FAILURES IN FAR EAST

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23589, 17 March 1942, Page 5

FAILURES IN FAR EAST

Reply To Criticism Of Forces NEED FOR UNITY EMPHASISED (8.0. W.) RUGBY, March 15. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of War (Lord Croft) has replied to criticisms that the British forces, naval, military or air, were responsible for the failures in the Far East. He said that the British forces there had not failed their country. Referring to the suggestion that troops in Singapore should not have surrendered after only a few days fighting, he said that most of the men had fought for 10 weeks, all down the Malayan peninsula, against great odds, before reaching Singapore. Three divisions had suffered severe casualties before reaching Singapore. The full facts had not been disclosed yet, and criticism should be suspended until they were, ‘T hope these base calumnies will be treated with the contempt and righteous wrath they deserve," he added. ‘‘Let no man doubt that our peril to-day is far greater than in last July," said Lord Croft, ‘‘We now have a most powerful naval, military and air foe in Japan, whom we have to fight right at the other end of the world. ‘‘This means that ships are needed," Lord Croft added. ‘‘Ships t 0 take our troops their supplies of tanks and weapons to the far corners of the earth, ships to carry aircraft across the wide oceans, and above all, ships for the Navy with which to protect these huge convoys and to smash the fleets of Japan, Germany, and Italy when they can get at them. ‘T ask you to stamp out fretful and querulous criticism, which is simply playing the enemy’s game. The forces of evil are now spread all over the globe. Their utter defeat will demand all the force we can use, all our determination, all our will power, and above everything, all our unity. Fighting in Malaya “We have been wounded by blowsdeep and grievous—delivered 15.000 miles away by sea from these shore.-. It has never been the habit, however, of this lion-hearted race to go soft or craven when it received punishment. On the contrary, when this lion is wounded, he gets more dangerous and more fierce and his next spring is ail the more violent and heroic because of what he has suffered. “The Russians, after an appalling disaster when all appeared lost, suddenly turned round and hit back and drove the enemy along the whole of their front. We have never suffered as great a peril as that, but we British people would not be behind our allies in resilience and determination. When in an hour seapower was wrested from our American friends and allies in the east our whole strategic defence for a moment crumbled and our small military formations, seriously outnumbered, had to meet great Japanese forces landed from the sea. Do you realise that of four divisions in Malaya two from India had each been fighting all down the Malayan peninsula day and night for 10 weeks against great odds? “An Australian division of two brigades had been fighting in Johore and Singapore for a solid month without rest and with its flanks continually turned from the sea. That gallant British division which had been months on the sea without a chance of stretching its legs had been suddenly thrown into the battle in Malaya to help its Indian and Australian comrades and these three divisions and one brigade out of a total of four divisions suffered severe casualties before they ever reached Singapore, for those last seven days of fighting. “When the story of Burma is written you will feel immense pride in the heroism of the British and Indian troops which include the Duke of Wellington's, the West Yorkshire King’s Own, the Yorkshire Light Infantry, units of the Royal Armoured Corps and the Royal Tank Regiment, and men from Gloucestershire and Scotland. Victories in Middle East “Why have our Imperial forces fought unceasingly and so brilliantly in all the Middle Eastern theatres, in campaigns spread over thousands of miles? Because the Middle East is a vita] shield for the defence of India and Australia and New Zealand against the might of Germany and' Italy. There, too, we have taken hard knocks, but we have also won grfcat victories in which wo have conquered the whole Italian Eastern Empire, driven the enemy out of Egypt and relieved Tobruk, in front of which we stand to fight. We have occupied Syria after stiff resistance, broken a rebellion in Iraq, and joined hands with our Russian allies in Iran. “In those campaigns and in Greece and Crete we inflicted total casualties on the Axis troops in killed, wounded, missing, and jwisoners of more than 400.000, probably approaching 500,000, and this apart from ' German and Italian reinforcements which the Navy and the Royal Air Force have deposited at the bottom of the Mediterranean. "But for our achievement in Africa and the Middle East, the position of India and Australia would have been serious enough in all conscience and under the threat of Japan it would have been indeed perilous. The British Army has never cctiscd fighting and everywhere it has maintained the honour and greatness of our race and the glory of our Empire.” PRODUCTION OF ALUMINIUM OUTPUT OF ALLIES AND AXIS EXPANSION OF U.S. PROGRAMME (8.0. W.) RUGBY, March 15. Manufacturers of the most modern weapons of war—especially aircraft and tanks—create a demand for the materials they use. It is thus that the demand for aluminium and magnesium has shown striking expansion in recent years. In the current issue of the “Economist.” the productive capacity of these metals in various enemy and Allied countries is reviewed. The world output of aluminium more than doubled between 1929 and 1939, largely due to rapid expansion in Germany. By 1941, the total Axis group of countries, including those like •Sweden arid Spain, from which Germany could import, and also all occupied countries, was producing 462.500 metric tons a year. The Allied countries wore producing 530.000 metric tons. Until 1040. the former group had been a greater producer than the Allied countries. By 1941, the United States was producing at a yearly rate of 300,000 tons, Germany at a rate of 290.000 tons, and Canada at a rate of 150,000 tons. These three were by far the largest producers. The United States has introduced a colossal programme of expansion. Seven new Government aluminium works set up last July with an annual capacity of some 300.1)00 tons should be in production this year. The “Economist” estimates that United States production before the end of this year will be at an annual rate of 725,000 tons —well in excess of the combined Axis output, A 50 per cent, expansion in Canadian production is also expected this year. Russia, which in 1940 produced 55.000 tons of aluminium, has at least temporarily lost the greater part of her capacity, especially the Dnieper dam plan, which was responsible for half the total output in 1940. As regards magnesium, the Axis countries have a slightly greater production than the Allies. In 1941 they produced 30,700 metric tons against 26,500 tons by the Allied countries. However, as in the case of aluminium the United Stales has initiated a vast production programme. By the end of this year it is hoped that United States production will have reached the enormous annual rate of 200,000 tons.