"It is not true that the Germans clothed their parachute troops who attacked Crete in New Zealand uniforms. I gave that report to the House as it reached me from the Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East, He now informs me that their mistake arose from the fact that the parachute troops. after landing at exe point drove a number of New Zealand walking wounded before them and along with them in their attacks, and consequently the cry arose that they themselves were in New Zealand uniforms, "There is no objection to the use of parachute troops in war so long as they are dressed in the distinctive uniforms of their country. This kind of fighting, however, is bound to become very' fierce as it breaks out behind the front lines of any army and the civil population is almost immediately involved."
Mr. Churchill then turned to Syria, when Mr, Here-Belisha invited him to say something about Air Arm cooperation.
The Prime Minister continued: "Last year the great need was to multiply fighters and bombers, It became an enormously important matter, Nevertheless, the proportion of Army Ca-operation squadrons associated with military forces was not on the scale which was desirable. It is of utmost consequence that every divi-n, especially every armoured division, should have a chance to live daily life training in close and precise relationship with the parti. {cular number of aircraft that it knows it can call up at need, "It was not possible last year to provide this on a large scale without {trenching on other domains which were more vital to our safety, but it is our intention to go forward on that path immediately and provide th Army with a considerably larger number of aeroplanes suited entirely to the work they have to do, and above all, to the development of that wireless connection between ground forces and the air which the Germans have carried to such an extraordinary point of perfection, "If this had been done in Crete, however it would not have made any diTerence to the event there, because the numbers there for the purpose of ce-operation with the troops could not have been altered,"
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.