REVERSE IN BURMA

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23946, 13 May 1943, Page 5

REVERSE IN BURMA

BRITISH CAMPAIGN REVIEWED “FAILURE ON SMALL SCALE ” LONDON, May 11. “Nothing can be gained by trying to explain the British reverse on the Arakan front in Burma as other than a failure,” says the Calcutta correspondent of the “Daily Express.” “The Indian Associated Press, surveying the position, calls it a ‘damp squib.’ “The Japanese are now almost back where they were before the British offensive last December. A consoling feature is that the failure is only on a small scale, and undoubtedly will be redeemed triumphantly when we have sufficient men, aeroplanes, and ships for a real offensive. “The failure can be ascribed basically to causes outside the India Command’s control. We could have made a successful sea-borne assault against Akyab if the available shipping had not been needed for the. African campaign. The Japanese could not have counter-attacked strongly enough to push us back as they have now done if we had held Akyab. Secondary causes of the reverse must be sought partly in officers’ errors of judgment and partly in the troops’ inefficient training for conditions in Abakan. Some local commanders at the outset under-estimated not so much the numerical strength of the Japanese as their fighting qualities.” The correspondent adds: “I was convinced on occasions during my first visit to Arakan in the New Year that the employment of a few additional companies would have given us complete success in the limited objectives then sought. The difficulties of supply are doubtless the reason why we did not use additional troops, but there was also an unfounded confidence among the officers on the spot that they had sufficient men for the job. Thev realised their mistake too late when even bringing in a fresh brigade could not compensate for the shortage of a few hundred men a couple of months previously. “High officers admit frankly that the men needed a considerably longer period of training. Many were lacking in any previous experience jungle warfare, and the Japanese fac-" ing them were not only fully trained in jungle fighting but also seasoned in the Burma campaign. Our troops, man for man, were at a disadvantage.’’ The Rome radio says that the Japanese, after taking Buthidaung, captured a great number of prisoners and a large quantity of booty. It adds that the capture of Maungdaw, which is being attacked from the rear, is only a question of a few days. The threat to India’s east door is becoming more and more serious.

PATROL ACTIVITY IN BURMA

ALLIED AIR RAIDS (H?c. 11 p.m.) LONDON, May 12. Land activity on the Arakan front in Burma has been restricted to patrol activity on both sides. Last night ■Wellington bombers attacked an important airfield in central Burma and targets in the Akyab area. A New Delhi communique says; “American bombers on Monday attacked Wataung, north of Mandalay. Engine-sheds and trucks received direct hits. Other targets included Kwaitu and Nayaseik, in theMyitkyina area. Kwaitu city was set on fire. The Pyawbwe railway junction was also bombed. All the aeroplanes returneij."

ULSTER AND'EIRE

RELATIONS DISCUSSED “IDEALS WIDELY DIFFER” (Reg. 7 p.m.) LONDON, May IV The two components most Important for the country were the successful prosecution of the war and unity of Northern Ireland and Britain, said the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (Sir Basil Brooke), moving a vote of confidence in his new Cabinet. Sir Basil Brooke added that these would always be cardinal points. . “Tne policy of the Ulster Government’s unity with Britain is and remains our ideal,” he said. “We would not have to repeat this so frequently but for the fact that our neighbour, 'Eire, is constantly attempting to brush it aside as non-existent and unimportant. She asserts that the border causes a division between Ulster and Eire. The truth is that the border merely emphasises the fundamental difference between us. We intend our unity to be with Britain, not Eire. “To pretend that fundamental divergencies do not exist between us and that there is no irreconcilable conflict of loyalty is not statesmanship; it. is folly. Ulster will never allow herself to be coerced while the people of Northern Ireland are behind me. I shall never consent to it. . “I see no reason why relations between Eire and ourselves should not be perfectly cordial on this basis, provided she ceases to interfere in our affairs. Eire’s attitude towards the war, which is not shared by any other country in the British Commonwealth, clearly shows how widely our ideals differ.

PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION

NEW ZEALANDERS AND AUSTRALIANS (8.0. W.) RUGBY, May U. Seven members of the Australian Federal Parliament and two New Zealand members of Parliament who have arrived in London at the invitation of the United Kingdom branch of the Empire Parliamentary Association attended a reception given in their honour at the House of Commons this afternoon, and afterwards a meeting was held at which the visitors gave an account of the war positions and efforts being made by their two countries. The delegates have already called on Captain Oliver Stanley, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr R. A. Edan, Foreign Minister, Mr Ernest Bevin, Minister of Labour, Mr Herbert Morrison, Home Secretary, Sir James Grigg, Secretary of State for War, and Mr A. V. Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty. To-morrow they will tour the dockland and civil defence stations. They will see Sir Archibald Sinclair, Secretary of State for Air, on Friday. They will also visit fighter stations, and on Sunday will visit Dover. They will begin a tour of the provinces on Tuesday, inspecting factories and military establishments throughout Britain. They will return to London on May 28. [The New Zealand representatives are Messrs L. G. Lowry and W. P. Endean.l

SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION IN BRITAIN

LONDON, May 11. Trade union delegates from South Africa who have arrived in Britain for a conference told reporters to-day that they were impressed with the fighting spirit of the Briish people. Among the subjects d'scussed at the conference were post-war reconstruction and closer relationship between British trade unions and those in the Dominions. A South African delegate, giving his impressions of visits to factories, said he was particularly struck by the excellent work the women were doing. A