BATTLE OF ATLANTIC

Evening Star, Issue 24333, 23 October 1942, Page 3

BATTLE OF ATLANTIC

FIVE HUNDRED SINKINGS SINGE PEARL HARBOUR

JUNE MOST COSTLY MONTH LONDON, October 21. The Battle of the Atlantic claimed its live hundredth announced submarine victim with to-day’s announcement of the loss of a medium-sized freighter in the North Atlantic. The ship was attacked by three submarines. The survivors were landed, but the captain was imprisoned on the submarine. According to the Associated Press of America the tabulations show that in the 500 announced sinkings of United and Allied nations’ merchant ships since Pearl Harbour, 3,400 lives were lost and over 1,954 members of the crows and passengers are missing, most of whom are considered dead. Over 15,462 were rescued and landed safely at -western Atlantic ports. At least 60 ships’ captains are known to be -war casualties, including 12 who were imprisoned on board Axis raiders between June and August, 1942. On the basis of announced sinkings, June, with 111 vessels lost, was the most costly month of the war. Since then sinkings have decreased steadily, being 48 in August, 14 in September, and four so far in October.

A later Washington message says the navy announced that a medium-sized Panama merchantman was torpedoed and sunk early in October on the northern coast of South America. Twelve of the crew were drowned when a lifeboat overturned after being caught in the rigging of the sinking vessel. Thirty-seven other members of the crew reached South American ports.

ITALY'S KING SERIOUSLY ILL

NEW YORK, October 22. The King of Italy is reported to be seriously ill at his summer residence at ‘San Rossore, near Pisa, says the Berne correspondent of the ‘ New York

Times.’ The King’s physician, accompanied. by four specialists, has left Rome for Pisa. Crown Prince Humbert interrupted an inspection trip at Naples and! flew to San Rossore.

UNITY OF COMMAND

AMERICAN COMMENT (ißec. 10.55 a.m.) NEW . YORK, October 22. “ Civilian officials shy the public cannot confidently extend the conduct of the war to military menj” declares Walter Lippmaun, writing in the New York ‘ Herald-Tribune.’ “ Military men are unable to agree among themselves on most of the vital tactical and strategical problems, and for this reason decisions must he reached by laymen of trained judgment. The rivalry of soldiers, sailors, and airmen, both iu the United States and in Britain, is perhaps the outstanding obstacle to effective amity of command of the war theatres and healthy relations between Allies. This unresolved struggle for control of operations, allocation of equipment, and power of command is a source of our most serious weakness. The apple of discord is air power. The advent of the aeroplane has obliterated the old clear boundary lines between generals and admirals, resulting in confusion, greater for England and America than land powers like Germany, Russia, and Chinq. Only Japan has the same problem, but the skill of the Japanese High Command in combining land, air, and naval power is clearly one of the reasons for their spectacular successes. Some extreme air power advocates harmed their cause by partisan violence and wild unsubstantiated promises of a quick, easy way to win the war, but we must not be put off by a bad statement of a good case. The search for right to use air power in combined _ operations is crucial in Anglo-American conduct of the war.”

VICTIMS OF FLYING FORTRESSES

(Rec. 11.35 a.m.)

_ WASHING-TON, October 22. Flying Fortresses in European and Pacific theatres shot down 130 enemy planes and probably -destroyed 92 and damaged 82 between August/15 and October 15. Mr Stimson announced that in the same period only six Fortresses were lost. In the Pacific area Portresses shot down 45 with 13 probables and five damaged.

