A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 179, 26 April 1941, Page 10

A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Harrying The OPERATIONS AT SEA

The latest accounts of the British bombardment of Tripoli reveal what a mighty and devastating blow tbe Royal Navy struck at the German-Italian sea communications in the Mediterranean and the main base of the enemy’s forces operating between Tripolitania and the Egyptian frontier. Most of the Italian transports and supply ships in Tripoli were destroyed and immense damage was done to the port facilities, oil storage tanks and naval and military buildings. The havoc wrought by the warships was greatly increased by the bombing attack by the R.A.F., which also carried out successful raids on Benghazi. Enemy’s Problems

There are varying estimates of the strength of the German-Italian forces in North Africa. That it is substantial and constitutes a serious threat to Egypt admits of no doubt But the enemy is faced with some grave problems. As the attacks on Tripoli and Benghazi and the recent destruction of a convoy of live transports and three destroyers have shown, his lines of communication across the Mediterranean are seriously endangered. British submarines continue to take toll of Italian ships on this route. It is true that troop-carrying planes can ferry some reinforcements from Sicily to Africa, but even this method has its risks as was shown by the shoot-ing-down of five planes. The carriage of troops by air has severe Limitations in this region. Tanks and motor transport, fuel, ammunition and other supplies must go by sea. From Tripoli, the main base to the region of Tobruk and Solium, the enemy is dependent on lines of communication extending for more than 1000 miles, mostly ' through desert country. The great coast road built by the Italians is open to attack from the sea along most of its length, and wholly so from the air. The water .supply is scanty, and with the approach of the hot season, this will present an extremely grave problem to the Germans an'd Italians. On the other hand, the British forces are adequately supplied with water 'by the Navy. Further evidence of the insecurity of the enemy’s communications was supplied by tbe landing of a British force in the German-occupied port of Bardia, where a bridge was blown up and supply dumps destroyed. Tbe British troops holding Tobruk, actively supported by the Navy and the R.A.F., have made a number of bold and successful raids on enemy mechanized troops. Once again it can be said that the strong counter-measures’ against the German-Italian forces in North -

Africa demonstrate the flexibility and the baffling nature of “that amphibious power which Britain alone wields.”

Shipping Losses

The heavy losses of British merchan ships through enemy action in the At lantic and elsewhere are apt to mak us forgetful of the fact that Germai and Italian shipping losses have beei relatively much heavier. Scarcely ; day passes without reports of the sink ing of enemy supply ships in the Nortl Sea and Mediterranean. Bombers o the Coastal Command of the R.A.F range the European coasts from tin north of Norway to the Bay of Bisca, on the watch for enemy convoys am single supply ships and sinkings ar both frequent and numerous. At the end of February the German and Italians had lost considerably mon than 2,000,000 tons of merchant ship ping at sea, sunk, captured, or scuttlei to avoid capture; and more than 1,000, 000 tons was lying idle in neutral port overseas. The formej figure covers th known losses at sea and does not in elude the certainly large tonnage sun) or destroyed in enemy ports by R.A.F bombing attacks. Hamburg, Bremen Emden and other ports in Germany ar incommoded by the numerous wreck of merchant ships destroyed by Britisl bombs. At least 28 ships were sunl or crippled by the British naval bom bardment of Genoa in February. Sinci then numerous German and Italiai ships totalling hundreds of thousand: of tons have been destroyed. All thes< losses add to the enemy’s transpor

troubles and increase the pressure on his railways, canals and motor transport.

Merchant Cruiser Sunk H.M.S. Rajputana, an armed merchant cruiser which has been torpedoed and sunk, was a vessel of 16,644 tons gross register, built by Harland and Wolff, Limited, at Belfast in 1926. She was a sister ship of the Rawalpindi which was sunk on November 23, 1939, off-the coast of Ireland in action with a German “pocket battleship” and a cruiser. The Rawalpindi made a gallant fight against overwhelming ■ odds and went down with her colours flying. The Rajputana is the twelfth British armed merchant cruiser lost through enemy action in this war. The others were Rawalpindi, Carinthia, Scotstoun (ex Caledonia), Andania, Varidyck, Transylvania, Dunvegan Castle, Patroclus, Laurentic, Jervis Bay and Forfar. The Jervis Bay was sunk in action with a powerful enemy warship that attacked the convoy of 3S ships escorted by the British merchant cruiser. ~ , - During the war of 1914-18 losses of British armed merchant cruisers totalled 17. New Battleship The disclosure that H.M.S. Prince of Wales is now in commission indicates that all five battleships of the King George V class will shortly swell the rapidly-growing strength of the Royai Navy. The Prince of Wales was launched by Cammell Laird and Co. at Birkenhead on May 3, 1939, ten weeks after her sister ship King George V had taken the water at Vickers- Armstrongs’ yard on the Tyne. The keel plates of the 40,000-ton. battleships Temeraire and Lion were laid down on the respective slips vacated by the launches. The Prince of Wales has a displacement of 35,000 tons, of whic more than 13,000 tons is devoted to armour protection. Her main armament comprises ten 14-inch , suns mounted in two quadruple turrets and one twin turret. The secondary armament consists of sixteen 525-ineh high-angle guns mounted in twin turrets; there are also a battery of .ainch anti-aircraft guns and a of pom-poms and smaller multipl machine-guns. The ship has a speed at full power of more than 30 knots. The third battleship of this class, H.M.S. Duke of York, was launched on September 16, 1939, by John Brown and'Co. at Clydebank, and it is probable that she is now ready for_actne service The remaining two, Jellico, and Beatty, were due for launching at the end of 1939 and, doubtless, are now nearing