CENSURE MOTION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 July 1942, Page 3

CENSURE MOTION

DEFEATED IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS By 475 Votes to 25 MR CHURCHILL’S SURVEY OF EVENTS IN LIBYA UNEXPECTED MISHAPS THAT TRANSFORMED SITUATION LONDON, July 2. The motion of censure of the Government was defeated in the House of Commons by a majority of 450—the voting being 475 to 25. The Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, was received ' with loud cheers when he rose to speak. He spoke for one hour 27 minutes in winding up the debate. The greater part of his speech was devoted to the battle now being fought in Egypt and to the events leading up to the present situation. He pointed out how very difficult it was to him to concentrate his thoughts on the debate when such a tremendous and difficult battle was raging in Egypt. At any moment he might receive news of the gravest importance. After referring to the situation eight months ago, when the enemy was driven back 400 miles,, Mr Churchill came to events of the present day. The military mishaps of the last fortnight, he said, had completely transformed the situation, not only in Egypt but throughout the Mediterranean. Their losses were 50,000 men, by far the greater part of these beingprisoners. The enemy was approaching the fertile Valley of the Nile. Referring to the fall of Tobruk, the Prime Minister said a feature was its suddenness. It went, with its garrison of 25,000 men, in a single day. It was completely unexpected to the War Cabinet and even to the General Staff and was not expected by General Auchinleck or the High Command in the Middle East. Prior to the capture of Tobruk by the enemy, General Auchinleck had said that the garrison was adequate and that the defences were in good order. Ninety days’ supplies were available for the troops. Mr Churchill said the decision to capitulate at Tobruk, to the best of his knowledge, came from the commander of the forces and was certainly most unexpected to the High Command in the Middle East. Mr Churchill proceeded to refer to the defeat of General Ritchie’s forces under conditions which had given good and reasonable expectations of success. The British forces totalled 100,000 and those of the Axis about 90,000, of whom 50,000 were Germans. Britain had a superiority in tanks of 7to 5. and a superiority in artillery of nearly 8 to 5, and throughout the battle and today Britain had superiority in the air. On June 13, there came a change. They had about 300 tanks in action, but by night not more than 70 remained. That hap-, pened without any corresponding loss being inflicted on the' enemy. He did not know actually what had happened in the fighting on that day, but with that proportion of Idsses, General Rommel became definitely stronger and Tobruk went in a single day’s fight. Although he was not mentioning reinforcements, Mr Churchill said, he must mention one unit which came into close contact with the enemy—the New Zealand Division. Mr Churchill then referred to events leading to General Auchinleck’s taking over command of the forces.