THE MEDITERRANEAN

Grey River Argus, 19 March 1942, Page 3

THE MEDITERRANEAN

Attack on Rhodes

PRESS CORRESPONDENTS ACCOUNT.

LONDON, March 17. The warships which bombarded Rhodes have safely reachedN o /- The Exchange Telegraphs cor respondent aboard a warship said was remarkable that the attack ng warships were not attacked, because they were at sea two days. iri ey were spotted by enemy ’planes, and disclosed themselves within loui miles of the enemy coast. The British United Press Ankara correspondent says military quarters confirm that a German division withdrawn from Salonika for service on the Russian front has been replaced by Hungarians. Germans are garrisoning Crete and Lemnos, and the Italians are occupying the remainder of Greece. . .. „ A News Agency representative, who was the only British correspondent to witness Saturday n >£h ts °P eration against the island of Rhodes, off the south-west Turkish coast, said the Navy took the Axis completely by surprise, and struck a blow at important objectives, «' hl ch will materially lessen the usefulness of the island stronghold. The correspondent said. as r write this dispatch aboard a British warship, “the Fleet slipping away in darkness, leaving bewildered defenders still firing at aircra . which collaborated with us. Through the smoke screen we are laying, I can see fires burning on the island. Even after the ships began pouring shells at targets on the shore, the gunners continued firing at the ’planes and at flares which they dropped apparently mistaking the bombardment for a bombing raid. Ten minutes had passed before they fully realised what was happening. Then the batteries opened up and shells came whistling over us, but by then, aided by the glare of flares and star shells, we had hit important establishments in the town oi Rhodes, also E-boat bases and harbour installations. There were believed to be a number of flying boats in the harbour. Perfect co-ordina-tion between the Navy and the RA.F. was a feature. We sailed early and it was not until late in the afternoon, when the captain made the announcement over the ship’s loud speaker, that we knew why we had put to sea. To reach the objectives, we had to sail well into tire narrow enemy waters of Rhodes, or between Rhodes and Turkey. "The captain explained that the aircraft would drop flares, and stay for the naval bombardment, but all the first day, and most of the night, we bowled along at high speed. As we came abreast of Rhodes, we slowed down, so as to negotiate the minefields. Standing on the bridge, I could see the Turkish mainland looming through the dark starry night on our right across the calm water. Suddenly an eerie glow to the left told me that aircraft were dropping flares before the bombing ] of Rhodes airfield. Tracer shells and bullets rocketed skywards from -the ground defences. Punctually, we established communication with the aircraft, and the atmosphere became tense as we crept towards the shore. Around me on the bridge, dark figures, ghostlike in white flash helmets and long white gauntlets, made final adjustments to instruments or spoke quiet orders down the voicepipe. The dim purple and green glowing ' dials of instruments were the only pinpoint of light anywhere. Then the flares dropped by the aircraft began floating down on Rhodes Town. Red, white and green tracer bullets shot up to meet them, but failed to hit flares and aeroplanes. In

the midst of the burst of a string of bullets, was a twist and waver indicating uncertainty on the part of the gunner. Nearer and nearer we crept, and I wondered how long it would be before we were sighted and fired at.

“When we. were only four miles from the town, one of our ships began firing star shells, which floated down over the target. In the flare, I could easily make it out. I could also see streets and houses in Rhodes and felt uneasily certain we must be obvious to the shore batteries, but if we were, the defenders were so surprised that we were able to hurl the greater part of our quota of shells into the target area before they replied. Still the anti-aircraft gunners were sending out tracers in desperate unsuccessful attempts to put out the flares which floated to the ground, where they continued burning brightly for a considerable time, lighting the surroundings with a fierce glare. I could also see antiaircraft shells bursting among the clouds.

“Minutes passed, and then between the shattering crashes of our broadside, we heard the air torn by shells from the shore batteries, intended for us, but splashing in water where they fell. It showed they had not got our range. Twenty minutes after the action began, the Fleet was steaming away, having delivered several hundred shells, weighing 40,000 pounds.

Allied Submarines

IN EAST MEDITERRANEAN.

LONDON. March 17.

The Istanbul correspondent of the Associated Press says: Italian seamen from ships arriving in Istanbul from Trieste, revealed that British

submarines attacked them almost immediately the ships left Trieste, and continued attacks for all of the voyage. The sailors were of ffie opinion that Yugoslav patriots were controlling the Dalmation coast .and providing bases and supplies for British submarines operating in the Adriatic, and also thought that Yugoslavs were themselves operating submarines received from Britain.