ADMIRALTY’S SIGNAL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 160, 6 June 1940, Page 8

ADMIRALTY’S SIGNAL.

ALL HANDS THANKED. (British Official Wireless.) ItUGBY, June 4. The following signal was sent from the Admiralty to-day: “The Admiralty congratulates all concerned on the successful evacuation of the B.E.F. and the soldiers of the Allied Armies from the Dunkirk area. Their Lordships appreciate the splendid endurance with which all the ships’ personnel faced the continuous attack of enemy aircraft and the physical strain imposed by the long hours of arduous work in narrow waters over many days. “The magnificent spirit of co-opera-tion between the Navy, Army, Ii.A.F. and Merchant Navy alone brought the operation to a successful conclusion. The ready willingness with which seamen from every walk of life came forward to assist their brother seamen of the Royal Navy will not be readily torgotten.' Their Lordships also realise that this success was only rendered possible by the great effort mnde by all shore establishments, and in particular by the Dover Command, who were responsible for the organisation and direction of a difficult operation.” The Dover Command has again followed the magnificent tradition of this service set up in the last war. The patrol in those days had to keep well in mind the German naval power which at any moment might have attempted to challenge the British supremacy. The modern patrol is more concerned with Nazi air power for, although it was revealed by the Prime Minister’s statement that one U-boat was sun'k during the operations off Dunkirk, German sea power was not a, formidable antagonist. NAVY SUPREME. It has not yet been disclosed how many ships of the British Navy fell victim to sea attack, but, as out of the 224 British naval vessels engaged, only thirty—six destroyers and 2-1 minor craft—had been sunk up to yesterday, the inference to be drawn from this, naval circles suggest, is that German sea power has been largely destroyed and once again it has been demonstrated that superiority in the air isj noiT an answer to sea supremacy. BOMBS IN GERMANY. A French official statement says:— “Until the last moment our rearguard at Dunkirk heroically resisted and fought from house to house. The last men were embarked under German machine-gun fire.” . it added that combats occurred in the morning in the Lower Somme. “We took some prisoners. - Our aircraft have been active on the entire front. Our bombers last night attacked airfields and industrial establishments near Munich and Frankfurt, and caused numerous fires and explosions. They hit one of Germany’s most important aircraft engine factories. All our ’planes returned.” The Berlin radio, in a special announcement, the German losses since the invasion of the Low Countries total 10,252 officers and men killed, 8463 missing, 42,523 wounded, and 432 ’planes lost.