NOTES ON THE WAR NEWS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 126, 30 May 1941, Page 8

NOTES ON THE WAR NEWS

BATTLE OF CRETE

ISSUE YET IN DOUBT

SITUATION OBSCURE

Now in its ninth day, the Battle of Crete is raging- as furiously as ever, and the issue remains in doubt. The situation is in many respects obscure. The news todaystates that our forces have Avithdrawn to positions east of Suda Bay and that fierce hand-to-hand fighting is proceeding, both sides suffering in the encounter from dive-bombing attacks from the air, Canea, now in ruins, has been abandoned, and so also, apparently, has Suda Bay. At Heraclion there has been further fighting; the position at Retimo is unchanged.

The position, so far as can be gather* ed from the somewhat scanty informa= tion available, seems to be this: Tht Germans hold that part of Crete which, lies west of Suda Bay, constituting about a fifth of the entire area of the island. This part of Crete is a mountainous peninsula with a backbone of ranges running east and west and reaching heights of 8000 feet. Canea, the capital, and Suda Bay, the only good deep-water natural harbour in Crete, lie to the north and are definitely in possession of the enemy. The mountainous "southern half of this western peninsula can hardly be occupied by the enemy in force and'should be open to all forms of guerrilla warfare. It was apparently across this region that the King of Greece and his Ministers, escorted by New Zealanders, reached safety on a southern beach. The story of the flight con= veys some idea of the nature of the country, which would have its parallel in the northern part of the South Island of New Zealand. Defensible Isthmus. Immediately east of the entrance to Suda Bay Crete narrows down to an isthmus about 12 miles wide at the most. The question, which is not yet answered, is whether General Freyberg has been able to withdraw his forces in fighting order to this isthmus and whether defensive positions have been prepared there. If he has been or is able to do this, the prospects for further defence of the rest of the island seem good. It is uncertain how many troops General Freyberg had originally under his command in the region of Canea, Malemi, and Suda Bay. There were probably not full divisions either of New Zealand, Australian, or British troops with him. It is possible that Freyberg's forces did not at any time in this area exceed a division and that at present they are heavily outnumbered by the Germans, who have been landing daily since the initial attack by air and are now stated to have some tanks, and no doubt have some light artillery. Under the weight of superior forces the Imperial troops have had to fall back, fighting all the way. They will now clearly be war-worn, and possibly short of supplies of all kinds. It is believed that the Germans have not yet been able to land any considerable forces by sea. Main Hope by Sea. While the Royal Air Force, with the machines available, may be able to strike heavier and heavier blows at aerodromes, troop concentrations, and other objectives in western Crete, the main hopes of the defenders must lie in obtaining reinforcements, food supplies, guns, ammunition, and tanks by sea. This is the task of the Navy, which has already suffered under air attack north of Crete. , It should be safer to the south, and it is now reported that reinforcements and supplies have been landed and are being landed. To reach General Freyberg the fresh troops would have to cross the island, and the news today speaks... picturesquely, of their "cutting their way to General Freyberg's garrison now locked in a crucial battle round the ruins of Canea." This description hardly corresponds with the statement that the Imperial forces have already abandoned both Canea and Suda Bay. But it is known that there are some German forces in the centre of the island in the neighbourhood of Heraclion and it may be that these have seized positions from which to hamper the progress of relief to General Freyberg. In these and other respects such as the role of the Greek defenders, the position is so obscure that it is difficult to forecast the issue,. At the moment, so far as one can see, the chances seem at least even. The French Navy. Admiral Darlan's Note to the United States, the tenor of which is reported today, contains most interesting information about the French fleet, one of the most important pawns in the grim game of diplomacy in which the Vichy Government is engaged. When, in July last, the British Government took violent steps to reduce the danger of the French warships falling into German hands, none of the capital ships were in harbour in France. Twp battleships, the Courbet and Paris, built before the Great War but modernised about eight years ago, were in British ports, and the Lorraine, built in 1913-16 and much more powerful, was in Alexandria, and these were automatically immobilised, along with many smaller units. The rest of the heavy ships were all at Oran. on the north ccast of Algeria, or at Dakar, in French West Africa. Of these ships, the Strasbourg, a nearly new battle-cruiser. escaped from Oran to Toulon, when the British naval attack was made. The Bretagne (built in 1913-15) was blown up. the Provence (1913-16), and the Dunkerque. a sister of the Strasbourg, were damaged, all at Oran. The ships at Dakar included the brandnew battleship Richelieu, which was so severely damaged by depth charges dropped under her stern that it was considered impossible for her to be repaired there. One other battleship, the Jean Bart, had been removed in an incomplete state to a North African, port—Casablanca, according to earlier reports, but named in today's message as Oran.