Pacific News-Review
pp. 3-4 · Read in the full issue
Notes And Comment On
The Progress Of The War
From Jan. 14 To Feb. 13
Jan. 14: The British forces in the Western Desert are now hammering at Tobruk and the surrender of this im portant port is expected shortly.
Jan. 14: Despite unfavourable condi tions created by deep snow, and the most bitter winter on record, the Greek forces in Albania continue the offensive against the Italians, and are scoring many minor successes.
Jan. 16: The German Air Force, opera ting Stuka dive-bombers from its new bases in Sicily, made its first attack upon British warships in the Mediterranean on January 10. The modern aircraft carrier “Illustrious” 23,000 tons, was hit and severely damaged. Over 20 seaplanes were destroyed and about 80 men killed.
The “Illustrious” sought shelter in Malta, where she was again attacked by Stukas.
The Germans were beaten off, however, and the “Illustrious” then went to Alex andria under her own power, and now is undergoing repairs. The British cruiser “Southampton”, 9,000 tons, was set on fire, and sunk; and two British des troyers are damaged.
Jan. 16; It is reported that a large proportion of the Stuka dive-bombers have been destroyed by the British. De tails are awaited. A British warship sank an Italian destroyer in the Sicilian Channel.
The appearance of German dive bombers in the Mediterranean, and their challenge to the British Fleet, is the most disturbing development of recent months. It remains to be seen whether the Navy can deal with this challenge.
For several weeks, the British Navy has had the Mediterranean practically to it self—the Italian Navy has refused to come out of its ports. The Germans have sent their dive-bombers in an effort to restore the balance.
Jan. 16: RAF bombers yesterday de livered their heaviest blow upon the German naval base at Wilhelmshaven.
Jan. 16; Italian troops on the central front in Albania, have ceased retreating and are now resisting the Greek advance.
Jan. 16: There are many indications that the occupation of Bulgaria by Ger man troops is imminent.
The Italian empire and Italian forces are crumbling. Unless Italy gets active support from Germany, she cannot last much longer. This is apparent to the Germans, and consequently we may ex pect they will do something to stiffen Italian resistance. Their first and most obvious step is to send some of their spare armies—and they have many ar mies to spare—down through the Balkans to attack the Greeks in the rear and thus save the Italian armies in Albania from destruction. The Germans will only take this course if they are assured that Turkey will not resist their march from Bulgaria into Greece. There is nothing to show what Turkey intends to do —and the feeling is growing that Turkey, in all circumstances short of invasion, will remain neutral.
Jan, 16: There are indications that, under the personal direction of the for mer Emperor of Abyssinia, the natives are being rallied and organised as a patriot army to eject the Italians.
Jan, 17: American attention for the present is concentrated upon the con sideration by Congress of President Roosevelt’s bill to lend or lease arma ments to Britain. Indications are that the bill will be carried in each Chamber by a large majority.
Jan. 17: The RAF raid upon Wilhelm shaven on Wednesday night left the naval base a sea of flames —and the des
truction was added to by another but smaller raid on Thursday morning, and another on Thursday night.
German raids upon British towns have been for some time upon a lesser scale, and less intense in character.
Jan. 17; German dive-bombers from Sicily made their second appearance in the Mediterranean and carried out a number of heavy raids on Malta.
Jan. 19: Since June, 1940, Britain’s average of weekly shipping losses has risen from 41,000 tons to 90,000 tons.
Britain is counteracting this by building, buying, and chartering new ships and by switching as many as possible from long to short voyages.
Jan. 20: At first, German dive-bombers in the Mediterranean were regarded as a serious challenge to the Royal Navy.
In three days, they did as much civilian damage in Malta as the Italians did in eight months. But, since Germany com menced these attacks with dive-bombers, she has lost at least 87 Stukas out of a force estimated at 150 and this has con siderably altered the outlook. Germany apparently lost 35 dive-bombers in raids on Malta in five days.
Jan. 20: A new British army has re captured Kassala, Sudan, and is now in vading the Italian territory of Eritrea.
The Italians are rapidly retreating from the Sudan front.
Jan. 20: The Istambul correspondent of the “Daily Mail” says that if German troops march through Bulgaria to attack Greece, Turkish troops will march at the same time to bar their way —acting as Bulgaria's ally but, if need be, as Bul garia’s enemy.
