AID TO GREEKS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20548, 7 May 1941, Page 8

AID TO GREEKS

BRITISH EFFORT UNANIMOUS VIEW RESISTING INVASION COMMON CAUSE WORLD FREEDOM FIGHT i Eire. Tr l. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 1.40 p.m. RUGBY. May ii. ' In opening the debate m the House of Commons on the war situation, the Foreign Secretary. Mr. Anthony Eden, reviewed the events of tHe last few months in particular relation to UnMiddle East hostilities.

For this survey Mr. Eden took as a starting point cany Femii.uy, who..

it mid oecorne clean' vn.u toe uermans, having over-run ivun.ania, intended to establish thomseivos in Bulgaria lo encircle Yugoslavia, to sueject Greece to pressure ana 10 immobilise Turkey, and Irom that position, attained without uring a smgu shot, to deliver their mam oiow iro;.. secure bases of attack on our post tions in the eastern Mediterranean. A subsidiary purpose was to help Italy, who was not going any too we.i in Albania. Herr Hitler had civscribed how well the Italians did. said Mr. Eden. Herr Hitler congratulated the Italians’ on "weakening the Greeks." Forty-live million people weakening 7,000,000. "I do not suppose a more insulting tfibute has ever been paid to any ally." said Mr. Eden.’ "On February 0 our forces entered Benghazi. In. view of the need for resting the men and refitting and refuelling the vehicles, there was not the possibility of prolonging the advance to Tripoli. Tile previous plan had been to halt after Tobruk and make the western (lank there, but’ n was rightly decided to seek a further brilliant advance to Benghazi. "On the same day. February 8. a note from the Greek Government reached Britain confirming the determination lo resist the German aggression. It told us that Greece had united her fate with ours and would light until the final victory," said Mr. Eden. "It asked us to consider what help we could give and the conditions in which we could give it. Not a Cry for Help "It was not a cry Jor help. Ii wav a statement of the Greek position ana a request that we should state ours“ln the face of these conditions the Government decided to maintain the decision previously arrived at —to hold the desert advance at Benghazi and prepare a force to go to Ihe help ol Greece.

“This involved diplomatic and military problems and the Chief of the General Staff. General Sir John Dill, and I set -out as envoys.”’

Mr. Eden recalled that with the collapse of French resistance the British were left in a position of the utmost difficulty and gravity in the Middle East where the three main armies were French—in Syria, Tunis and Jibuti.

“Our forces were relatively small with a serious shortage of equipment and in late summer lire Government was deeply exercised by the situation." said Mr. Eden. “After the , Commnnder-in-Chief, General Sir Archibald Wavell, had come home for consultation tho Government took the decision to take great risks to reinforce that army and there were sent . out armoured units, men, material and aircraft, and it was that equipment and those weapons which enabled General Wilson and General O’Connor in their desert advance to secure such brilliant successes.” Commanders’ Concern On their arrival in Cairo, Mr. Eden and General Dill found the three : commanders-in-chief in complete agreement with the policy of supplementing (he help already sent to Greece in the autumn by the despatch of land formations, leaving in Cyren- , aica forces sufficient to meet anything expected there. An exception was Admiral Sir Andrew Cunni ngha m. who had one of ills occasional appointments with the elusive enemy. All the participants in these conversations visited Athens. "On arrival in Athens I received a message that the King and the Prime Minister wished first to see me alone,” said Mr. Eden. “They once more made it abundantly clear that Greece was determined to resist Germany, as she had the Italian aggression. "The Prime Minister added that whatever the hopes of repulsing the enemy. Greece would defend her national territory even if she could count only upon her own forces. “We were deeply impressed by the courage and loyally shown by the Greek leaders. “The decision to establish the British and Greek forces on the short Aliakmon line, which afforded a reasonable chance of holding the German advance, was speedily reached in complete agreement between the military experts, one of the considerations weighing against other alternatives being the uncertainty about Greece’s northern neighbours. General Smuts Consulted “In this war we arc fighting not for gain, but for causes and Greece’s is i the embodiment of these causes. I believe that, had we not gone to her i help we could not have raised our j heads again. We had the advantage j' of consulting in Cairo that most and wise statesman and tried warrior. I General J. C. Smuts. He, too, was in j 1 complete agreement with the decision j •arrived at." | Mr. Eden (hen rend the reply tn .a; message from the U n use of Common" | congratulating the Greek Government j on the valour and actions of then';-1 troops: "I thank you for your cordial [ ] message. Please n-sure the House of I' Common': and Iho British people that | their ciilogic:: of Hie Greek Army will tench |he hearts of our whole nation. | We will never forget the loyal and: courageous help which the British and Imperial troops gave to our soldiers in the defence of their native land. Our Allies showed themselves worthy io rani: with the ancient, homes of Tl'erniepvliie and to write letters of sold in the glorious pages of British history. I desire once again to assure you that we will continue the struggle by the side of our great ally, the noble tjeon’e of the British commonwealth, until victory is won and the triumph of ideals of liberty, morality and international justice is achieved.” Turning to the importance attach-j ing to the policy pursued by Yugo-

slavia Mr. Eden said that what was needed was a common plan ottering the best chance of resisting attack together. Every effort to secure it failed until the moment of the coup d’etat. In fact mobilisation was not proceeding fast enough and it was not again until the coup d’etat that the new Government of General Simovitch made a real and immediate effort to get the armies ready. It was then too late.

“Had the Government that preceded that coup d’etat clearly understood its country's true interests as had the Government of General Simovitch the whole story might have been different, but none of these things can detract from the courat f of the decision that the Yugoslav people eventually took,” said Mr. E-den. "We have pledged ourselves to redeem Yugoslavia’s independence and that pledge will be honoured." Passing to the conversations with Turkish statesmen. Mr. Eden said they enabled them to discuss the Balkan situation fully on liic the basis of firm mutual confidence. "The Turkish Government was informed. as an ally of our plans in connection with Greece,” said Mr. Eden, "it was naturally cognisant ol the developments in Yugoslavia. Turkish Loyalty "I was throughout impressed by the loyal friendship shown by all the Turkish statesmen we met and by the determination they and the people showed to stand firm, against any menace to their sovereignty and any encroachment of their rights and interests. "j he importance of Turkey’s roie as a bulwark aginst further aggression in the Middle East is obvious. I am sure that the loyalty to their alliance G. as ever, the basis of the Turkish Government’s foreign policy." In a few words addressed to the Arab world, Mr. Eden said that in all recent history there had been no rule more cruel and more ruthless than that imposed by Italy on the Arabs living in Tripoli and Libya.

Arabs in any land must know that die approach of Axis rule means the end of their liberties which they have jealously guarded," said Mr. Eden. Concluding, he said the dominant need was for more ships and munitions. Every move in the diplomatic field was conditioned by our military strength. Aid of United Slates "Not once does Germany or Italy show anywhere the least respect for any engagements; their only sanction i: force,” said Mr. Eden. "So it is that the United States is helping us greatly in many spheres and in many ways and the more fully and rapidly, the more the certainty that help can reach the battlefields in Asia, Africa and Europe, the shorter will be the duralion of the war. ’’That is why tho immense step forward was taken by the United Stales in deciding to send ships through the Red Sea. "It must be our privilege, together with the help we can receive from the United States, to win for the nations of Europe the right to live their own lives in peace and tranquility, secure al last from the haunting dream that shadows our own time.”