The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES.” GISBORNE, TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 1940. "A NAVY WEEK”

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20223, 16 April 1940, Page 4

The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES.” GISBORNE, TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 1940. "A NAVY WEEK”

It is still too early to obtain a detailed picture of the situation in Scandinavia, but at least it can be said with the utmost confidence that all the developments that have taken place since the Germans launched their ill-advised invasion have favoured the Allies. In many respects, Herr Hitler’s illusions have been sadly shattered and to-day he finds himself face to face with a position which must be almost precisely the reverse of what he had expected. Instead of finding a docile Norwegian people who were prepared to submit to his domination his forces are now encountering determined opposition and the Norwegians are fighting back at nearly every point. Far from securing control of Norway, as he had evidently calculated, he now finds control almost completely in the hands of the Allies; the Allies have bottled up the remnants of the German fleet in various Norwegian harbours and have isolated them from their sources of supply and reinforcement. Instead of the German submarines and air force subjugating the British navy, the navy has again proved its supremacy in every respect; it lias shown its teeth to good purpose. , Finally, instead of the Germans keeping the Allies out of Norway, the Allies have landed at various points and it is the Germans themselves who are shut off from the territory they hoped to command. Indeed, the tide has run So strongly in favour of the Allies in the past week that it is necessary to sound a word of caution against undue optimism and to issue a warning of the possibility of

reverses. This has, in truth, been a navy week. The navy has come into action in almost every conceivable way, showing the daring, the courage, and the resourcefulness for which it has justly been famed. Whether it has been in the comparatively routine, but nevertheless important, task of convoying and protecting shipping, the giving of thrilling battle to the enemy, the almost inconceivable penetration of enemy mine-fields and the laying

of mines of its own virtually in Ger

man waters, or submarine exploits among German shipping, the navy has again proved its incontestable supremacy. It. has written in the annals of British naval history a chapter which, read as a whole, is without parallel. There are isolated 'exploit's of the past which will still .stand unchallenged but now, in effect, the navy has recalled all the epics of its own history and has re-enacted them in one week of stirring action and adventure. It has more than responded to the call for Allied initiative and has shown how much it is capable of when once the opportunity offers. Now, to some extent, the initiative must pass-from the navy to the army, but it may be taken for granted that the fine example that has been set by the senior service will act as an inspiration to those upon whose shoulders rests the responsibility of completing a task that has been so successfully begun. ’

It may be premature to attempt to draw up a balance sheet of the week’s naval operations, but since the natural tendency is to judge the events by the actual results an examination of the known losses to either side will not be out of place. Germany has definitely lost the cruisers Bluecher, Gniesnau,. Karlsruhe, and Emden and 13 or 14 destroyers. In addition the Admiral Scheer and the Scliarnhorst have been damaged, a number of other destroyers are known also to have been damaged, and an unstated number of submarines have been sunk. At least it can confidently be claimed that half the German navy has been sunk and that the remainder has either been damaged or bottled up. Of other shipping, it is definitely established that 20 vessels have been sunk by the navy alone, while four others were captured and two others scuttled themselves. Eight other ships are known to have been struck by torpedoes while a number have been bombed from the air with unknown results and still others have been the victims of bombing attacks. Germany has thus definitely lost no fewer than 44 ships of all classes in one week and it is probable that unconfirmed losses would bring the total up to GO. On the other side of the ledger, Britain admits the loss of four destroyers, two of them with only light casualties, while a varying degree of damage has been inflicted on other ships. Even if the most exaggerated German claims are accepted the week ends in a remarkable triumph for the British navy.

Future developments are difficult to forecast. It seems reasonable to assume, however, that the threat to Scandinavia, from Germany at least, has finally been removed, and it is not impossible that the Allies have wrested control of the Baltic from Germany and may, in turn, seriously threaten her from the north. From ia military point of view, Hitler's Scandinavian error has given the Allies an immense advantage but the moral and psychological effects may be even more far-reaching. So far the German people .have been told that all is going well in Scandinavia and they have not been told of a single loss in the naval operations. It has been well said, however, that “ill news hath wings, and with the wind doth go,” and it is inevitable that news of the crushing Allied successes is filtering through to Germany. Sooner or later, the myth of Hitler’s infallibility will be exploded in his own country and it must already have been exploded among the neutral States. This means that the opposition to Nazi aggression will undoubtedly be strengthened and other countries, encouraged by the example of the gallant Norwegians and heartened by the knowledge of what Allied aid really means, will be emboldened to resist. And since Hitler, shorn of his sea power, must now either move on land or else submit to the steadily-strangling blockade, this factor will be of vital importance in whatever developments may take place in other directions.