This may be the position, but all the indications are that it represents “wishful thinking”. Turkey has become almost as inscrutable as Russia, and it is hard to guess her intentions; but all the indica tions are that she will remain neutral unless her own territory is invaded.
Jan. 20: Nazis are now putting strong pressure on Marshal Petain to form, for collaboration with Germany, a new French Government in which M. Laval will be included.
Jan. 21: British and Australian forces have begun their assault upon Tobruk (Libya). Operations are proceeding sat isfactorily.
Jan. 21: Heavy raids have been made by the RAF on the new German Stuka bases in Sicily.
Jan. 21: Dissatisfied members of the Iron Guard in Roumania have revolted against General Antonescu, who is now virtually the dictator of Roumania, under German control. The revolt is directed against Antonescu and the German regime. Clashes are occurring through out the country.
Jan. 21: France has officially an nounced her insistence on the full ob servance of the armistice with Germany —which means that she will not sur render her fleet, or allow Germany to use French naval bases in Africa.
Jan. 22: Despite bitter weather, the Greeks are maintaining their initiative in the central sector of the Albanian front.
Jan. 22: A British force has now pene trated 40 miles into Eritrea and is pur suing the retreating Italians.
Jan. 23: The Iron Guards have cap tured Bucharest radio, in Roumania, and broadcast an appeal to the Army, “Do not fire upon your brothers”. Antonescu has appealed to the Germans for assis tance.
Jan. 22: British residents of Japan have been advised to leave the country
“before the impending crisis between Japan and USA comes to a head”.
Jan. 23; Tobruk, the Italian stronghold in Libya, surrendered about 30 hours af ter the first assault was launched, and was occupied by British and Australians on January 22. All observers agree in according great praise to the gallantry, courage and steady discipline of the at tackers.
Jan. 24: British and Australian forces are pushing on rapidly from Tobruk to the westward, in pursuit of the retreat ing Italians. They are already at Derna, about 90 miles west of Tobruk.
Jan. 24: The British advance in East Africa continues on all fronts. The British have now deeply invaded Eritrea, and other British forces are reported to be invading Abyssinia from west and the south. The Abyssinian emperor, Haili Selassie, has gone into Abyssinia and is assisting the British military mission in organising and arming native patriots.
Jan. 24: It is authoritatively reported that the German Embassy in Tokio is urging Japan to embark upon a thrust against Britain in the Far East, to synchronise with a Nazi attempt to invade Britain in February or March.
Jan. 25: The revolt in Roumania has not yet been quelled and 30,000 armed men are converging on Bucharest.
Jan. 26: The offer of Japan to mediate in the “war” between Thailand and Indo-China has been accepted by the Vichy Government. It is expected that Japan will use this circumstance to obtain a firm footing in Indo-China.
Jan. 26; It is now definitely stated that Antonescu has crushed the revolt in Roumania, and is in charge of the situa tion. About 1,000 persons lost their lives in various fighting.
Jan. 26: The Japanese Foreign Minis ter (Mr. Matsuoka) said that apparently USA regarded China. Australia and New Zealand as her first line of defence and, unless she listened to Japanese demands that she reconsider her attitude, there was only a slim hope of friendly relations continuing. He added that Japan must dominate the Western Pacific, not for Japan’s sake, but for the sake of humanity.
Jan. 26: President Roosevelt made an unprecedented gesture by sailing out into the fog, in Chesapeake Bay, to meet the new British Ambassador, Lord Halifax, who arrived on the new British battle ship "King George V”.
Jan. 27; There is a marked absence of German air attacks upon Britain. Lon don enjoyed its sixth successive quiet night.
Jan. 27: It is reported in America that Japan and Russia have reached an agreement representing an all-round ad justment of various matters which have been in dispute between them. It Is believed that in this fashion Japan is trying to protect herself against any pos sible attack by Russia, if, and when, she commits herself to expansionist activi ties in the Pacific.
Jan. 27: The announcement that British patrols have now penetrated deep into Italian Somaliland indicates that, apart from operations in Libya, British armies are now attacking and invading Italian East Africa (Eritrea, where they have penetrated 100 miles; west and south Abyssinia; and Italian Somaliland).
