ALLIED GAINS FROM HITLER’S STRATEGIC ERROR

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 84, Issue 86, 13 April 1940, Page 7

ALLIED GAINS FROM HITLER’S STRATEGIC ERROR

CHURCHILL’S GRAPHIC STORY NAZI NAVY MUTILATED IN SERIES OF BATTLES | British Official Wirelees. ] April 11. “Since Monday fighting in the seas round Norway has continued night and day. A widely dispersed but none the less general action between large numbers of German ships and aircraft and British naval and air forces is going on now. ’ ’ ' In such words the First Lord of the Admiralty, Mr. Winston Churchill, conveyed to the House of Commons the atmosphere of strain and expectancy which must last until the actions are finished and full information is received. Meantime he fortified the confidence of the House with a candid recital of details as far as is known of the first operations, and members made no complaint at his refusal to lift the veil “which should properly and discreetly cover future operations or operations in progress at this moment.” The House listened with deep attention to details Mr. Churchill was able to give of events since Sunday night, when, on news that German battle-cruisers with other cruisers and destroyers were out in the North Sea moving northwards, the Commander-in-Chief put to sea to bring them to action. Loss of Glow-worm ipublic. Therefore I nut it out :

puuiiu. iiiviuiuie i put it. out, although there is nothing to relieve it. The moment we get any news—be it bad or good—once we can rely upon it we shall present it. to Parliament to be broadcast and to the press. I am all for propaganda and publicity, but the best propaganda is results, and I must say these are coming to hand in no unsatisfactory manner.” Air Activity Mr. Churchill’s story of Wednesday was of the air action and bombing in Bergen Fiord by the R.A.F. and the Fleet air arm. “A very determined attack was made on Wednesday by two waves of R.A.F. planes of 12 each, which attacked two German cruisers. One has not. been seen since. Over Bergen harbour a reconnaissance aircraft of the coastal command found the berth of a Nazi cruiser empty and its place taken by an oil patch about a mild long, and although neighbouring fiords were searched no trace of the bombed vessel was seen. London air circles take the view that the Fleet air arm operations were fully effective. “The Fleet air arm also came into operation for the first time and today at daybreak torpedo-carrying aircraft attacked enemy shipping at Trondheim. Fifteen of 16 planes returned. The Germans had already ordered all merchantmen from the Skagerrak and the Kattegat area. “Our advice coincides with theirs in this respect,” he said. Mr. Churchill denied the British recapture of ports on the Norwegian coasts. Among reports of air activity are two from Norway and a brief account of yesterday’s raid on Scapa Flow and Moray Firth, which are described as the “largest air attacks of the war.” About 60 Nazi machines took part in the Scottish raids, of which at least eight will never return. No damage was done by the raiders, either to shipping or to property. Other news from Norway concerned ‘an R.A.F. long-range fighter which ! dived over a Nazi-occupied aerodrome land successfully machine-gunned (assembled aircraft, destroying a Hein- | kel and damaging another, after which the pilot sprayed Boehm and Voss air- | craft with bullets, a heavy bomber i being refuelled was set on fire. On i the way home the fighter engaged a I Junker 88 and put the port engine and ' rear gun out of action Sympathy With Norway Expressing sympathy with the Norwegian people. Mr. Churchill said their future and Independence were bound up with the victory of the Allies. “We shall aid them to the best of our ability,” he said. ‘‘The German invasion of Norway and Denmark was planned for several weeks. For months past the British received information that large, numbers of German merchant ships were, being fitted as transports and that numerous small vessels were being assembled in various Baltic ports and also in the river mouths of the Elbe. “The Nazi Government tried to represent that the invasion was the consequence of the Allied closing or ihe 1 Norwegian corridor, which proved a ■great impediment to the blockade.” Mr. Chui chill said the Germans doubtless suspected that minefields would be laid and therefore decided to use the corridor and send merchantmen northward filled with military stores and German soldiers concealed under decks with orders to seize various ports of military value. Germany also set in motion other invading forces. “We sympathise and understand the terrible dilemma of the Norwegians, who for months have writhed in helpless anger while scores of their ships have been sunk and hundreds of their sailors drowned,” said Mr. Churchill. “I feel that the Scandinavian adventure is only a prelude to far larger events impending on land. We have probably arrived at the first main crunch in this war. We are ready to encounter the enemy’s utmost malice and achieve victory for a world cause.” The British were occupying the Faroe Islands—a strategic point of high importance and would shield them from all severities of ■ the wai and establish themselves there conveniently by sea and air until the moment came to hand 1 them back to the Crown and people of Denmark, and liberated them from the Nazi thraldom. While Iceland required further consideration he could say that n« , German would set foot there with impunity. In ihe concluding passages of his speech, Mr. Churchill said: “In my view, Hitler has committed a grave strategic error in extending the war so far north. He had cast Ihe interests of th? Germany Navy upon wild waters, and most grievous losses had already been

