"The next few hours may well prove decisive in the great battle of declared the "New Zealand Peter Fraser. in an interview with Reuters yester "Iam very confident that on New Zealand troops their gallant Aus tralian, British, Greek and" Cretan ies will' succeed "in holding Crete against one of the heaviest ait attacks yet launched and in cireum= stances which will never be repeated. Never have conditions been so {avourfable for air attack. with German alr bases 0 close and our men deprived of air support and so handicapped.
have great hope of the outcome. 1 knew New Zealand troops, and 1 know that they are not surpassed for ce-operation, unity. tenacity. disciple and individual initiative. They showed their quality in Greece, ghting eroie reargpard_ action, as did the Australians and Greeks. and they are giving an equally "good account of themselves in Crete*—Reuter-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.