June 4.
Hitler, and Mussolini have had another of their meetings in the Brenner Pass. Nothing has been divulged as to what was talked about or decided. It is not to be! expected that It would be, though doubtless! Mussolini congratulated Hitler on the capture fof Crete sind emphasized the importance of the fle which the Italian forces played in that success in just arriving on the island in time for the shouting. It is true that the Italians did get there some two or three days before the ultimate decision had been reached, but the celerity of his assistance was in fact no quicker than that with which' he so eagerly threw Italy into the war when the realized that France was no longer in a position to defend herself. The Italians are particularly successful in getting on the spot when their ally has just about secured success for himself, but when it comes to independent action, in which they have to bear the full brunt' of the fighting, they have not shown. up at all well, The chances are that Hitler reminded Mussolini of that, and of the enormous cost to Germany of having to extricate him from the mess he got himself into in Albania.
Concerning the decisions which were reached at Brenner Pass there is the completest secrecy. Yet the conclusion seems: inevitable that what Hitler and his very junior satellite had to decide was whether' to continue with the prosecution of the Mediterranean venture with an assault on Cyprus, preparatory to a descent on Syria and a drive for the Traq oilfields, concerning, which German plans have already so seriously misfired, or whether the capture of Crete] has given them sufficient information now to undertake the invasion of Britain about! which the enemy has been silent for some time past, The belief that the invasion of Crete may be accepted as a dress rehearsal for an onslaught upon Great Britain may prove to be not altogether correct. Crete is} no larger than two of the Ridings of Yorkshire and consequently when areas are taken into consideration, large as was the con~ centration upon Crete infinitely greater would have to be the number of troops and aero~ planes to be thrown into the struggle for Great Britain, In Britain whatever forces were landed) by airp—and it has to be remembered that} the Germans have never succeeded in securing superiority in that medium over the Tsles—would have to face millions of men} fully equipped and trained in the regular] army, and the additional strength of the; Home Guard, together with the mechanized forees which have grown wonderfully within the past year, Indeed so immense would be the task which the Germans would set themselves in an invasion of the British Isles that there is ground for believing that only in the last resort, as a desperate effort to! force the issue ajfainst the march of time! which favours the British, will Hitler turn to such a venture. It may be said with cer tainty that the British await any such attack]
ith complete confidence of being able to deal with it, and nothing which has happened in Crete can in any way diminish that confidence.
It is interesting to regard future possibilities in the light of the speech which Mr. Churchill made exactly a year ago -today following the collapse of France. It Is in the spirit of that speech that resistance will be offered to any attempted German invvasion::
We shall go on to the end....we shall Aght with growing confidence and strength in the alr; we shall defend our Island whater the cost may be: we shall yht on the aches; we shall fight on the landing grounds; we shall Aight in the fields and in the streets and in the hills. We shall never surrender and even if-—vwhich for a moment [ido not believe-this island or a large part of it were subjected or starving, then our Empire beyond the eas armed and guarded uy the British Fleet will every on until in God's good time the new world with all ts
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.