NEXT MOVE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 June 1943, Page 3

NEXT MOVE

SPECULATION IN BRITAIN GERMANS VERY UNEASY ABOUT BALKANS. ITALIAN FLEET WEAKENED & SCATTERED. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, June 13. The occupation of Pantelleria and Lampedusa has opened up speculation about the next move. Commentators do not agree that this is necessarily a prelude to an invasion of Italy, and they warn that surprises may be expected. It is pointed out that the clearing of the Mediterranean supply route is an essential preliminary to action in any part of the Mediterranean. To secure this, the occupation of Pantelleria and Lampedusa must be followed by neutralisation of the Italian naval and air bases in Sicily and Sardinia, but some commentators express the opinion that the Allies may suddenly switch the main weight of their assault to another part of the Mediterranean. T’he Germans are manifesting great uneasiness about the Balkans.

The naval correspondent of the ‘“Sunday Express” says the Italian fleet is not expected to engage in any largescale action with the Allies in the Mediterranean. “Badly weakened by its losses, the Italian fleet is scattered over a number of bases, and it would have to be concentrated into one force to have any chance in a major action,” he says. “To join up, the Italian warships would have to pass through either the Sicilian Narrows, which are now dominated by the Allies, or the Strait of Messina, which are under constant Allied air attack. Because of the risks in attempting to assemble his fleet, Mus-

solini is likely to keep them in the limited security of his harbours.” Germany is sending 900 planes —600 bombers and 300 fighters —into Italy, declared the Algiers radio. The first squadron has already moved to new bases in the south. A message from Istanbul says that Field Marshal Rommel, after inspecting the Axis defences at Salonika, is reported to have gone to Athens to meet Admiral Kanaris. A message from Ankara says that Admiral Sir John Cunningham, the newly-appointed Commander-in-Chief in the Levant, arrived by plane with a small staff for talks with Turkish military leaders.