The review of Taly's war effort during the year which ended on June 10—the first year i Italy's ill-judged participation in the war makes entertaining reading. The "Korth. China Daily News" has in these dass of rear happenings and little space, regrettably little opport-Unity to publish s: nusing rubbish. and tterefare the Feport appeared yesterday in an attenuated form. "The claims made from Rome can, how-fever, be boiled down Into a few words. They fare that the Italian land and eir forces are in better fighting trin than ever before; (2) that the production of war factories hus been greatly speeded up: (2) economy has been Positions have been replaced by those who are younger and more active. If all this is so, is remarkable tribute to German efficiency. But is it so? If an impartial review of Italy's war efforts during the last twoly undertaken, it will be shown that the Italians have every' reason to exclude their navy from their assessment of the work which their fight. ing forces have done. It will be noted that in the assessment only the work of the land and air forces is referred to. T) make the record complete, however, it should be recalled that the Talian navy has spent several weeks in dry-dock for every day it has been at sea. The year includes among other engagements, the British attack on Taranto and the Battle of Matapan, both of which have been conveniently forgotten in the summary from Rome. So far the other fighting forces of Italy are con~ cerned, i€ can be recorded that the air force has been shown to be hopelessly outdated by the comparatively old machines the British have used against it; and that, in reference to army, the "fast Fascists are getting faster"
quote the comment made on Monday night by the newscaster from XCDN—probably due to the fact that the older emeers have been replaced by younger men. The truth is that the Italians would have probably been belter advised to forget all about the anniversary of their entry into the war. What has happened during the last twelve months has done little more than make them a bigger laughing stock. than Mussolint's rantings had made them during the two or three years preceding. A record of the "successes" won by the Italian army can be traced through the resignations of its principal commanders. On December 6, 1940, Marshal Badoglio, the greatest soldier in the Mahan army, resigned from the post of Chief of the General Staff. On November 29, General Ubaldo Soddu resigned from the post of Deputy Chief of the General Staff. His successor, General Alfredo Guzzoni, was re-Tieved of the job on May 23. The post has now been abolished. or possibly it, is. being held bya Nazi officer. No-one quite knows. In addition, Signor Achille Starace, the Chief fof the Fascist Militia or Black Shiris, was also relieved of his duties, Signor Starace in the Gays before the war distinguished himself, by his ability to leap through burning hoops, like a performing dog, at the word of It Duce. Ti Duce seems to have discovered rather late in the day that more important abilities. than this are required of a man whose duty it is to control a widespread and powerful organiza. ion. If the Fascists "have learnt anything worthwhile out of this year of war, it should be shat, they made a great mistake in ever entering it. They must now realize—too into, unfortunately for them, since the Nazis have taken over the country—that no army can be efficient while it is being controlled by a bunch of amateurs ike the senior Fascist officials, The bright boys of Rome seem never to have understood that in military matters the military commander should be considered Know his business better than the civilian, no matter how brilliant or impressive the latter's uniform, The Mahan fighting forces "are in better trim than ever before?" That may well be s0, since well over two hundred thousand of them ore now in prison camps In different paris of the British Empire, where they
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.