LEADER'S REVIEW

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24147, 13 December 1941, Page 12

LEADER'S REVIEW

WAR OUTLOOK '' LIBYAN PROGRESS / ;

faction is expressed by our troops and military authorities about the way in which they ' have been helped and protected by the action ol the Royal Air Force. "Like other people concerned 1 hoped for a quick decision, but it may well be that this wearing-down battle will be found in the end to have inflicted deeper injury on the enemy than it it had all been'settled by manoeuvre and in a few da vs. In no other way but this Libyan attack could a second front have been brought into action undei conditions more costly to the enemy and more favourable to ourselves, '•This will be- realised when it is remembered that about half, and sometimes more than half, of everything m munitions and fuel which the eneni> sends to Africa is sunk before it gets there bv our submarines, cruisers and destroyers and by the activity of our Air Force acting both from Libya and Malta. In this way. therefore, the prolongation of the battle may yet be not without compensations to us from the point of view of drawing weight from the vast Russian front. Continuance of fighting in its severity is not to be regarded as a debit.

Reinforcements at Hand "The first phase of the battle is now over. The enemy has been driven out. of all the positions which barred our westward advance —positions which had been most laboriously, fought for. It may definitely bo said that .lobruk has been relieved. "The enemy is still strong _ but severely mauled, and, largely stripped of his armour, is retreating to a deionsive line west of Tobruk fortress. "The clearance of the approaches to Tobruk and the establishment ol our air power far forward to the west in new airfields enables the great supply depots of Tobruk, which have been carefully built up, to furnish support for the' second phase of the offensive with great economy upon our lines of communication. "Substantial reinforcements and fresh, troops are available close at hand. Many units which were most heavily engaged have been relieved and their places taken by others.

Drop in Shipping Losses "The enemy, who has fought with the utmost stubbornness and enterprise, has paid the price of his failure, and it may well be that the second phase will gather more easily the fruits of the first than has been our experience in the fighting which has taken place so far. "The House knows I am making it a rule never to prophesy, promise or guarantee future results, but I will go so far on this occasion as to say that all danger of the Army of the Nile not bein<* able to celebrate Christmas and the New Year in Cairo has been decisively removed."

Speaking of the Battle of the Atlantic, Mr. Churchill said: "When I last spoke 1 said that in the four months ended October, making allowance for new building but not for sea captures or United States assistance, our net losses in the mercantile marine had been reduced to a good deal less than one-fifth what they were in tin? four months ending June. As these were the very months when Hitler had boasted the strangulation of our seaborne supplies would be at its height, we are entitled to rest with-some solid assurance upon that fact. Improvement Maintained

"The month of November has now gone by, and, without revealing actual figures, I am glad to say it fully maintained the great recovery of the previous four months. In the first 10 days of this month we also found that the progress had been fully maintained." Turning to review the war position on the Russian front in the last six weeks, Mr. Churchill said the situation had strikingly improved. "The enormous power of the Russian armies and the glorious steadfastness and energy with which they resisted the frightful onslaught made upon them has now been made plain," he said "On top of this has come the Russian winter, and on top of that the Russian air force. "Hitler has forced his armies into this barren, devastated land. He has been everywhere brought to a standstill. On a large portion of the front he is in retreat. The sufferings of his troops are indescribable. Their losses have been immense. The snow and piercing wind which blows across the icy steppes, ruined towns and villages, long lines of communication assailed by dauntless guerilla warriors, the stubborn, unyielding resistance with which Russian soldiers and civilians have defended every yard of their soil —all these facts have inflicted on the German nation a bloody blow almost unequalled in the history of war. But this is not the end of the winter. It is the beginning. British Pledges to Russia

"The Russians have now regained definite superiority in the air over large parts of the front. They have great cities in which to live. Their soldiers are habituated to the severity of their native climate. They are inspired by a feeling of advance after the long retreat and by vengeance for monstrous injuries. "In Hitler's launching of the Nazi campaign upon Russia we can already see after less than six months' fighting that he made one of the outstanding blunders of history, and the results so far realised constitute events of cardinal importance in the final decision of the war. "Nevertheless, Russia has suffered great losses and Britain's pledges to the Russians for heavy monthly quotas of tanks, aeroplanes and raw materials must, in spite of recent changes iri the war situation, be faithfully and punctually fulfilled." China's Resources Available Turning to the treacherous and coldblooded Japanese attack, Mr. Churchill said this act had provoked a declaration of "war against her from Britain and the United States. Marshal Chiang fc'ai-shek had also not only notified him that his country had declared war on Japan and the two other Axis countries, but that the whole resources of China were at the disposal of Britain and the United States. The Chinese cause was henceforth our cause.

Mr. Churchill then went on to speak of the situation in Malaya and the loss of the Prince of Wales and Repulse, as reported in another column.

ALLIED AIR POSITION SUPERIORITY OVER AXIS MORE PLANES FOR RUSSIA LONDON, Dec: 12 The rate of production of aircraft and the first-line strengths of the belligerent Powers-both favour the Allies, stated the aviation expert, Mr. Oliver Stewart. The estimate that Japan has a firstline strength of 3000 aircraft, .said Mr. Stewart, would appear to be correct. Germany, on the other hand, had a first-line strength of about 5000 planes. The United States first-line strength was below this. Russia's first-line strength was at least equal to that of Britain, it might be greater. Britain's strength could not be given. Discussing production, Mr. Stewart said he believed that Japan's output was large, but perhaps not as large as that of Britain. When the United States reached the peak of her production in 1943 there would be no other country in the world to equal it. Mr. Stewart said it was probable that American planes would be sent to Russia by the Arctic route.