Jan. 27: Mr. Wendell Willkie, Republi can candidate at US Presidential elec tions, was given a tremendous welcome
in Britain, where he now is personally investigating the condition of Britain in relation to the war. He will be back in USA on February 10.
Jan. 27; Although there are few Ger man raids upon England, RAF bombers are making repeated raids upon military objectives in Germany.
Jan. 28: Italian forces at Derna are offering a strong resistance to British tanks and Australian mechanised cavalry.
Jan. 28: Reports indicate much discon tent in Italy—amounting in places to revolt. Mussolini, reacting to the strain of war reverses, is drastically altering his Government. The notorious Count Ciano, Foreign Minister and Mussolini’s son-in-law, with three other members of the Cabinet, have been sent to the Albanian front.
Jan. 29; General Metaxas, dictator of Greece, is dead, aged 70. He was a strong personality and his death is a serious loss to the allies.
Jan. 29: A series of Italian counter attacks in Albania have been repulsed with heavy losses, and the Greeks have made important strategic advances.
Jan. 30: Indications are that the Aus tralian casualties at Bardia were about 560 and at Tobruk about 300 —a total of 860 up to date.
Jan. 30: Derna, a Libyan town 90 miles west of Tobruk, was captured this morn ing by British and Australian forces, who already are pushing on rapidly towards Benghazi—a large town, seaport and naval base.
Jan. 31: In a bombastic speech on the eighth anniversary of his accession to power, Hitler said that Germany will launch her decisive last stroke in this historic year. A new submarine war would begin this spring. Britain then would see that Germany had not been sleeping.
Jan. 30: The RAF on Monday raided Naples, and the German Stuka bases in Sicily.
Jan. 30: Indications are that the United States Congress will pass the Lease and Lend Bill, with an amend ment providing that the great powers given to the President will expire on June 30, 1943.
Jan. 31: Not only have the Greeks during the past week checked great counter attacks by picked Italian troops, but have themselves attacked and gained new positions of much tactical value.
Jan. 31: London on Thursday suffered the worst daytime air raid for months.
Feb. 2; British forces, pushing on in Eritrea, have captured the town of Agor dat, and taken many prisoners and much war material, including 11 tanks.
Feb. 2: A political crisis of much importance is developing in France, where there is a struggle between Mar shal Petain, who wants rigid adherence to the terms of the armistice, and Ger many, who seeks the use of France’s remaining fleet and her North African air bases against Britain.
It is significant that General Weygand, who remains in North Africa as com mander in chief of the French Army there, in a broadcast, appealed to all Frenchmen to remain loyal to Petain.
Feb. 2: Opinion is held in Washington that general conditions in Germany are such that Germany, at any moment, may launch a very powerful attack upon Britain, employing all kinds of weapons, including poison gas.
Feb. 3: Canada proposes to send over seas 25 new air squadrons, a third Cana dian division and a fourth armoured division.
Feb. 4: Chinese Governmental sources
insist that Japan’s action in acting as mediator between Thailand and French Indo-China, in the course of which she has firmly established herself in Indo- China, presages an attack upon British Malaya and Singapore. British and American diplomats admit the serious ness of Far East developments.
Feb. 4: The British, since they began their general attack in Italian East Africa, have occupied 10,000 square miles of enemy territory in Italian East Africa.
Feb. 4: Reports from Vichy are con flicting. It is established that Admiral Darlan, supporting Marshal Petain, insists that the French Fleet shall remain in French hands.
Feb. 5: British forces, marching rapidly westward towards Benghazi, captured and occupied Gyrene.
Feb. 5: The Australian Prime Minister < Mr. Menzies) has arrived in Palestine, en route to London, and delivered addresses to large numbers of Australian soldiers.
Feb. 5: Newspaper correspondents insist that a German move through Bulgaria against Greece is certain. Bulgaria has been resisting German diplomatic pres sure, but the country’s position has become desperate and tragic.
Feb. 5: Slowly and steadily, literally mountain-ridge by mountain-ridge, the Greeks are advancing on the Albanian front, under appalling weather condi tions, and are repelling a series of coun ter attacks, which appear to be growing in strength.
Feb. 5; Bombers of the RAF, in raids on industrial Germany, made the heaviest attacks for a fortnight. The latest Ger man attacks on parts of England were not on a large scale.
