PREMIER’S REVIEW OF WAR

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 267, 9 October 1940, Page 7

PREMIER’S REVIEW OF WAR

STRUGGLE FOR AIR MASTERY “WE ARE DOING BETTER’’ (United Press Association. —Copyright.—Rec. 11.15 a.m.) (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, Oct. 8. The Prime Minister (Mr Winston Churchill) to-day reviewed the war situation in the House of Commons in a speech", the main part.of which was devoted to the balance of the advantage in the struggle for air mastery. He also had something to say about Spain and events in the Middle East. After assuring the House that, despite the continued imminence of invasion, the Government had not failed, to reinforce the British Forces in the Middle East or elsewhere, Mr Churchill said: “I shall certainly not make any prophecies of what will happen when the British, Australian, New Zealand, and Indian troops come to close grips with the Italian invaders who. are now making their way across the desert to them. All I will say is that we are d oing our best there, as here, and: we are doing a good deal better than we did some time ago.”

RELATIONS WITH. SPAIN. Referring to the hesitations which had been apparent in Spain for some months past, ■Mr Churchill continued : “We have always wished well to the Spanish people, and in,the glorious period of her history we have stood between Spain and foreign domination. There is no country in the world more in need of peace, food and prosperous trade than this Spain which lias been torn and tormented by the devastation and civil war into; which the Spanish-people had been thrown by a series of incidents and misunderstandings, and from the ruins of which they must rebuild their united national life in dignity, mercy and honour.” RESULTS OF BLITZKRIEG. On first rising, Mr Churchill said: “A month has passed since Hitler turned his rage and malice on to the civilian population of our great cities, particularly London. He declared on September. 4 that he would raze our cities to the ground, and since then he lias been trying to carry out his foul purpose.” Mr Churchill then proceeded to a detailed examination of the results of the German air attacks, beginning with an attempt to assess what part of the enemy’s strength had been affected—necessarily a “matter of speculation.”

Recently barely 400 heavy longrange German bombers had visited Britain every 24, hours and the British Government were doubtful whether this rate of sustained attack could be greatly exceeded by the enemy though, no doubt, r. concentrated effort could be maintained for a few days at a time. The Premier mentioned in this connection that after their very severe mauling on August 5 the German short-range divebombers had been kept back carefully out of the air fight—perhaps because they were being held back for use in the invasion or some other theatre of war. At any rate, the German heavy homber pilots were being worked at least as hard as the British, and perhaps harder. The strain upon the Germans appeared to be very considerable, and the bulk of them did not seem capable of much beyond blind bombing. MORE CONFIDENT.

“[ hesitate to say anything of an optimistic nature,” said the Premier, “because our people do not mind being told the worst, hut they resent anything in the nature of soothing statements which are not borne out by events and, after all, the war is full of unpleasant surprises. _On the whole, however, wc may, I think, in all respects reach the provisional conclusion that the German average effort against this country absorbs a very considerable part of their potential strength.

“I should not like to say we have the measure of their power, hut we feel more confident about it than we have ever been before.”

Discussing the effectiveness of the ruthless and indiscriminate attacks, Mr Churchill cited figures to prove it now required one ton of bombs to kill three-quarters of a person, compared with one killed by every ton of bombs in the last war. This remarkable and to some extent a reassuring fact—to be accounted for by the improved methods of shelter—had affected the estimates the Government had made in advance of probable casualties.

“Whereas .when we entered the war at the call to British l\onour we expected to be suffering losses which, might amount to 3000 killed in. the space of one night and 12,000 wounded, and had made hospital arrangements for a quarter of a million — we have actually had since the war began up to last Saturday, as a result of air bombing, 8500 killed and 13,000 wounded.” ’

The destruction of property, however, bad been considerable, though it was easy •to get an exaggerated impression of that matter. Declaring that neither by material destruction nor by slaughter would the people of the British Empire bo turned from their inexorable purpose, Mr Churchill went on to speak of the remarkable spirit of the people who had suffered by the German frightfulness. ‘A AMAZING SPIRIT. . “In all my life I have never been treated with so much kindness as by the people who have suffered most. One would have thought,” exclaimed the Premier amid cheers, “that I had brought them some great benefit instead of blood, tears, and sweat. On every side there is the cry ‘We can take it!’ ” With a less numerous Air Force Britain was inflicting more damage on the war-making capacity of Germany than Germany was on Britain’,s, but he went on to warn the public that the winter would not bring relief from the cruel and terroristic bombing.