SPAIN CLOSES FRONTIER LONDON, Dec. 11 The British United Press correspondent at Berne reports that Spain has closed her frontiers with Franco,

DEVIATION IN PLANS

GREAT NAZI BLUNDER DISASTERS IN RUSSIA By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright : (Recd. 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, Dec. 11 A frank and detailed review of the war situation was given by the Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, in a statement in the House of Commons. Mr. Churchill described how the campaign in Libya had developed differently from expectations, but took a hopeful view of its outcome in view of the results that had been attained. He also reviewed the effects of the Russian successes and the entry of Japan into the war and reported on the continued reduction in losses in {he Atlantic. "I said the other day that four-fifths of the human race was on our side," Mr. Churchill said. "It may well be an under-statement. Just these handfuls of cliques and wicked men and their military and party organisations have been able to bring these hideous evils upon mankind. It would, indeed, bring shame on our generation it' we did not teach ihem a lesson which will not be forgotten in the records of a thousand years." Dealing with the Libyan campaign Mr. Churchill first paid a tribute to the Cairo spokesman, who, he said, had discharged an/ extremely difficult task wisely and-well.

Objective Will Be Attained "The Libyan offensive did not take sbe course its authors expected, although it will reach the end at which they aimed," he said. "Very few setpiece battles; that have to be prepared over a long period of time work out in the way planned and imagined. The unexpected intervenes at every stage. The willpower of the enemy impinges itself upon the prescribed and lioped for course of events. Victory is traditionally elusive. Accidents happen and mistakes are made. Sometimes the right things turn out wrong and often the wrong things turn out right, war is very difficult. "Still, when all is said and done on November 11 General Sir Claude Auchinleck set out to destroy the entire armoured forces of the Germans and Italians in Cyrenaica. Now on December 11 1 am bound to say it seems verv probable that he will do so. ''The picture of the battle that was made by our commanders beforehand was one of a,far more rapid character than has actually taken place they had an idea that the whole German armoured foTce would be encountered by our armoured forces in a mass at the outset and that battle would be decided one way or another m a few hours. This might have been the best chance -for the enemy. High-class Combatants

"However, the sudden surprise and the success of our advance prevented any such main trial of strength between the armoured forces. Almost at the first bound we reached right up to Sidi Rezegh, defeating the enemy armoured forces and throwing them into, .confusion. In consequence a rery large number of fierce detached actions took place over an immense space of desert country and the battle, although equally intense, became dispersed and protracted. It became a widespread confused battle of extremely hmh-class combatants, mounted on mechanised transport, fighting in barren lands with the utmost vigour and determmawe have a large standing army in the Middle East we never have been able to use in a desert advance infantry forces numerically equal to those the enemy has gradually accumulated on the coast. For us the foundation of everything was supply and mechanised transport. This was provided on what has hitherto been considered a fantastic scale. "We bad to rely upon our superiority in armour and in the air, but most of all in this struggle everything has depended for us upon absolutely unrelenting spirit in the offensive, not onlv by generals but among the troops and by every man —and that had been forthcoming and is still forthcoming. Change in Leadership

"All the troops have fought all the time, in every circumstance of fatigue and hardship, witn the one sincere and insatiable desire to engage the enemy and destroy, him, if possible, tank for tank and man for man, and hand for hand. That is what has carried us through, but behind all these processes working out at so many different points and in so many separate combats, has been the persistent will-power of General Auchinleck. Without that will-power we might easily have subBided on to the defensive and have lost the precious initiative which, in the Libyan theatre, we have for the first time felt ourselves strong enough t0 Claim> • ,■ , , 4.4. "The first mam crisis of the battle was 'T-ac'licd between November 24 and It. on November 24 General Auchinleck proceeded to battle headquarters, and on November 26 decided to relieve Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Cunningham and appoint Major-General N. M. Ritchie, a comparatively junior officer, to command. the Eighth Army instead. This was immediately endorsed by the Minister of State and myself. "General Cunningham had rendered brilliant service in Abyssinia, and also was responsible for the planning and organisation of the present offensive in Libya, which began with surprise and success, and which has now definitely turned the corner. He has since been reported by the medical authorities to be suffering from serious overstrain and has been granted sick leave. Tank Losses

"Since November 26 the Eighth Army has been commanded with great rigour and skill by Major-General Ritchie, but, through nearly the whole .time, General Auclunleek himself has been at battle headquarters. "Although the battle is not yet finished, i have no hesitation in saving, for good or for ill, it is General Auchinleek's battle. Watching these affairs, as it is my duty to do, from day to day, and even from hour to hour, and seeing the seamy sides of

reports as they have come in, I felt - mv confidence in General Aticliinleck grow continually, and, although everything is hazardous in war, I believe we have found in him, as also we found in General Sir Archibald Wavell, a military figure of the first order. "Our losses of tanks were a good deal heavier than expected and it may be that at the outset, before it was disorganised, the enemy's recovery processes for damaged vehicles were "better than ours. We had, however, good superiority in numbers of armoured vehicles and in the long rough and tumble we Gradually obtained mastery as far as the first phase of the battle was concerned.

Superiority in Air "Our Air Force was undoubtedly superior throughout in numbers and quality to that of the enemy, and, although the Germans have drawn in the_ most extravagant manner upon air reinforcement from many quarters, including the Russian front, our superiority hat-- been more - than maintained. - The satis-