THE CAUCASUS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 28 October 1941, Page 5

THE CAUCASUS

l :| DEFENCE BY BRITISH FORCES , a j POSSIBILITIES DISCUSSED r s j LONDON PRESS COMMENT : (Rec. 12.0 p.m.) London, Oct. 27. *•! Dramatic new moves by Bri--1 tish and Dominion troops into r i Russia to assist the Soviet forces l: to defend the Caucasian oil fields | may provide an answer to the I j present public clamour for the i opening of a second front as - i direct military aid to Russia. II The “Daily Sketch” understands “ j that the War Cabinet is confident o | that the plans it has made will y show that it has taken all possi- ® bilities of a second front into account and that the present n situation is being exploited to - the full. e e Russia's decision to withdraw troops ftom Iran will alter the balance of •_ forces in the forward area of General e Waved's command, and it was taken e after full consultation between General g Wavell and the Russian staff. The "Daily Sketch” says that the Bri_ g tish move to counter the Nazis would g not wait for General von Rundstedt to swing down his forces towards the a Caucasus but presumably would forey stall such an attack, a The Teheran correspondent of the e British United Press says that General V/avell has available Indian reinforcements for the Russian army in the Caucasus equal to the expedition sent

to Greece last spring. Sixty thousand troops in Iraq and Iran can be sent northward if the German offensive progresses towards the Caspian and turns | towards Baku. Heavy deliveries of j American warplanes to the Middle East , ensures better air support for this po- 1 tential expeditionary force than was available for the forces in Greece. | RAILWAY EQUIPMENT IN IRAN | The British United Press reports dial considerable quantities of railway j equipment will reach Iran in Novem i ber and will continue to arrive until ; March, thus making it possible to send ( J supplies to Russia in increasing 11 amounts. ; Sir Godfrey Rlxides, who is in j charge of British transport across Iran , 1 to Russia, said at Teheran that the ini | mediate objective is the despatch to ’ Russia of 3000 tons of goods daily. The J first consignment of supplies to Russia j I j has already passed through Iran . MIDDLE EAST FRONT , I The importance of the Middle East ; I I iront to the Empire was emphasised by 1 . Major-General J. F. Fuller in the j ‘Evening Standard.” He claims that j I the lesson of Gallipoli would mean that . a force of 3.000.000 men with 3,000,000 . i m reserve wou' l be necessary for an ? j ; Hack on six points of the Western ; Front. “While the Germans are fight;i :ng in Russia we should place a million ;, men on the roads and railways of Iran, ■ | linq and Syria and across the Cau- : ‘ casus to develop a system of communi-

but inevitable Middle East clash comes we will at least be better placed from the viewpoint of mobility than the enemy. It is also essential that we regain command of the Mediterranean, This means the conquest of Libya right to the Tunisian border. •It is not manpower hut ma-chine-power that wins battles, but it is manpower that prepares the way for the winning. The great masses which India can supply and our 250,000 captured Italian navvies should be in the rear with