The New Zealand Herald AUCKLAND, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1944 GREEK DRAMA

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25083, 22 December 1944, Page 4

The New Zealand Herald AUCKLAND, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1944 GREEK DRAMA

The lament of Mr Arthur Greenwood, deputy-leader of the British Labour Party, is that Mr Churchill, an he views the quarrels of the Greeks, tends to divide people into sheep and goats. The Prime Minister, according to his critics, regards all in the E.A.M. as gangsters. Hut even assuming for the moment that this allegation against Mr Churchill is correct, is Mr Green - wood very different? All the Greek ! Royalists and Conservatives, accordj ing to Mr Greenwood and his ! friends, are enemies of the people. ' If the E.A.M. were in power and } there were an attempt: by the Royalists and the Conservatives to ! seize office, it is a fair assumption i that Mr Greenwood would not be {flailing the British Government for I taking energetic steps to preserve [order. The deputy-leader of the I Labour Party wishes the Government to get rid of shooting and get down to making ballots rather than bullets. But it was the E.L.A.S., the guerilla army, which in flagrant breach of its solemn word, started the shooting and preferred bullets to ballots. Mr perhaps the greatest of the British Labour leaders, has already referred to this aspect of the subject. But not one word about it comes f om Mr Greenwood. Instead he talks of Britain losing her good name in Europe The British Government is very anxious to preserve its historic good will in Greece. But if that can be preserved only at the price of jeopardising a British base for operations against Germany and by truckling to a baud of guerillas who snap their fingers at obligations, then the price is too high. It may be that Mr Churchill is too well disposed toward the King of Greece. The Prime Minister can say that George 11. was the constitutional sovereign when Greece was attacke 1 first by Italy and then by | Germany. The King has never falfered in his obligations toward his Allies. That is more than can be said of the E.L.A.S., whose members, before their country was liberated by British forces, spent the greater part of their time, not in lighting Germans, but in fighting other Greeks. The King is entitled to the free vote of his subjects as to whether he should retain his throne. His candid friends will admit his difficulties. Ilis mother was a sister of the Kaiser. When he regained the throne in 1935 he speedily succumbed to the wiles of Gen eral Metaxas, whose sympathies were supposed to be German and who became a dictator. Metaxas was not the first dictator of Greece. There was little democracy in the republic which lasted from 1924 to 1935. In fact, if Mr Greenwood imagines that the E.A.M. and the E.L.A.S. have any intention of establishing democracy as we understand it. he is woefully ignorant of Balkan politics. Greece is a very divided country. In spite of its splendid fight against the Italians it had a very strong fifth column which gave great help to the Germans. The evidence is clear that many members of the fifth column are still playing the German game by fighting in the streets of Athens against British soldiers. Nobody rejoices at our intervention in Greece; but it is not done wantonly. Nor is it subverting Greek democracy. The modern Greeks have not achieved democracy and they will not establish it by civil -war at this critical stage. It is time that men like Mr Greenwood and Mr Aneurin Bevan de-veloped-a greater sense of responsibility. Mr Aneurin Bevan's favourite pastime is attempting to bait Mr Churchill, but the spectacle is rather like that of a gnat buzzing, around a colossus. The House can expect more of Mr Greenwood, who has again succumbed to an old fault of coining striking phrases at the expense of common sense. "T am prepared to forget the Darlans and the Badoglios, but T'm not prepared to forget Greece." Mr Greenwood's speech shows that he has certainly forgotten Greek history, although it is only fair to say that he may never have known it. If he had he would have recalled that during 20 years Greece witnessed "a continuous coming and going of kings—going into exile and then coming back to rule." In 15 years she experienced four dictatorships and six revolts. In the past three years some of the worst elements in the country, according to an Australian correspondent, have joined the E.L.A.S. to live as brigands in the guise of patriots. Mr Greenwood regards it as a supreme test of statesmanship that British troops should not fight, these gentry. But it is now the statesmanship of Mr Greenwood and his supporters which is involved. When they encourage the E.L.A.S. they embolden guerilla bands in other parts of Europe to seize power by violence. The war is not being i waged to give Europe over to a dictatorship of the Left. THE FOG OF BATTLE A firmer note of confidence can be detected in the latest reports on the Battle of the Ardennes. It is backed by Ihe recapture from the Germans of Monschau and Stavelot, two relatively important centres on the northern flank of the enemy's drive. The news of these American successes is, however, several days old. It should be remembered that, metaphorically as- well as literally, a thick fog still lowers over the battlefield. The Germans are being freely awarded the whole advantage from this blanket but they themselves may not regard it as an unmixed bless ing. When Ludendorff launched his great offensive on March 21, 1918, and for several days thereafter, a dense, white mist shrouded the whole battlefield. It limited visibility to from 20 to 40 yards and was not pierced by the sun until noon. Much controversy was later expended on whether the British defenders or the German attackers were more favoured by this dispensation of Nature. Most English writers affirm that without the mist the assault would have been broken. They find proof in the shattering of the terrific German attack on Arras on March 28 (seven days later), when under a clear sky Byng's artillery and

machine-guns were able to mow down the German storm troops. However, the British general most concerned at the outset, the unfortunate Gough, wrote that "on the whole the fog favoured our Fifth Army. Gough argued that, although the initial losses in breaking through would have been greatlj increased in clear weather, the enemy would have been able to develop his success with greater rapidity. Ludendorff wrote: I "Fog impeded and retarded our movements and prevented our superior training and leadership from reaping its full reward." These .judgments can be brought to the consideration of the fog veiling the current battle in the Ardennes. The factor most changed since 1918 is air power. It is a grievous loss to the Allies to find their planes virtually grounded but it should not be forgotten that Rundstedt had assembled the enemy's largest concentration of air power and has also been blinded. HELP IN THE HOME The Minister of Health deserves credit for making a promising approach to the problem of providing trained help for over-burdened mothers. In this and other directions Mr Nordmeyer is earning a reputation for getting things done. His decision, announced on Wednesday, to extend denial services to adolescents, offers another example of the Minister's pmgi es»ive administration. In the case of domestic aid. the principle is universally conceded. The absence of husbands and fathers on war service has given present emphasis to a need at least a generation old. Several moves have been made in Auckland in the last three years to meet requirements, the chief difficulty encountered being the staffing of a service. The help and prestige with which the Minister now proposes to second such movements should make the difference that will promote wider success. Incidentally, social security funds could not be expended to better purpose than in helping the mothers, the makers of the nation, and, in this case, the rearers of (he coming generation on whose future work all benefits must in the last resort depend. Mr Nordmeyer has wisely decided to work through community organisations for the recruiting, training and disposition of domestic aids. What has been accomplished by the Women's Division of the Farmers' Union is best known and there are other similar organisations, all of which will be encouraged and financially reinforced by the. Minister's proposals. These proposals may seem rather limited but all concerned can be sure they represent only the beginning. As they make a success of the initial scheme, its scope can confidently be expected to widen. The need, backed by the Minister's sympathy, will command the supply.