MUSSOLINI TRIES HIS HAND

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21372, 17 March 1941, Page 4

MUSSOLINI TRIES HIS HAND

Mussolini evidently thought he could succeed where his generals had failed. He visited Albania and ordered an offensive on a wide front. Every attack has been smashed and the Italians have fallen back with very heavy losses. Mussolini’s policy has been to dismiss the generals who failed to carry out his orders, but he will not dismiss himself. The dictator has driven his men to butchery which has revolted even the Greeks and must have caused grave despondency among the Italian forces. Mussolini should have known that if anything was calculated to spur the Greeks to greater efforts it was his own presence at the fighting front. Greece has performed prodigiously and has earned the warm admiration of her allies. She has shown great skill in defence as well as in attack. For several 1 days the Italians have hurled their full strength against the positions which they themselves recently occupied. Every wave of attackers has been beaten back, and Greece now claims that the total of Italian losses in the whole campaign is 130,000. Thus when the casualties and captures in North and East Africa are added the Italians must have lost well over 300,000 men in the past three months. In addition, Italy has lost vast quantities of arms, supplies and ships. It is not surprising that Mussolini is desperately anxious to turn the tide. He is now beginning to learn the cost of his disastrous decision to join forces with the German brigand. What will the next move be ? As far as Africa is concerned Mussolini can do little more than wait for the end. Will he continue the assault against Greece under his own direction, or will he return to Rome and pray for German aid ? The Nazis will come to the rescue only when Hitler is ready. Before Hitler can move further he has a few problems to settle in the Balkans. If those problems cannot be solved quickly the Italians’ plight might become desperate indeed. The Greeks will continue the pressure in Albania and the Fascists will be harried elsewhere on land and sea. The growing strength of the Allied Air Force is a constant menace that must be a nightmare to Mussolini. Italian aeroplanes have disappeared from some theatres altogether and when the time comes for the offensive Italy will be wide open to attack. Will Hitler attempt to save Italy by making south-eastern Europe a major scene of war ? If he does, that will mean a drastic change in a long-standing policy.