BATTLE OF CRETE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20570, 2 June 1941, Page 9

BATTLE OF CRETE

IMPORTANCE TO HITLER PRESTIGE INVOLVED MAGNIFICENT DEFENCE mec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) LONDON, May 23. Commentators in London agree that the most disturbing item of Mr. Winston Churchill’s news of Crete is the fact that the Allies are fighting without support from the air to drive off the Stukas and shoot down the troop-carriers. The News Chronicle’s military correspondent says that if the first 100 per cent air-borne attack fails. Germany will have suffered a major defeat. The measure of the importance of the battle for Crete must not be calculated in the numbers engaged. The land forces are not large, judged on the Continental scale, but the enemy’s aerial efforts show that the Luftwaffe is fully extended. Whole World Watching “If the Allies are victorious,” the correspondent says, “we in England ought to know enough of the German plan to realise gratefully the value of their achievement.” The whole world is watching the battle with tense interest. American correspondents are sending every available piece of news. Britain is learning with deep emotion of the heroism of the troops, showing that the people have recognised instinctively and immediately the importance of the battle. The war diarist of the News Chronicle, Mr. A. J. Cummings, writes: “The people know without having been told that the invasion, if it succeeds, will greatly facilitate the enemy’s attack on Suez. If it fails, it will damage Hitler’s plans and reduce his prestige.” The Daily Herald says in a leading article: “If we win, the blow to German prestige will be immense. It is hard to believe that Hitler will take his first defeat as a final one. He will surely try again and again to secure so valuable an objective." Quick Success Needed •

The Daily Telegraph says: “Whether the enemy can consolidate and extend his footholds is the crucial issue in the coming days. There is little doubt that the enemy needs a quick success. If the defence can hold out long enough the point may arrive whether prolongation of the assaults is worth the cost in specialised troops and troop-carrying equipment. “The enemy must soon begin to suffer from the want of artillery, tanks, and oil supplies, which he can 'only bring in by sea. Prolonged denial of a sea passage might exert an important influence on the whole issue. Until the confused picture assumes clearer outlines, there is little to do but wait and hope.”