SUPREMACY AT SEA

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21392, 9 April 1941, Page 6

SUPREMACY AT SEA

The announcement that British ships, loaded with men and materials, are arriving every day in Greece from Africa is yet another striking example of the importance of supremacy at sea. In view of the recent developments, the significance of Sir Andrew Cunningham’s brilliant sea victory in the Battle of Matapan is seen in its true light. Its direct result has guaranteed a safe passage for all the reinforcements of men and materials that the Allies can despatch to Greece and Yugoslavia. Had the Mediterranean Fleet and the Fleet Air Arm not consistently hammered the Italian Fleet into submission, Britain’s allies in the Balkans would be in a very precarious position today. Hard won experience down the centuries has impressed Britain with the true value of the command of the sea and it is fortunate for the cause of freedom that the same hard won experience has produced for Britain the best sailors in the world.

Although major interest is now centred on the campaign in the Balkans, a battle of equal importance—the Battle of the Atlantic—is still raging. The prophesy of Mr Winston Churchill that a decisive victory in this sphere could be expected in a matter of months is very encouraging as the island fortress is completely dependent for an adequate* supply of foodstuffs, war materials and reinforcements of man-power on her ability to use the great waterways of the world. The courage, initiative and determination already displayed by the Navy and the men of the Merchant Marine justifies Mr Churchill’s confidence in the outcome of one of the most important phases of the present struggle.

In war* even more than in peace, the value of water as the most convenient medium of transport has been strikingly illustrated. The Romans made roads, the Victorians made railways and the present decade has seen the vast development of the airplane but it is still the sea which joins and the land which divides. That is, of course, as long as the command of the sea is retained. From the time the first sea-going vessel was launched, the ocean has never been the barrier that the large land masses were; rather, it has been a connecting link. It is the'maintenance and the full use of this connecting link that will mean ultimate victory for Britain.