. 4,

New Zealanders Meet Queen. —The Queen visited a rendezvous for Empire troops in London and conversed with men and women of the services from various parts of the Empire, including New Zealand.—London, Nov. 4.