Wairarapa Times-Age SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 1941. AN ACCEPTANCE OF HAZARDS.
as they needs must, be for their soldiers now facing almost overwhelming odds in Greece, a great majority of the people of this country probably had decided for themselves, before the Prime Minister (Air Fraser.) made his extended statement on the subject, that the British Empire could have done nothing else than give Greece all the military assistance in its power. To desert the Greeks in their heroic stand against two large and powerful military empires would have been infamous. The landing in Greece of the Imperial force which includes the New Zealand Division of necessity entailed an acceptance of great hazards. As news stands, these hazards are by no means over and done with, but honour and self-respect demanded that they should be faced. The Prime Minister’s statement is timely and of value particularly in showing Unit the British Government, and the Dominion Governments concerned and the British military ad-visers-—not only the chiefs of staff, but General Sir A. AVavell, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham and Air Chief Marshal Sir A. Longmore, were of one mind on the question of sending military aid to Greece. This disposes conclusively of the, scaremongering suggestion made recently by a Loudon newspaper that the dispatch of a force to Greece had been undertaken against the advice and wishes of General AVavell. In accepting on his own account and for his Government full responsibility for what has been done, Air Fraser said in part:— After the most anxious consideration we concurred with the unanimous view of the British Government and their military advisers, including our own commander (Major-General B. C. Freyberg) that the operations should be undertaken. This conclusion was arrived at unanimously by all the members of the War Cabinet and all the members of the ordinary Cabinet and was approved as the only possible course in the difficult circumstances by the Leader of the Opposition, who was specially consulted on the matter by myself. Whatever the outcome, it may be expected I hat Parliament and the people of the Dominion also will agree that Hie right thing was done in giving Greece all the military help possible. The cost at which our own'soldiers, with their Australian and British comrades and their Greek allies, are playing their part in opposing the German thrust, cannot well be light. Losses inevitably have been and are being incurred which will bring sorrow into many New Zealand homes, but these tragic sacri-y fices are a bitter part of the price that must be paid for ultimate victory. Our soldiers who fall in Greece assuredly will not die in vain, nor in a cause unworthy of their sacrifice. On balance it is clear that the Germans have little enough cause to be gratified, thus far, with the results of their conflict with the British Imperial forces, and, indeed, with the Greeks, save in the extent to which (he latter have been handicapped hopelessly by inferiority in numbers and equipment. Although they are using first-class lines of communication and have virtually unlimited mechanised, air and other forces at their disposal, the Germans failed completely to achieve their object of a break-through and envelopment so far as the British section of the line is concerned. A. feat of arms that will live in history stands to the credit of the small but indomitable force which retired unbroken across the broad Thessalian plain. Tn their drive on Janina, a drive made possible by an overwhelming preponderance of numbers and material, the Germans ent off the Greek forces in Epirus and Western Macedonia —that is to say the valiant troops who were far advanced in a victorious campaign against Italy in Albania and undoubtedly would have fought their way to final and complete victory had not Germany come to the aid of her jackal ally. What prospects there are of setting limits to the Axis invasion of Greece is a question on which no clear light is thrown at. the moment. It is established, however, that the conquest of a substantial part of Greece has been effected by the Gormans at a heavy price in men an,cl material and with no assurance that they have thus made any appreciable approach to their ultimate objective. As to what is to follow, something depends on factors not yet determined. The air is full; at present, of rumours and reports of Axis pressure on Spain and on Vichy by which it is hoped to gain French and Spanish “collaboration” in aggression in the Western Mediterranean. Obviously some very important possibilities await determination in that region. In the Eastern Mediterranean, however, it may he seen plainly that, irrespective of what may happen for the moment in Greece, there are factors of great strength as well as of danger in, the several theatres Io which operations extend. At its face value, Turkey’s declared determination to defend her inde•pendence and integrity is an important item on the right side of the ledger.
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Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 April 1941, Page 4
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833Wairarapa Times-Age SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 1941. AN ACCEPTANCE OF HAZARDS. Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 April 1941, Page 4
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