Greymouth Evening Star. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1943. WAR REVIEW.

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 November 1943, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1943. WAR REVIEW.

| ITTLE progress for the Allies was the ; L result of last week’s operations, the : Russian gains being balanced almost by losses, the deadlock in Italy continuing, the Aegean developments being worse, thePacific operations being limited, and some events on th© home fronts not being vel come. It is possible that the European theatre of war will witness little that is spectacular until the Winter is past, but meanwhile, negotiations will continue to weaken, the Axis group’s solidarity, already showing serious cracks. Pressure on Turkey may induce her to enter the wai, but it is obvious she is not desirous of so doing. The day of the value of Turkish neutrality has ended for the Allies, and Britain is entitled to look for some more active co-operation, in accordance with treaty terms. Whilst developments in Europe are disappointing, further hard blows have been dealt against the Japanese in the South Pacific, but no decisive action has yet been fought. It is reasonable to expect major engagements soon, and most of the publicity from U.S.A, circles encourages the belief that the long-promised aggression against the enemy is about to materialise. In China, the Japanese have displayed the initiative, and in Burma, preliminary sparring has been indulged in by both sides. A decision concerning a campaign in Burma must have been taken ere this. According to some reports, the British leaders are unenthusiastic about launching an offensive in Burma, whereas the American strategists are said to prefer this move. Some amphibious operations are necessary, and the time needed to prepare these probably accounts for the seeming delay in the Allies’ major activities.

On Britain’s home front, the release of Sir 0. Mosley appears to have aroused resentment, hut, as he has lost all influence is a, sick man, it is. difficult to credit that many British workers are seriously perturbed about the clemency shown. The agitation may be anti-Government as much as anti-Mosley. There will be little desire to make things pleasant for Mosley, who would have been Britain’s chief Quisling had the Nazis succeeded, and it is unlikely that the Labour Members of the Cabinet would agree to any excess of mercy where Mosley is concerned. He is not the first .prominent British Fascist to be released, on the ground of ill-health, and he will not be the last. Winter privations will make stronger the temptation in Britain to growl, especially if little spectacular occurs on the fighting fronts, to cause the people to overlook their hardships.

French affairs have come into prominence partly due to happenings in Lebanon, and partly to the mystery surrounding Marshal Petain. In Lebanon, the French appear to have acted in dictatorial manner, causing candid protests from the Anglo-U.S.A. Governments. The cause of French freedom, not yet regained, will suffer if efforts are maintained to impose the French yoke on the Lebanese. Censorship on news of Levant occurrences is severe, and all is not quiet in Palestine. Regarding the Vichy Government, the reports are conflicting, and probably none is correct in full. Laval ■is attempting to browbeat the aged Petain, but the latter appears not to have lost all his courage. Laval must realise that his own position is becoming desperate, and it is freely reported that he has lost much of the support from the French civil service he held before this year.