The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES.” GISBORNE, TUESDAY. JUNE 3, 1941. THE EMPIRE'S ESCAPE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20571, 3 June 1941, Page 4

The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES.” GISBORNE, TUESDAY. JUNE 3, 1941. THE EMPIRE'S ESCAPE

A few sentences from speeches delivered by the Australian Prime Minister during the week-end should help to place the present war situation in a clearer perspective and to explain the reverses which the Allied forces have sustained. Mr. Menzies described as one of the miracles of history the British Empire’s escape from utter defeat in the past 12 months. Recognition of this fact should be the starting point in any consideration of the present situation. A year ago, the epic retreat from Dunkirk had just been completed and France was on the verge of abandoning her allies. Practically in one sweep the whole conception of the campaign against Germany had been upset and it became necessary completely to revise the British plans. There was a prospect of an immediate attempt to invade Britain itself and a grave danger that, had it been attempted, it would have succeeded. There was the further threat against the Mediterranean area, where the Allies were weakened by the French defection and by the entry of Italy into the war. On lop of these things was the further fact that Britain, compared with Germany, was . ill-prepared for war and had lost much of her scant equipment in the withdrawal from France. Clearly, the outlook at this stage was anything but bright. Strangely enough, despite facts that were common knowledge, there were many people who still looked for spectacular British victories. The then position, however, was that Britain and the Empire were fighting for bare : survival and that they have survived is, as Mr. Menzies expressed it, one of the miracles of history. The attempt to defeat Britain by air attack came just too late, and with this failure Germany turned her eyes lo the east, where it was to be expected that she would meet with comparatively easy success. Real victory, however, is still denied her and, notwithstanding Allied reverses, the prospects of it become more remote with every passing day. What needs always to be borne in mind is that the Allies are still fighting a constant rearguard action—playing for time, weakening (he enemy by thrust and parry, and building up their own strength and resources. The parallel of the boxing ring still applies. Germany, taking advantage of her superior weight, is striving all the time for a knock-out blow, knowing that she can never gain the decision if the contest goes the full distance. In the meantime, the Allies are being chased around the ring, but every move has the effect of weakening the opponent until his superiority disappears and he can be put down for the count.

These have clearly been the tactics in the Middle East and they are probably succeeding far more than appears on the surface, It is a matter

for comment that 12 months ago, when Britain’s own need was really desperate, she had the foresight to send every man, every gun, and every plane she could spare to the Mediterranean area. The wisdom of this course has been abundantly proved by events. Instead of the Italians marching into Egypt, as there had been every reason to expect, they were driven out of their own territory of Libya and to-day Germany is still striving in vain to regain the ground which her partner lost. At the same time, Allied forces continued their relentless advance against Abyssinia and Italian East Africa. All this means that the German advance into the Middle East had been anticipated, no l , to the extent that might be desired, perhaps, but to an extent which a year ago would not have been thought possible. The predominant fact in the present situation is that instead of having to deal with the Middle East, Libya and Africa simultaneously, the Allies are now almost in the position of' being able to concentrate on the German advance in one theatre. Had it been otherwise, then the British Empire might well have been confronted with utter defeat.

It is against this background that the more recent developments must be studied. The withdrawal from Greece and the more recent one from Crete might, on the face of it, appear to be serious Allied reverses, but the wonder is, not that evacuation was necessary, but that Imperial forces were able to fight in these theatres at all. The real task in Greece and Crete was not to hold or defeat the enemy, but, as Mr. Menzies expressed it, to slow down his progress. Again quoting Mr. Menzies, the main theatre of the land war for months to come will be in the Middle East. The object has been “just to hang on,” to postpone the crucial test which is approaching, and that object has been achieved in a far larger measure than there had been reason to expect. Greece and Crete, far from being failures, have been military epics of the first order, and it will not be until history is written that their full part in defeating the Germans will be appreciated. The mighty German war machine has been slowed down, and to some extent it has been put out of gear. At the same time, the Allied machine has been slowly getting into its stride, it is overtaking the enemy and, supported by the ever-increasing aid from the United States, it will not be long before it will be in a position to match itself with anything and everything that the enemy can produce.