Assistance To Russia

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 15 October 1941, Page 7

Assistance To Russia

SUPPLIES liV SEA

1 Eight, months ««©. in "no or his I easterly survey* of the "nr situation, ' V.'• Churchill said that in order to win | the wnv Ilitlo; must destroy Great BriBalknu States, lie may tear large pro- | vinces out of Russia, lie may march to j the Caspian, lie may march to the gates ! of India —all this "ill avail him no- ' | thing. It may spread his eur.-u mure ] 1 widely throughout Europe and Asia. ( 1 Hut it will not avert his doom. ...” j Two mouths later, when the Germans | ' were driving ■'south and south-east I through the Balkans,” Mr. Churchill said there were many signs which i pointed to "a Nazi attempt to secure ' I the granary of the I'kraiue and the oil- 1 j fields of the Caucasus as a German means of gaining the resources to wear down the Euglish-siieaking world. ...” , Russian Campaign I How true a prophet Mr. Churchill |i I was. the events of the last few months |' j have shown. The Germans have ear- i ried “havoc into the Balkan States” j, and they have "torn large provinces I, out of Kussia.” It would be idle to pretend that the position on the Eastern |. Front is not grave. The Germans are j ( throwing their immense strength into the struggle in a desperate effort to secure a decision and eliminate ltussia , as a combatant. • , The war on the Russian front is now ' i in its seventeenth week. The summer ' | has passed and autumn is nearly spent. '! I Already snowfalls are heralding the . | coming of the long Russian winter. Four’months of furious battles have j : not secured a decision for Hitler. The i j Russians are fighting back as strongly 1 and stubbornly as ever. The scorched , 1 earth of the Ukraine has been gained < by the Nazis and some of Russia’s in- 1 dustrial resources have passed into their bauds. But the oilfields of the Caucasus and the shores of the Cas- < plan are yet a good way off. j Meanwhile Great Britain and the : United States have pledged the utmost - ■ material aid to Russia, and already a i I considerable flow of supplies is moving ; i iu. Lord Beaverbrook in his broadcast j ! gave a long list of Russian requirements. The raw materials she needed ; and would be given included nlumini- , inn, copper, lead, zinc, tin, cobalt, brass, . rubber, jute, wool, shellac and dia- , mouds. Practically everything asked for by Russia had been agreed to. . Petroleum had been provided from the United States according to Russian rei quirements. Certain other raw materI ials would be the subject of inquiry J in London aud Washington. Overseas Supplies And here is something to be rememI bered. If these are the urgent re- ; quirements of Russia, are they not also the urgent needs of the Germans? Many of the commodities mentioned are not produced iu German Europe. Germany, closely blockaded by the British Navy, is cut off completely from the overseas sources of supply which arc freely available to Great Britain and the United Slates. There are physical difficulties in the way of pouring supplies into Russia, but they have been promised and the pledges given by Britain and America will be carried out. Convoys of laden ships are already being escorted by British warships to Russia, doubtless by the northern route to Murmansk and the White Sea. Measures are being taken to transport munitions to Russia by way of tlie Persian Gulf and across Iran. Cargoes from the United States and elsewhere are crossing the Pacific to Vladivostok. With rapid organization the present trickle will become a steady flow and finally a great flood to help sustain the 1 Russian armies in the "spring cam- 1 paign” of which Lord Beaverbrook speaks confidently. Sea Power Again t | After all, as Mr. Churchill has rei minded us more than once, "everything , \ turns upon the Battle of the Atlantic.” ; After all, "the fate of this war is goiug 1 to be setiled by what happens on the j I ocean, in the air, and. above all, in this | island.” In order to win the war Hitler ‘ must destroy Great Britain. ! I-litler, who has scarcely ever seen the 1 sea, fears Britain's sea power. That f is why since the first day of the war ; I his Naval High Command has l>eut its energies upon the destruction of British j shipping resources. What the U-bout campaign narrowly failed to do in P-MT, Hitler and his naval advisers coufidentI ly hoiked to accomplish this time. ! The German Naval Command has not hesitated to use its most powerful j ships to support the campaign of the U-boats and aircraft against Britain’s merchant ships in the effort to cut off the supplies of foodstuffs, munitions and raw materials that must reach her across the seas. The losses In ships aud ■ tonnage have been very heavy, and vast j as are the shipping resources slie controls, these losses could not continue ! indefinitely without seriously affecting ' { her war effort aud her means of subsistence. On Hitler's Track l But in recent months there has been | a definite check to the ravages of Ger- j f many’s sea and air raiders and a great j diminution in the losses of ships and ! their valuable cargoes. It cannot yet ; be said that the Battle of the Atlantic : bus been definitely won, but nevertbe- j less a great measure of victory at sea j bus been achieved. If the losses can be held down, the j great shipbuilding programmes of Great Britain and the United States as they develop rapidly will fill the gap i and increase the carrying power at sea |to the maximum requirements of the j great flow of overseas supplies. There iare many indications that the position at sea has greatly improved. That j Britain and the United States have ; pledged the maximum aid to Russia is an indication that the shipping can ; be found to carry the supplies without j prejudice to their own needs in sea ! transport. British sea power will be the decisive factor in this war, as it was in 1914 18 and in Napoleon’s time. "Once we have gained the Battle of the At- ; lantic and are certain of the continuous flow of American supplies, then,” as 1 Mr Churchill has said, "it is sure that, armed with the sword of retributive justice, we shall be on his track.”— (S.D.W.)