ALLIED RESOLVE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 February 1943, Page 3

ALLIED RESOLVE

JUSTICE MUST BE DONE TO WICKED & GUILTY BUT NO CRUEL TREATMENT OF WHOLE POPULATIONS. NO QUESTION OF DRIFT OR INDECISION. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 10.0 a.m.) RUGBY, February 11. Britain and the United States were formerly peaceful countries, ill-armed and unprepared,” Mr Churchill said in the course of his war review. “They are now warrior nations, walking in the fear of the Lord, very heavily armed and with an increasingly clear view of their salvation.” Speaking of the Allies’ inflexible insistence on the unconditional surrender of the enemy, Mr Churchill said that did not mean that we should stain cur victorious arms by a wrong and cruel treatment of whole populations, but justice must be done to the wicked and guilty. “We have now a complete plan of action, which comprises (he appointment of forces as well as their direction and the weight of different, particular movements decided,” Mr Church-

ill continued. 1 “There is no question of drift or indecision. For good or ill. we know exactly what we wish to do. There is nothing now but to work out the details and put them into operation. I regretted that M. Stalin and some of his distinguished generals could not be with us. M. Stalin is the supreme director of the whole vast Russian offensive, which already then was in full swing and is still rolling remorselessly and triumphantly forward.

“British and American strategists and leaders are unanimously adhering to their decision of a year ago—namely that the breaking of the German power must have priority in the decisive phase of the war. For the time being, in the war against Japan, the British effort is confined to the Indian theatre. General Chiang Kai-shek 1 has concurred in plans for future action in the Far East.”

Speaking of his visit to Turkey, Mr Churchill warned against reading into the communique anything that was not there. “It is no part of our policy to get Turkey in,” he said. “Trouble and disaster to Turkey would be a disaster to Britain and all the United Nations. We are now in a position to supply Turkey with new weapons. At our conference, I made no requests to Turkey, except to get her rearmament business thoroughly well organised, and a joint military mission is now sitting at Ankara.”

Mr Churchill-said the landings in North Africa had been accomplished with fewer losses of shipping than the new additions which had fallen into our hands. Nearly half a million men had been landed successfully.