PLANS DISRUPTED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23966, 16 May 1941, Page 10

PLANS DISRUPTED

NAZI BREAM OF VICTORY PAST YEAR'S WARFARE RECOVERY OF BRITAIN LONDON, May 14 To judge the actual war situation it was necessary to see it in its true perspective, said the Secretary of State for India, Mr. L. S. Amery, in a speech at Coventry, a British official wireless message states. "A year ago the German army and air force were sweeping irresistibly across Holland and Belgium," he continued. "Within a few weeks the splendid army of France, the mainstay of European freedom on land, was shattered like a pane of glass into helpless fragments, and France herself, dazed and bewildered, allowed herself to be handed over, bound and gagged, to the merciless conqueror.

Heavy Odds Faced "In Britain we had a handful of trained soldiers salvaged miraculously at the sacrifice of all their equipment and a larger force of men, both untrained and unequipped for modern war. Nothing was wanted to assure for Hitler that triumphant entry into London, whose date he had already fixed, except a few days' command of the air over the Channel and Southern England, and for that he looked confidently to an overwhelming air force. "While the heart of the Empire was thus in immediate deadly peril, General Sir Archibald Wavell, at its main gateway in the Middle East, was facing Italian forces three or four times stronger than his own on each side of him. What happened? "First, the air battle of Britain last autumn, the world's first great _ air battle, and perhaps its most decisive one, put an end to all Hitler's dreams of walking into and over our unarmed Britain.

Strain on Germany "Secondly, the air and submarine battle covering both Britain and its Atlantic approaches is in progress. .It calls for all our energy and skill to meet it. We shall see it through and however long it continues Hitler will he 110 nearer the goal of his ambition here than he was when he gave up the first Battle of Britain six months ago. "Jn the .Mediterranean. General Wavell's brilliant campaigns not only annihilated both the Italian armies that had been so laboriously assembled for his destruction, but actually enabled him to do what 110 one could have dreamt of last autumn\—despatch a substantial force to support the Greeks in their heroic and amazing stand against overwhelming forces. "The strain thrown upon Germany in the wholly unexpected campaign in the Balkans may well have thrown out of gear the whole of Hitler's plans for a victorious march across Turkey. Its effect upon Germany's communications and sources of supply may well, indeed, only be felt fully in the course of the coming months. Total War in Every Sense

"Together with our unconquerable Greek allies we hold Crete, with its immensely important strategical position. What is far more important than these purely military gains is the proof \\e have given to the world that we know how to stand by our friends."

Emphasising that this was total war not only in the sense that all shared its dangers, but that all must be in it to the last ounce of energy, Mr. Am cry added: "It is a master in which' every individual has his or her own personal duty to fulfil. It is also a matter in which it is for all who naturally or officially are looked to for leadership to give a clear lead, whether they be employers or trade union leaders, members of Parliament or Ministers of the Crown. ",\o existing vested interests or habits or usages must be allowed to stand in the way of the fullest utilisation of all the energies of the nation. All tracks must bo cleared for the way of the express unlimited."

VICTIMS OF RAIDERS PORT HOBART PASSENGERS NOW REPORTED IN GERMANY LONDON, May 14 The High Commissioner for New Zealand in London, Mr. W. J. .Jordan, has received advice that all passengers on board the Port Ilobart, which has been lost by enemy action, are now prisoners of war in Germany.

: A Press Association telegram from Wellington on April 21 said the passengers and crews of three Port Line vessels—Port Ilobart, Port Brisbane and Port Wellington—sunk by enemy raiders, wen l sale in prison camps in France, according to information received by the company. There were about 200 men and women from the three ships. The Port Ilobart was outward bound to New Zealand last November. Passengers hooked to land at New Zealand ports as their destination or to proceed to Australia were Mr. L. P. 1). Lockie (Auckland), Misses F. and .1. Neve (Wellington), Miss F. A. M. Uarcourt (Wellington), Miss P. M. Aclaud (Cbristchureb), Mrs. A. Sinclair (Auckland or Wellington), Mrs, A. L. Beales (Auckland or Wellington), Mrs. ,J. C. Wiltshire (Svdnev).

The Port Brisbane and Port Wellington were homeward bound from Australia. Word was received by relatives of passengers and conveyed to Wellington by cablegram from the London office of the Port Line, to the effect that the passengers and crews of both vessels were safe in a prison camp near Bordeaux.