AIR RAID FEARED JAPANESE THREAT TO U.S. AIRMEN LONDON, October 22. A New York message states that the Tokio official radio continues to broadcast threats of severe punishment against United States airmen alleged to have been taken prisoners after the raid on J apanese territory. A J apanese spokesman said the pilots seized had already been sentenced by a Japanese military court, but the sentence might not be carried out immediately. He denied that the action was a reprisal, and claimed that the object of threatened punishment was to protect the Japanese civilian population against enemy terrorism. The Associated Press says these statements suggest the Japanese fear more raids, and in an effort to discourage them one Tokio broadcast said future raiders would he tried for their lives. ONLY MILITARY TARGETS APRIL RAID OH TOKIO (Rec. 11.35 a.m.) WASHINGTON, Oct. 22. Four American airmen whose names closely correspond with those broadcast from Tokio actually were among the army’s list of flyers missing as a result of storms encountered after the raid on Tokio in April was completed, said Mr Stimson, who added that there were relatively few . airmen missing after this raid. Some of the flyers may have been forced down by lack of petrol in Japanese-controlled territory. One plane was interned in Russia, and several others were involved in a forced landing in China. Very few of these planes were missing. • The flyers who attacked Tokio were instructed to attack only military targets, and reports indicate that they did so with remarkable accuracy. “ We abide by the Geneva Convention governing war conduct, and expect our enemies to do the same,” said Mr Stimson. “We are very loth to believe that Japan is going to violate these rules. We have allowed the Red Cross to inspect the condition of all Japanese prisoners held by us, and we are making every effort to see that the rules of Geneva and the rules of humanity are carried out.”

HUGE APPROPRIATION AMERICAN NAVAL CONSTRUCTION (Rec. 8 a.m.) WASHINGTON, Oct. 22. The House adopted the conference report on the supplementary navy appropriation of 15,851,000,000 dollars and Senate approval is expected this week. * The measure includes provision for 14,611 naval planes, 500,000 tons of aircraft carriers, and) 500,000 tons of cruisers.

VIRTUOUS INDIGNATION NAZIS ON " GANGSTER METHODS ” (Rec. 8 a.m.) LONDON, Oct. 22. The Berlin radio announced that the High Command! was contemplating more severe measures against all prisoners accused of employing “ gangster methods,” including airmen, who intentionally attack civilian objectives and civilians.

REPRESSION IN SERBIA LONDON, October 21. A despatch from Belgrade states that all Serbia has been placed under military law following a renewed attempt in Belgrade to organise a revolt against the occupation authorities. The German military authorities announce that many have been arrested in Belgrade.

ANOTHER GERMAN ALLEGATION LONDON, October 21. The German High Command announced; “British fighter-bombers in daylight on October 20 attacked a clearly-marked German Red Cross station on the North African front and destroyed an operation tent, causing casualties among the patients and ambulance members.

“The British are thus deliberately continuing the violations of international law, regardless of the most elementary rules of humanitarianism. The High Command must conclude that Britain no longer wishes to maintain the Geneva Convention.”

PREPARATIONS IN IRAQ

WORK OF BRITISH FORCES V LONDON, October 21; “ The men of General Sir Maitland Wilson’s new command are changing the face of Persia and Iraq by opening new roads and enlarging old ones,” says the 1 Daily Express ’ correspondent. “ This is the moment for all-out work, not for talking,” said General Wilson, in an interview. “ There is not a man among us who would not like to be fighting alongside the Russians with the shortest possible delay, but we still have a great deal of work before us in overcoming the vast distances involved.”

The correspondent says that during a week’s tour he saw great convoys of lorries, heavy guns, and up-to-date tanks rolling across the Persian highways. It was the best propaganda for war effort this country had seen for many a day.

COTTON FOR WAR,PURPOSES

SHIPMENTS FROM AMERICA NEW YORK, October 21. With the current season’s crop yielding a lower grade staple than last year, the War. Production Board and the army are objecting strenuously to giving Britain large quantities of the better grades of cotton, states the Washington correspondent of the ‘ Journal of Commerce. The British recently modified their demands slightly, but still insist that the United States should make available on lend-lease the middling or better-grade cotton. An army official is reported to be objecting on the grounds that the diversion of so much high-grade cotton to Britain will decrease further the amount available for Poms manufacture of cotton military goods. An unnamed 1 Government official suggested that Britain should he told that she could have cnly an average of the current crop, and he claimed that some local mills would be unable to meet their war contracts unless they were able to obtain bigger supplies of highgrade cotton.

Such of the cable news in this issue as is so headed has appeared in ' The Times,’ and is sent to this paper by special permission. It should be understood that the opinions are not those of ‘ The Times ’ unless expressly stated to be so.