LESSONS LEARNT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20571, 3 June 1941, Page 9

LESSONS LEARNT

ALLIES AND NAZIS GO-ORDINATED SERVICES AIR, SEA AND LAND (Reed. June 2, 3 p.m.) LONDON, June 1. The Times in a leading article says: "It was apparent for some days that the odds against us in Crete were too heavy and no hope remained of holding the island. Imcomparable valour did not suffice to withstand the immense material superiority. That, alas, is an old story, though on this occasion it was the air arm alone, unaided by armoured fighting vehicles, which provided the superiority. “Undoubtedly there will be some questioning concerning the conduct of this brief campaign, but it is highly important that it should be reviewed without passion or a hasty jumping to conclusions.”

The Daily Express says: “We lost Crete because air power operating from bases nearby was able to beat segpower and land power operating hundreds of miles from their bases. The lesson of Crete is that sea, air and land power are unbeatable when they can support each other adequately.

“Some people will be asking if we

could nbt defend Crete what are our prospects of defending Britain against a similar attack? Let us consider some of the things the Germans learnt from the Battle of Crete. The Germans learned that to take an island possessing even limited resources for defence such as Crete, there must be . a Colossal effort. They set out to take Crete deliberately and sacrificed V as many men as was needed for the task., The waste of life was prodigious, but the German war machine never filtered. It became an adding machine. Making calculations for the ultimate attack against Britain,

the Germans know that for every life sacrificed in Crete they must sacrifice at least 50 lives to gain a foothold in ' Btifain.

‘■'the same applies to troopcarriers and bombers and the Germans do not need the example of Crete to teach them that no matter hpw far east they go, they must come tq the west to win.”