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Evening Star, Issue 24083, 2 January 1942, Page 5

THE ROYAL NAVY PAST YEARS OPERATIONS SUCCESSES AND LOSSES (British Official Wireless.) 11UGBY, December 31. The- most important successes of the British iNavy in 1941 have been in the conveyance of troops between the distant theatres of war and of the supplies which continue to reach Britain m increasing quantities. Moreover, such claims to sea power as Germany and Italy possessed have been progressively and seriously diminished. An official review states that the most vital battle of the war at sea is the Battle of the Atlantic, in which the situation to-day is far better than at the beginning of the year. Then the sinking of merchantmen caused anxiety, but in the last few months they have been reduced to an extent which enables the future to be regarded with confidence, provided the measures for the protection of seaborne trade continue to increase in power and effectiveness. Very heavy losses have been inflicted on the U-boat fleet, and the German High Command is faced with difficulties in manning U-boats. Mine warfare has been kept well under control by the united efforts of the mine-sweeping forces and scientists. Around Britain mine-sweeping forces manned bv 25,000 men keep. 1,700 miles of channel clear of mines. They have already swept more than 4,000 mines. More equipment and more escorts have becomo available for the protection of merchant shipping, and in the last few months the degree of success achieved by the enemy's a:.r attacks against seaborne trade has been reduced to 8 per rent, of what it was in the early months of the year. German attempts to prey on shipping with powerful sur-

face raiders have been frustrated by the Navy and Air Force, and the British successes against these armed merchant cruisers and supply ships have been on a scale hardly contemplated n year ago. In tho Mediterranean it has been a year of ceaseless struggle. Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, in a Christmas message to the Mediterranean Fleet, said: “If at times tho way has seemed long, remember it has been far longer for the enemy, who loudly proclaimed our imminent defeat. In tlio Mediterranean it has been a year of some of the hardest fighting at sea on record, and you can look back on it with pride, for it is_ a record of tenacity and courage against odds.” Tho review also refers to the work of the Navy in conducting convoys through tho Mediterranean to Malta and Egypt, and the losses inflicted on the Italian fleet and enemy convoys. Dealing with the Far East, it says the extension of the war to tho Pacific led to the • United States and Royal Navies fighting side by side as determined Allies who understand one another and the problems with which they arc faced. It can be only a matter of time before this combination will stabilise the course of events in tho Pacific. SINGAPORE MUST BE HELD. It is considered in London naval circles that the situation at the end of 1941, in spite of hard fighting, accompanied by heavy losses, is, except in tho Far East, better than might have been expected. .In the Far East it is seen every day what more or less unopposed sea power can accomplish, and tho only way to gain control of tho sea routes in that area is to destroy or neutralise the enemy naval forces. The Japanese have well-balanced units of ships and aircraft carriers which are ranging over a tremendously*wide area and achieving very considerable results. The British and American Navies require a strong and well-balanced fleet at Hawaii and Singapore. The forces of the Royal Netherlands Navy in the Dutch East Indies, though admirable, are limited. The British base at Singapore must bo held by all possible means, for it occupies a dominating strategic position, and the success of the offensives which Britain wili launch in the future very largely depends upon it.