June 6.
When a Prime Minister can tell his country that what has happened in Flanders is colossal military disaster," it is indicative of two things; first, his readiness to tell the truth, and, second, the realization that the] people to whom he can say such a thing are) prepared to "take it on the chin." 'That has happened in Great Britain. Mr. Winston Churchill on Tuesday in his eagerly awaited Pronouncement told nothing but the bare truth, hiding nothing and attempting to gloze' over nothing. On the other hand the Germans, not content with the battle they have won, are endeavouring to magnify it out all proportion to the actual facts, and that, it is reasonable to assume, is because sooner or later the country will have to know of the] stupendous cost in men and material which this victory has involved. The difference in method is striking, and is apparently already impressing other nations. Particularly is this the case in Ttaly, where the people assiduously fed with stories of overwhelming German victory and the annihilation of the Allied armies, are suddenly faced with the truth of! the situation, and impressed with the frankness with which Mr. Churchill has made the] admissions he has. With the Italian Press so] completely under governmental control, it is somewhat astonishing that it should have been allowed to print a fair summary of Mr. Churchill's speech, unless the fact is that someone has miscalculated the effect it would] have, and permitted it to be published in the] hope that it would corroborate the exaggerated claims which had up to then received such prominence in Italy. The effect] the speech has produced in other parts of the world is also most gratifying, and it cannot] be gain said that Mr. Churchill, by making the speech he has, has done a great deal to enhance the credit of the Allies, and further to have strengthened the belief in the truthfulness of their communiques. In this conneetion it should be noted that at no time since the German onslaught on the Low Countries did the Allied command ever seek to minimize the seriousness of the position, and it is be~ cause of that that the Allies were well fitted to receive the sad news which Mr. Churchill has given to them.
Amongst the many important conclusions which may be drawn from the battle of Flanders and the evacuation of Dunkirk is one which has been emphasized by a military expert in the New: York "Times." He asserts with confidence that this withdrawal was accomplished primarily because of the local superiority of the British in the air. It is inconceivable that hundreds of vessels should manquvre in such a small area, offering the easiest target to enemy bombers, and yet be able to complete an evacuation exceeding anything which has been achieved in modern warfare, unless in fact the Allied air arm had been able to fight off the German aeroplanes. The feat indicates something more than mere local superiority, for quite obviously the Germans could and did throw in the full weight] of their air force in the attempt to destroy the Allies and were worsted in the attempt. That, the enemy fully realize and their endeavour to magnify the losses inflicted upon the Allied navies and merchantmen can be regarded merely as an attempt to get over the fact that Allied naval and air superiority was such that they were able to extricate hundreds of thousands of men from a situation of unparalleled peril. Mr. Churchill in his speech in the House of Commons makes that point. clear, and it is emphasized by the neutral comment which is coming to hand. Of the enormous loss of material which the Allies have suffered he makes equally clear admissions. He has sought in no way to present the situation otherwise than in that realistic light which he has always adopted in his speeches and his writings. The British Empire and the peoples of the world see in what he has done the finest possible compliment to the moral of the Allies, in his very patent belief that they can stand the truth being told to them, and that instead of disheartening them it will inspire them to further and greater efforts.
Mr. Churehilt's peroration is so striking a battle cry that it will bear repetition in these columns We shall go on to the end. We shall fight France; we shall Aight on the seas and the oceans: we shall fight with growing confidence and strength in the ale; we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on the beaches; we shall fight on the landing grounds: we shall fight in the streets and in the hills. We shall never surrender and even if—which for a moment I do not believe—this island, or part of it was subjected and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet will carry on the struggle, until in God's good time, the new world with all its ower and might steps forth to the liberation and rescue of the old.
The Allies have met with their first reverse. That was recognized as inevitable immediately following the defection of King Leopold, prior to which the enemy's massed forces were making little headway and the original impetus of the onslaught was being slowed down, The Germans have had all the luck up to the present, and, while it- would be highly unwise to seek to belittle what they have achieved, factors which could not have been anticipated gave them every possible advantage. It is to be expected that they will seek to deliver other sudden and heavy blows, but the huge expenditure of men and material which has marked their effort during the past three weeks cannot be continued indefinitely. The rapidity with which succeeding strokes are made will be indicative of the imperative need, which the German command realizes, of bringing this war to a speedy end before the inevitable wastage of resources condemns them to the defeat which is confidently expected for them. The Allies have the whole world from which to draw material to repair their heavy losses of equipment. The Germans have not. They have won a battle which gives them nothing but territory, and time, and the blockade are both getting in. their deadly work. Apart from this the Allies are inspired with ideals, the very life blood of their peoples, which ensure the manifesto: tion of their' determination. to emerge victorious from this gigantic struggle, an in spiration which may truly be summed up in the lines Freedom's battle, once begun, Bequeathed by bleeding sire to son, Though bated oft, is ever won.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.