The Dominion FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1940. “GOOD NEWS”

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 44, 15 November 1940, Page 6

The Dominion FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1940. “GOOD NEWS”

When the British Prime Minister, habitually conservative tn his estimates of the war situation, announces that he has 'good news• wi the public, it is probably even better than he has permitted himself to say. Even on the bare facts given out by Mr. Churchill. however, the British naval successes in the Mediterranean, tn winch the Meet Air Arm has played so brilliant a part, are of vital significanceand mav prove to have far-reaching results. A most serious bow has been dealt to Italy’s naval strength by the operations in the Gulf of laran to and it would seem extremely unlikely that the important units ot enemy’s battle fleet which have been so badly crippled could be made fit for service again; even if that were possible repair operations would’most certainly be exposed to frequent bombing b y the British. Add to this the demonstration given by the Biitish ly cruisers in their destructive attack on an Italian convoy in the Adriatic that the enemy’s sea communications for supplying his forces in the campaign against Greece is liable to serious interruption, and the constant risks to his sea transport to Libya; the cumulative effect must be to add portentously to Italy’s vulnerability, and weaken he offensive power. R t] That in itself is a vital factor m the situation But, as the Prime Minister has pointed out, there arc others no. less sigmhean . From the commencement of the war with Italy British 111 the'Mediterranean has not once been seriously challenged. Moieov , it mav be recalled that Mr. Churchill some time ago announced that our naval strength in this area had been practically doubled lhe effect of this damaging loss which has now been inflicted on the Italian fleet may be to release an appreciable number of our own ships lor much-needed service elsewhere, such as in the Atlantic for convoy escorts. There is also to be taken into account the significance of these developments in their influence on the policy, of the Spanish Government, which has now been warned by Britain that the fortification of the international zone at Tangier, recently occupied by Spanish troops professedly to safeguard the neutrality of the zone, will not be permitted. , . , . , i Finally, there has to be reckoned m the gains from our naval enterprise the heartening effect upon our Greek ally, now fighting so gallantly to hold up the Italian invasion. The Royal Air Force has lust given them an additional fillip by a raid on the important Italian supply port of Durazzo, on the Albanian coast, an attack described as “the best raid we have had since the outbreak of the -war. lhe havoc wrought is said to have rendered this base practically useless. It should now be possible as the result of this highly satisfactory sequence of events to render assistance to Greece on a rapidly ascendiiw and accelerated scale, and for lhe British to proceed with less possibility of interruption with the consolidation of their strong points in the lonian Sea. Mr. Churchill’s news was indeed “good news.