At Least 45,000 of 60,000 Men Removed

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 101, 1 May 1941, Page 9

At Least 45,000 of 60,000 Men Removed

ONLY 3000 CASUALTIES IN LAND FIGHTING

LONDON, April 30.

It is announced in JLondon that three-quarters of the Imperial forces in Greece have been evacuated. The Prime Minister (Mr. Winston Churchill) announced in the House of* Commons today that of the 60,000 British and Imperial soldiers who were landed in Greece, at least 45,000 have been evacuated, and it is believed that they have reached their bases without mishap. Mr. Churchill also told the House that in the actual fighting about 3000 casualties in killed and wounded are reported to have been suffered by the British and Imperial troops. ; i In answer to a supplementary question, Mr. Churchill told the House of Commons that the figure of 45,000 men successfully evacuated might be increased. Today's Middle East communique says that the withdrawal from Greece is continuing satisfactorily. In the course of his statement Mr. Churchill said: "As I am. most anxious to give the House, the nation, and the Empire information at the earliest possible moment, and also in view of the extravagant claims made by the enemy, I think it is right now to give the figures, as far as they are known to us, of the evacuation of the Empire forces from Greece. Up to the time when evacuation was seen to be inevitable, we had landed about 60,000 men in Greece, including one New Zealand division and one Australian division. Of the total, at least ■ 45;000 men have been evacuated." Mr. Churchill, whose speech was frequently interrupted by cheers, went on: "Considering that our air force, through the superiority of the enemy forces, had to leave airfields from which it could effectively cover the retreat of the troops, and that only a portion of it could cover the ports of embarkation, this must be considered remarkable. The conduct of our troops, and especially the rearguards, in fighting their way through many miles to the sea, merits the highest praise. This is the first instance where air bombing, prolonged day after day, has failed to break the discipline and order of the marching columns which, besides the assault from the air, were pursued by no fewer than three German- armoured divisions, as well as by the whole strength of the German mechanised force which could be brought to bear." After giving the figures of the British casualties, Mr. Churchill said that they were very much smaller than the losses inflicted on the Germans, who on several occasions, sometimes for two days at a time, were brought to a standstill by a force one-fifth of their number. Nor did it take account of the losses suffered by the Germans at the hands of the Greek and Yugoslav armies. Mr. Churchill said in conclusion: "I think I have said enough to show the House that, painful as our losses are, we have much to be thankful for, and the Empire forces have much to be proud of."

In answer to a question,/ he said that heavy equipment could not, of course, be removed during the evacuation.