Aug. 16. is but natural that very ttle should heard of the Tlallans. nowadays. All along they Rave played an insignificant part in the war, and now, as completely under Hitler as. sny other country "which, he has overrun, Taly no longer ranks a8 an Axis Partner" Mussolini who once fancied. hima Felt as proud Diclator has been relegated to the position of Hitler's lackey, and with tst about og' much 0. soy for himself as! such a menial would have." But it is not to thought that. the "Italian propagandists fave not been doing the best they can with the poor material. which Italian achievements, or lack thereof, wide them. Their Impudence im unparalleled. Tt will' be membered. that in 1040, when the Germans
Franco, Muscolint with astonishing "courage fad a but completed tals campaign against Geclared war against that stricken country.
was quite safe to do so then,—hence the courage." With considerable bravado Tealian troops commenced the invasion of France just in time fo claim'a share In the German victory.
History has repeated itself.' Followiny costly onslaught by. the Germans on Which they forced the British to evacuate. The Ttalians decided that here too they must fake a hand. Consequently afew ttalian {roops" sneaked into' Crete nine days after the Germans. And did-the Ballan broad casters have a field day? "In. a broad-fast {o-Britain on May 30 the speaker aver~ Fed "History will Jock on the Tealian jardin 28 one of the outstanding events of all ages: Qn the, same. day broadcasting to. the! South "Pacife an announcer boasted "At Grete. onthe occasion of the landing the "Italians. the. domination of "the. sea passed to Tialy:". The next day in a. domes-Hie broadcast ome said "Pacts prove the crushing military and industrial superiority] and mastery of technique of the Axis Powers over England, Tu the waters round Crete, as in every other sea, there was ample proof that the famous "British Navy amy. wins when it has overwhelming _nutherical Superiority. When an English naval formation has parity with an Italian or German formation' the English are inferior' The! Hallans "were numerically" superior at the Battle of Matapan.
The only, superiority which the _Ttalian navy. has displayed. against the "British in The Mediterranean hasbeen one of speed, fand determination to keep away from the British units, and the mauling it-has received whenever it has. been. possible to bring it to action is a clear answer to the claims. Far from the Italians having succeeded in Won of the eastern Mediterranean, or for that matter any. other part of that sea, the fact is that the British fleet goes about its lawful occasions without let or hindrance from the enemy, and that large convoys fave been escorted along the routes there without the Italians being able to inflict any' serious casualties. Of course the explo tion of this empty boasting is, clear." Italy played an ignoble part is war. [Where she has fought she has failed. In Africa' Iher large armies were defeated by the numerically inferior British forces. Against Greece they failed ignominiously and had to depend upon Hitler and his overwhelming strength to get them out of the mess they Jwere in. Conditions in Italy are known bad.
The only course, therefore, for the Italian Government to take is to have their pro-[Pagandists feed the people successes which exist only in the imagination. The fact is that the Italians have not secured tone outstanding success. They have proved ability to Hitler instead of an asset and fare paying for their failure by being reduced the status of merely another country which the Nazis have overrun. Their land~ ing on Crete was at a time when the greater [part of the fighting had been completed and the issue no longer in doubt in just the same way as their intervention in the German jeampaign against France. Wherever they' have undertaken separate action they have made mistake after mistake, and encountered defeat after defeat, and the world has been shown how shoddy is the military machine which Mussolini boasted he had built up, Of tone thing the Italians may be sure-—when-fever the Italian Navy again cares to come out in the open, instead of skulking behind {the fortifications of its harbours, it will find the British awaiting them only' too anxious for further argument, with it.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.