BRITAIN AND THE ADRIATIC

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23621, 3 April 1940, Page 8

BRITAIN AND THE ADRIATIC

It has been suggested in Yugoslavia that Britain is considering action against German shipping in the Adriatic. Any plan to do so may have to be governed by what Italy feels about it. Occupation of Albania has made Italy master of the Straits of Ot rati to, the only entrance to this sea. German ships in the Adriatic are reported to be busy loading bauxite in an endeavour to relieve strain on railway transport. If such traffic cguld be interrupted, it would lie an effective addition to the blockade. Bauxite is the raw material from which metallic aluminium is produced. There are large deposits in Europe, but Germany has none of them. France, actually, is the world's greatest producer of bauxite, but her resources, naturally, are of no interest to the Reich. Yugoslavia and Hungary arc both well supplied, and before the war provided, between them, two-thirds of what Germany consumed as the largest world producer of refined aluminium. Under peace conditions delivery was made by sea to keep costs down, but this has now become impossible, throwing upon the railway system the duty of moving a bulky and cumbersome freight. Germany's output of aluminium rose enormously in the years immediately preceding the war, the increase from 33,000 long tons' in 1929 to 180,000 in 1938 being nothing short of dramatic. The object was to provide a partial substitute for various other metals m industry notably copper, brass, nickel and chromium. Aluminium, moreover, is an essential in aeioplane manufacture. From these circumstances it is obvious that supplies are more vital than ever, especially with sources of copper, nickel and chromium largely cut off by the blockade. It would probably be impossible to deprive Germany wholly of bauxite, but, any reduction of the flow would be valuable.