Feb. 6; Britain’s Mediterranean Fleet, under Admiral Cunningham, made another sweep through the central Mediterranean, without meeting any of the enemy. The Admiral issued a stir ring order, instructing his ships to shoot the German dive-bombers out of the sky.
It appears that the consternation caused originally by the appearance of the Stukas in the Mediterranean, and the serious damage they did to the Brit ish Fleet, has subsided. It has been found that Stuka dive-bombers make an excellent target and both land and naval forces have learned how to destroy them —with disastrous results for the Ger mans.
Feb. 6: The growing power of the RAF was demonstrated when two large for mations of bombers, escorted by fighters, made sweeps over the northern districts of occupied France. They were not challenged by the enemy.
Feb. 7: As a result of a brilliant action by combined British and Australian forces, the important town and port of Benghazi has been captured. The re maining Italian forces in that part of Libya, estimated at between 20,000 and 30,000, have been made prisoners, much war material has been seized, and the whole of the province of Cyrenaica (which is the eastern portion of the Italian colony of Libya) is now in British hands.
It appears that, while British and Aus tralian forces marched along the coast road and made a powerful demonstra tion, inducing the Italians to come out in front of Benghazi and prepare to defend, a British armoured force, using secondary roads and camel-tracks, dashed 150 miles across the desert base of the triangle in about 30 hours, and suc ceeded in taking positions southwards and south-eastwards of Benghazi, in
time to trap the Italian forces and pre vent their escape.
All that remains of Libya in Italian hands is the province and town of Trip oli, far to the westward. There are at least 400 miles of barren desert between Benghazi and the habitable portions of Tripoli. Therefore, it is not thought likely that the British forces will con tinue their drive westward.
Feb. 7: Meanwhile, the British forces are advancing in the various parts of Italian East Africa where operations have been undertaken. If they can take Keren, in Eritrea, the capture of the capital, Asmara, will be within sight.
Feb. 9: An important section of the British Mediterranean Fleet to-day heavily bombarded Genoa, Italy’s most important commercial port, while sea planes from the Ark Royal simultane ously bombed Leghorn and Pisa.
This attack, carried out in defiance of the Italian Fleet and the German Stukas, in Sicily, demonstrates in a remarkable fashion Britain’s naval dominance in the Mediterranean.
Feb. 9: USA House of Representatives, by 260 to 165, passed the “Lease-or-Lend Bill” and sent it on to the Senate.
Feb. 10: Italian forces which escaped from Benghazi before the British trap was sprung, and now fleeing over 400 miles of barren desert towards Tripoli, are being constantly harassed by RAF bombers.
Feb. 10: The worst weather reported in 20 years has brought the war in Cen tral Albania practically to a standstill.
Troops have been found frozen at their posts.
Feb. 10: RAF bombers are making fre quent concentrated attacks on what are called the “invasion ports”—the Chan nel ports of France —and have done much damage to Nazi establishments there.
They have destroyed numbers of barges, apparently gathered for the proposed attack upon Britain.
Feb. 10: The British Prime Minister (Mr. Churchill) in a broadcast review of the war position to date, made his most inspiring speech. He declared that Britain must be prepared to meet attacks on a colossal scale, including gas, para chute and glider attacks. “But,” he added, “everything is ready. We are far stronger than ever before, and incom parably stronger than in July, August and September last.”
Feb. 10: Statements made in London that Turkey will give immediate help to Bulgaria in the event of a German attack through Bulgaria against Greece, are described in Ankara (capital of Turkey) as “premature”.
Feb. 11: Marshal Petain continues his grim diplomatic struggle against Laval.
He is determined to preserve the honour of France by refusing to allow the French-German armistice to be turned into an alliance with Germany against Britain. The action of Petain in remov ing Flandin from the office of Foreign Minister (which Germany had de manded), but putting in his place Admiral Darlan as deputy-premier and Foreign Minister, represents a check to the Germans.
Feb. 11: It is considered that Bulgaria’s difficulties are increasing daily under increasing German threats, which include the wholesale invasion of the country by so-called German tourists, who are really military technicians in civilian clothes.
Feb. 13: RAF bombers have made upon Ostend (invasion port) and Rotterdam and Hanover some of “the biggest aerial attacks of the war”.