ITALY'S FORTRE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23109, 6 August 1938, Page 13 (Supplement)

ITALY'S FORTRE

IN spite of the rigid censorship in Italy on all defence matters, it has become known that the island of Leros, one of the Dodecanese group occupied by Italy after the Libyan war, has been converted into a naval and air fortress of the first rank, writes Hector C. By water in the Daily Telegraph, London. It is claimed, indeed, to be more strongly fortified than Malta and second only to Gibraltar in this respect. Leros is in a unique strategical position. It is only 330 miles from Cyprus, 550 from Haifa —terminus of the Irak pipeline —and 510 from Port Said, the western end of the Suez Canal. These distances aro trivial for modern aircraft and are comparatively short runs for high-speed naval vessels. Population Increase Under the terms of the Anglo-Italian agreement, each party is pledged to inform the other of any proposed development of naval bases. But whereas Leros is already fully developed, it is believed that little has been done iri this direction at Cyprus, the only potential British base in the Eastern Mediterranean. Significant information about Leros is contained in the latest issue of the Annuario Statistico Italiano. Since

1933, tho population of tlio island has increased from 6,429 to 13,657. Of this total, 7,550 are Italians. In 1935, Leros exported goods, mainly marble, honey and tobacco, to tho value of £33.300. By tho following year this trade had dwindled to £2,500, , in spito of tho doubling of tho popula- I tion and the fact that the other islands of tho Dodecanese increased their exports from £128,000 to £144,500. Tho only conclusion to bo drawn from rtheso figures is that within tho last two or three years Leros has become simply a fortress with a largo garrison, and that local industries have been submerged by military requirements. Conclusive evidence of this i.s again supplied by tho Annuario, which reveals that in 1935-36 imports into Leros rose in value from £133,000 to £500,000. Metal and metal products ordered by the Commander-in-Chief at Leros rose from £83.300 to £266.600, and it is expressly stated that this does not includo tho value of guns and munitions sent direct to tho island by the Ministries of War, Navy, and Air. It is further revealed that Italy is now a heavy buyer in the oil market. In the first quarter of this year she imported 336.989 metric tons of crude oil against 110.067, an increase of over 200 per cent. These heavy purchases coincide with tho completion of the new large storage depots at the principal Italian naval bases.