FASTER THAN WAS EXPECTED

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 218, 10 June 1943, Page 5

FASTER THAN WAS EXPECTED

Allied Advance Since Casablanca GERMAN DISASTERS (By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) LONDON, June 8. In the course of his statement in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, said that since Casablanca the Allied armies had marched faster than had been foreseen. Mr. Churchill stated that only 638 of the enemy escaped from the scene of surrender in Tunisia, mostly by air, and he added, “One cannot doubt that Stalingrad and Tunisia are the greatest military disasters that have ever befallen Germany in all the wars she has made. There is no doubt, from the statements of captured generals, that Hitler expected his 'Tunisian army to bold out at least till August, and that this was the view and intention of the German High Command.” ■ ~, ~ The steady wearing down of the German and Japanese air forces was proceeding remorselessly, the Prime Minister said. After declaring that nothing would turn Britain, the Dominions, America, and Russia from their endeavour and intention to accomplish the complete destruction of their foes by bombing from the air, in additoin to all other methods, he commented. “Loud lamentations and outcries are being.made by the enemy now that this form of warfare, by which they sought to obtain the mastery of the world, has turned markedly to their disadvantage. These outcries, will only be regarded by us as very satisfactory proof of the growing efficiency of our attack.” Memorable Age “I am sorry,” Mr. Churchill said, “that it has not yet been possible to bring into council Marshal Stalin or other representatives of our great ally, Russia, which is bearing very heavy burdens and paying by far the highest price in blood and life.” He said that the general war .policy included taking pressure off Russia and helping China and the protection of “our beloved Australia and New Zealand. In his reference .to the campaign against the U-boats, in which May had been the Allies’ best month, be added that the first week in June had been even better. The U-boats destroyed in May outnumbered those produced. The Prime Minister made Parliamentary historj’ when he concluded his review by explaining that the reason why lie had not made a longer speech was that he had already given a joint session of the Congress of the United States the statement which he should have made to the Commons on the Tunisian victories had he been in England. “When I found myself walking into that august assembly, the free Congress of the most powerful community in the world,” he said, “and when I gave them, exactly as I would do in this House, a businesslike stocktaking survey of the war and of our joint interests, even touching on matters of domestic controversy over there., and when I thought of our common history and the hopes that lie before us, I thought this was an age of memorable importance to mankind.”

WORLD’S DEBT TO MR. CHURCHILL

Remarkable Tribute

(British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, June 8.

In a remarkable tribute to Mr. Churchill, Lord Oranborne, the Lord Privy Seal, and Leader of the House of Lords, said in the House: — “In the past the Prime Minister used to be a rather austere and elderly person who remained immovable in the seat of government, and directed our affairs from the centre. Now he needs new and very different qualities. In addition to his ordinary strenuous duties, he is expected to fly over continents and oceans and to other parts of the world. There are no limits to the powers of endurance of a Prime Minister today, and I think it is our good fortune that in the greatest crisis of our history we should have found a man with courage, drive, initiative, and an almost superhuman quality of temperament and buoyancy which has surmounted all difficulties and dangers and lifted the spirit of the British people to bis own lofty and heroic level. “Our debt and the world’s debt to the Prime Minister grows month by month and day by day, and I think it is fitting that I should take this opportunity of expressing to him our undying gratitude for all he has done and all he is doing. We thank him from the bottom of our hearts.”

This statement took the place of the usual parallel statement in the House of Lords on the occasion of speeches- such as Mr. Churchill’s today. Lord Addison and Lord Samuel associated themselves with the leader’s tribute. Mr. Churchill bad Ms first audience with the King at Buckingham Palace today since his return from America. He gave His Majesty a full account of his visits to Washington and North Africa. Sir Dudley Pound, Mr. A. V. Alexander, and Sir Charles Portal were present. . It is announced that the ship which took Mr. Churchill to America carried nearly 400 German prisoners, including high officers.