NOTES ON THE WAR NEWS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 118, 21 May 1941, Page 8

NOTES ON THE WAR NEWS

LANDING IN CRETE

AIR-BORNE GERMANS

IMPORTANT BASE

Yesterday German troops, as announced by Mr. Churchill in the House of Commons, landed by air in the island of Crete, the last stronghold of the Greeks not m possession of the enemy. Some of the troops—said by Mr. Churchril to number 1500—were dropped by parachute, and some were transported in troop-carrying planes and in towed gliders.

The landing was in the north-west corner, apparently, in the neighbourhood of Canea, the capital. The British and Greek forces, including the New Zealand Division, all under MajorGeneral Freyberg, V.C, accounted for most of the enemy, .who were, dressed in New Zealand uniforms, but some, south-west of Canea, are still at large. Mr. Churchill described the situation as "serious," but "in no sense put of hand." "We feel confident," he said, \ "that a most stern and resolute resisttance will be offered to the enemy." . Obvious Objective. It was fairly obvious that the Germans must attack Crete, the long, narrow island, some 60 miles to the south, of the mainland of Greece, running east and west. It forms for the Allies —the Greeks * and British—a splendid base for air, naval, and, possibly, later on, military operations in the Aegean Sea and an advance defensive. base .covering the Eastern Mediterranean and Egypt, and presents equally to the enemy—if they could capture it—a base for air attack on Palestine, Egypt, and North Africa and for harassing all forms of naval movement. Crete is like a shield for its possessor to use for offence and defence. The island is 160 miles long, and from 35 miles to 1\ miles in breadth. Its north-eastern extremity is at:>ut 110 miles from the mainland of Asia Minor, with the islands of Rhodes, Scarpanto, and Caso, part of the Italian Dodecanese, like stepping stones in between. It is two hundred miles from. Tobruk in North Africa, 350 from Alexandria, and a little over 400 from Port Said, at the mouth of the Suez Canal. The British island of Cyprus, about the same size, lies roughly 400 miles diie east. Syria and Palestine are a little,further off. It will therefore be seen that Crete is of vital strategical importance tp both sides. . , Attack From the Air. Many of the Allied forces which evacuated Greece after the retreat from Olympus landed in Crete, including most of the New Zealand Division. There are also some British troops, which acted as a garrison, including anti-aircraft and other artillery specialists. It is also reported that there are two Greek divisions on the island. The whole of these forces are under General Freyberg, in supreme command under appointment by the Greek Government. On him will fall1 the heavy responsibility for defending' Crete against a possibly critical attack. • The purpose of using parachute and! air-borne troops for th.c ' .pre]Umiriary * attack was obviously to "gain some p£rt' of the coast suitable for landing larger and more fully equipped forces, with, artillery, tanks, and other weapons necessary for the conquest of the island. In themselves air-borne troops, used here for the first time on a large scale against forces superior in numbers and equipment and already in occupation, would be insufficient. The' success of such an operation in an. enemy country depends on many factors, such as "fifth columnists", and friendly quislings, suitable landing grounds, and vital objectives such as bridges, aerodromes, communications, barracks, and .irsenals open to, destruction or seizure. All these factors were found in Holland, when the parachutists and troop carriers landed behind Rotterdam in tht German invasion of Holland in May, 1940. They were also found to a lesser degree in Norway, Belgium, and France. In Greece parachutists were used successfully to occupy Corinth and cut off a general Allied retreat to the Morea, across the Isthmus of Corinth. It is not likely that many of these aids to success will _ be found iri In all the long* story of the heroic campaign in Greece, nothing is more remarkable than the devotion and loyalty of the Greek people to their defenders, both their own soldiers and the men of the British Empire who came tn their help. There is no recorded instance of betrayal by the Greeks of the isolated bodies of soldiers who were making for the coast, though the peril to the inhabitants must have been great. It is not likely that Crete, the home of Greet independence, will furnish examples. Mainly Mountainous. ' Crete is mainly mountainous, and there are few level plains suitable for landing grounds. v The largest is the central plain df Messara, about 37 miles long and ten miles wide, running east and west with a .block of high mountains to the north and a smaller range ' to the south. In this the R.A.F. may have aerodromes under the shelter of the northern ranges. There is also a small plain round Canea; where the Germans are reported to have landed. Their objective appears to be the town of Canea, and, a few miles to.the east of it, the famous harbour of Suda Bay, the only completely protected anchorage for, large vessels which the island affords. This has, over a long term of years, always been a favourite haven for the British Mediterranean Fleet in its manoeuvres, and it is.now an advance naval base for Aegean operations. Its loss would undoubtedly be a serious setback for the Allied cause: There are few other possible landing grounds except in upland basins among the mountains, which, in Mount Ida, reach a height of over 8000 feet. The population of Crete is about 350,000. The chief towns are Canea, the capital, and Candia, with populations of about 20,000. Communications throughout the island are poor. ■ Abuse of Uniform. The use by the German troops of New Zealand uniforms is, as pointed out in the news, an obvious breach .of inter-, national law, punishable by.death. Dealing with the "franc-tireurs," the Frenchmen who, without uniform, took up arms against the Prussian invaders in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870----71, Dr. Busch, with Bismarck's approval, said: "The civilian who kills, without being bound tb do so, cannot be disarmed except by death; he must be . annihilated in the" interests qf humanity." The Hague Peace Conference, 1899, expressly forbids (clause f):

the abuse of flags of jtrufce, Of; the national ■ flag, ■or Of military badges' and uniforms belonging to the enemy.

A particularly heavy southerly swell is running ih the Straits, and the'seas breaking this morning along Wellington's southern coastline were "spectacular.