At the same time an independently r strong British naval force was ap- y proaching Narvik to lay a minefield j off the Norwegian coast. It was laid j according to plan at daylight on Mon- . day morning. Mr. Churchill then told Ihe House ij of the presumed loss of the Glow- , worm, a destroyer detained through wailing to pick up a man overboard--how, proceeding to rejoin her force, she first saw one enemy destroyer at 8 o’clock on Monday and then how ' she engaged them, how later she re- i ported an unknown enemy ship’be-N fore her, and how the last message ended abruptly. The Admiralty could 1 only conclude that she was sunk by ] superior forces. * t During Monday morning it looked 1 as if these enemy forces, which contained a German battle-cruiser and other important ships, would be 1 caught between the British naval ( forces in the north and the main I Home Fleet, both of which were su- 1 perior, but in the mists and storms 1 the German forces got away. ‘‘On Tuesday the Fleet was cruising 1 to the south, about level with Bergen. During the afternoon it was continuously attacked by enemy aircraft far < to the north of Narvik. i The usual tales were put out by the 1 German wireless of several battleships and cruisers being sunk or seriously damaged. Actually two cruisers were slightly damaged by air missiles but that did not interfere at all with their work, and they are still with the Fleet. One very heavy bomb hit the Hagship Rodney, but her very strong deck armour resisted the impact successfully—satisfactory commentary on the .structure of British men-o’-war. Four officers and three men were injured. The cruiser Auroa, which was joining the Fleet, was subjected to five diving attacks which were pressed with courage but which all failed. The destroyer Ghurka, which was escorting the Auroa, was hit. She listed very heavily and sank after . four or five hours, but all her crew except 14 were rescued. On the same afternoon the destroyer ! Zulu sank a German U-boat off the 1 ■ Orkneys. i Meanwhile far to the north of Nar- I vik at daybreak to-day the Renown perceived the battle-cruiser Scharn- I horst (26,000 tons) and a 10,000 tons ; Hipper class cruiser which had evi- j dently gone up with the German force ■ the day before. The Renown opened fire and after , three minutes the enemy replied. After nine minutes th* Renown observed a list on the forward superstructure of the German battlecruiser. After the exchange of fire at 18,000 yards, the Renown observed hits forward on the superstructure or tne 1 German battle-cruiser. Thereafter her whole armoury stopped firing, but later, after having turned, she began firing under local control. The speed which the battlecruiser maintained was very great, and the Renown had to push to 21 knots through very heavy seas breaking over her forward gun turrets, and after a further two minutes of firing a vertical column of smoke from what they called a possible second hit was observed in the Scharnhorst, who then turned away and fled at high speed without hampering herself by further firing. Escape at High Speed Mr. Churchill said: “The 10,000-ton cruiser of the Hipper class now tried to cross the Scharnhorst. This ship and the Gneisau are Germany's most formidable vessels. The Hipper then threw a smoke screen to cover the Scharnhorst and the Renown opened fire upon the Hipper, which turned away and both ships retired at high speed, the Hipper dodging the fire, which became intermittent. In the end they succeeded in getting away and firing ceased at 20,000 yards, when they became invisible. An unexploded shell passed through the Renown about water level and another carried away the main aerial, but there were no casualties. The Narvik Attack Mr. Churchill then reported on the attack at Narvik announced ny the Prime Minister, Mr. Neville Chamber- i lain, yesterday. On Tuesday night orders were given i destroyers blockading the Vest Fiord 1 to attack the enemy. He added the information that from all they had heard at the Admiralty late on Tuesday night they . thought the operation so hazardous ■ that at 1 o’clock they told the captain of the destroyer flotilla that 'ne must be the sole judge whether to attack. Captai??. Warburton Lee attacked. “In the beginning all they told us was what they had lost. They said nothing more, and I let it go out because I do not think we want to nave any kind of mealy mouth to make