IMPROVED WAR SITUATION

Marlborough Express, Volume LXXVI, Issue 241, 13 October 1942, Page 5

IMPROVED WAR SITUATION

"S0L1D & REMARKABLE FACTS " CHUKCHILL S VOW OF RETRIBUTION

; b.o.w.

RUGBY Oct. 12.

"To show any weakness to such a man as Hitler is only to encourage him in further atrocities, and you may be assured that no weakness will be shown him," declared Mr Churchill, speaking at Edinfourgh to-day when the freedom of the city was conferred on him. He was referring to the chaining of prisoners of war. Mr Churchill declared that U-boat warfare still remained the greatest problern of the United Nations, but there was no reason why it should not be splved by the prodigious measures of offence and defence and replacements on which the British Commonwealth, and above all the United States, were engaged. August and September had been the least bad months since January, he contmued. They had seen new building of merchanitmen which substantially out-weighed the losses. They had seen. the greatest tonnage of British bombs dropped on Germany. They had covered the most numerous safe arrival of United States troops in Britain. They had marbed a definite growth in Allied air superiority over Germany, Italv and Japan. "It is not my habit to encourage light or vain expectations, but these are soiid and remarkable facts," the Prime Minister declared. "The Army in Egypt is confident that it will stand as an unbreakable barrier between Rommel and the Nile Valley, while the Fleet is once again confident that it will stand between the Continental tyrant and dominion over the world. The whole country is pulling together as never before in all its history."

NAZI LEADERS BETRAY FEAR. Mr Churchill said that our enemies had been more talkative recently. Ribbentrop, Hitler and Goering had all made speeches which revealed with considerable frankness their state of mind. "There was one note ringing through all these speeches," the Prime Minister went on. "It could be clearly heard above their customary boastings and threats. It was the dull, low whining note of fear. These speeches were all the speeches of men conscious of their gbilt, and conscious of the law. "How different from the tone of 1940, when France was struck down, Western Europe beaten down, and Eastern Europe subjugated! Mussolini had hastened to stab us in the back, and Britain stood as the sole champion in arms for the freedom and the inheritanee of mankind. Evidently something has happened in the past two years to make these evil-doers feel that there may be another side to the account. "The most curious part of Hitler's speech was his complaint that noone pays sufficient attention to his victories. It strikes chill into his marrow, because in his heart he knows that all his tremendous victories and vast conquests have not prevented his fortunes from declining. His prospects have darkened to an immeasurable degree in the last two years. Apparently this bad man saw quite clearly the shadow of a slowly, remorselessly-approaching doom, and railed at fortune for inocking him with the glitter of fleeting success." Mr Churchill declared that all occupied Europe was seething with a spirit of revolt and revolution. Hatred of the German raoe and name iburned fiercer daily in the hearts of the people. Hitler's soldiers dwelt among populations who would kill them one at a time when the chance came. SAVAGE AND BESTIAL ACTS. The British Commando raids in different parts of the enormous Western European coast-line, together with the mounting scale of acts of retribution by the subjected peoples, had caused Hitler in fear and spite to turn upon prisoners of war in his camps. "I always expected that this war iwould become worse in severity as Ihe guilty Nazis felt their doom closfcng upon them," Mr Churchill detlared. "In the West we have seen nnany savage and bestial acts, but nothing comparable with the wholesale massacres, not only of soldiers, but of women and children, which have characterised Hitler's invasion of Russia and Eastern Europe, where tens of thousands have been murdered in cold blood for every execution in the West. Hitler ordered at least 200,000 in Eastern and Central Europe — for instance, in the first few days after Kiev fell 54,000 of its citizens were murdered." The Prime Minister said that there was another reason for Hitler's large-scale maltreatment of British prisoners. He wished to throw a new topic into the arena of world discussion in order to divert men's eyes from the evident failure so far of his second campaign in Russia. The heroic defence of Stalingrad and the fact that the splendid Russian firmies are everywhere intact, unbeaten, and unbroken, and even counter-attacking with amazing energy along the whole front from Leningrad to the Caucasus; the [ fearful losses suffered by the Ger|man troops; and the near approach [of another Russian winter — all these Lgrim facts cast their freezing shadow lupon the German people, already Kvincing under the repeated and inKreasing impact of British bombing.

■ "The German people are turning M stony gaze upon their leader, who Bas brought «all this upon them. Al«ady Goering has made haste to Boint out that the decision to invade Kussia was Hitler's alone, and that K generals are only carrying out orders." R,esponding to cheers at the end of H speech',' Mr Churchill said: Mhatever may lie before us, we Hll not flinch. I am sure we shall superior through all our trials all our duties."