LATE MESSAGES

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 February 1942, Page 2

LATE MESSAGES

SINGAPORE EVACUATION. BATAVIA, February 16. “There were no warships, around Singapore when I left in a sailing vessel, which was not escorted,” writes the British United Press correspondent, Harold Guard. “Our ship was built to accommodate 80, but there were 675 aboard, mostly members ol the R.A.F. So far as I know, no troops were evacuated from Singapore. Members of the R.N.V.R. did a ™agnificent job in the evacuation, to escape the Japanese bombers, many ol the evacuee ships . sheltered under overhanging trees in small island inlets during the day, and moved only at night. One was found by enemy bombers','and although not curectly nit, splinters holed her sides.” The Australian Broadcasting Commission’s war correspondent, who has arrived at Batavia from Singapore, says: “In the final stages of the attack. the Japanese disrupted the British communications. It was impossible to know what was happening in the immediate neighbourhood. Despite Greece and Crete, where the same thing happened, there were no mobile field wireless stations. Yards of wire strung between trees could be destroyed by a single bomb, and the safety of whole battalions was endangered. Whole parties were cut oil from their units, which had to withdraw from untenable positions. DETAILS OF BRITISH TROOPS.

RUGBY, February 16. The War Office has disclosed that British and Imperial forces which took nart in the Malayan campaign and defence of Singapore included the following: . . The 18th British Division, comprising the 53rd, 54th and 55th Infantry Brigades. This included battalions of the following infantry regiments: Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Norfolk Regiment, Cambridgeshire Regiment, Suffolk Regiment, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire regiments, and Wood Foresters. . The Bth Australian Division, ol the 22nd and 27th A.I.F. Brigades. . . The 9th and 11th Indian Divisions, which contained battalions of the following British regiments: First Surrey Regiment. Leicestershire Regiment, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, as well as battalions of the following Indian regiments: Punjab Regimeni, Jat Regiment. Rajputana Rifles, Royal Garhwal Rifles, Dogra Regiment, Baluchi Regiment, Hyderabad Regiment, Sikh Regiment. Frontier Force Regiment, Frontier Force Rifles, Gurkha Rifles, and battalions of the Indian State Forces. The Ist and 2nd Malay Infantry Brigades, containing battalions of the following British regiments, as well as Indian and Malayan battalions: Royal Regiment. Gordon Highlanders, and Manchester Regiment. Besides the artillery regiments, included in the above field formations, there were a number of coast artillery units, anti-aircraft regiments, antitank regiments, and searchlight units. In addition to engineer units included in the field formations, there were a number of fortress companies and army troop companies. The foregoing also includes the Royal Corps of Signals. Royal Armv Service Corps, Royal Army Medical Corps, and auxiliary services. A number of local battalions also took part in the'defence of the island. JAPANESE SUBMARINES NEW YORK, February 16. Th? Tokio official radio announced that the Minister for the Navy told Parliament that Japanese submarines were- already operating in the Indian Ocean. He added that the operations there would now be extended. CAMPAIGN’IN RUSSIA "LONDON, Feb. 16. Recent unofficial reports incline to reflect upon the import of Russian progress on the Leningrad, central and Ukraine fronts, but it is impossible, pending substantiation, to judge the real value of these reports. The Times’s” Stockholm correspondent says: Loose talk of the operations in White Russia, and the approach to the old Polish frontier, may give a false impression of rapid and sweeping, large-scale operations, which obviously are impossible while Winter restricts mobility, except for the lightest arms. Apart from extensive patrolling and infiltration, accompanied by guerrilla activities, enabling the recapture of hundreds of Russian villages, the fact must be recognised that the general outline of the fighting zone [is the same to-day as at the end of k January. Viazma, Rjev, and half a dozen other towns which the Russians

had practically within range in January are still apparently in German hands. Russian activity this year is necessarily chiefly by lighter patrols and sappers, particularly cavalry, raiding the German flanks and rear, often hundreds of miles behind the most-advanced positions. This has restored to the Russians much ground, but it cannot yet be seen whether the cumulative effect is likely to cause a further German withdrawal on any really-important scale. Even if nothing further is achieved, the Winter offensive has given the Russians valuable information as to the strength, disposition, and morale of the German forces —knowledge the Russian armies. “Pravda” reports Russian armies. The “Pravda” reports that the main German counter-attack on the south-western front ended in the retreat of the enemy, whose losses in manpower and equipment were considerable. The Germans are exerting the utmost efforts to check the Russian advance. MR. NASH IN WASHINGTON. WASHINGTON, February 16. Mr. Nash presented his credentials to Mr. Roosevelt, to-day. Mr. Roosevelt assured Mr. Nash that America would not falter until the task was complete and freedom was secured. “Eoth the United States and New Zealand are Pacific Powers,” he said, “and the interests of the two countries are inextricably woven together. The spread of wanton aggression has only drawn our countries closer, and made us more conscious of our inter-dependence.” Mr. Nash told the President that New Zealand was grateful for America’s splendid assistance and coooeration in the fight for freedom.