Evening star., 1940-12-03


Dewitt Mackenzie. the invading
Italians that has linked together a
chain of adverse circumstances
which has been flung about Musso-
lini's neck.
An indication Of the fullness Of
Britain's determination to knock
Italy out Of the war was given by
Lord Woolton, Minister of Food, in
a speech yesterday. He said the
offensive will mean a drain on the
country's shipping facilities" for the
movement on troops overseas and
that therefore he must eliminate
those imports which are not essen.
tial for the prosecution of the war"
"We have been much too patient
for much too long, even before the
war started" he declared, "in sub
mitting to the clustering bounce Of
the Italian pseudo-dictator There
is every reason to hope that before
long we shall find ourselves settling
old scores and to that end we have
to mobilize the whole resources Of
the country"
Relations With Spain Improve.
A significant sign of the greatly
altered position was given yesterday
in the formal protest made by Egypt
to Rome against the Italian bomb
ing OF Egyptian cities. To my mind
this action could only mean that
Britain is ready for a showdown
with Italy, since relations between
England and Egypt are closer than
crossed fingers.
Simultaneously, out Of the blue,
Britain signed a financial agree
ment with Spain, indicating a bet
terment of relations. This comes
on top of the pressure Messrs. Hitler
and Mussolini have been putting on
Spanish Generalissimo Franco to
join them.
Because of its importance 1t is
necessary for me to repeat that
Britain's acquisition of Greek naval
and air bases notably the great
Island of Crete-has completely
altered the strategic picture in the
Mediterranean. II Duce could have
done the axis no greater disservice
had he deliberately tried.
The possession of Crete has given
England a superb base right in the
heart of essential operations. 1t
has vastly shortened Britain's lines
and enabled her to strike In every
direction. The results:
The British report today that
Italy's fortified Dodecanese Islands
invaluable bases just east Of Crete
are now being effectively block
AIDED.
Italian Cities Bombed.
English planes are bombarding
Italian cities which they couldn't
reach satisfactorily before.
Italy's lines of communication
with Albania are being plastered so
vigorously that the Fascists are in
danger of losing Albania altogether,
thereby abandoning a vital base for
operations in the Balkans.
The British blockade is increasing
its weight on all Italian communi-
cations with Africa. As have indi-
Gated before, the Fascist armies in
Africa are virtually cut of from all
supplies and reinforcements from
the mother country. Thus the posi-
ton of Marshal GRAHAM. COM
manding the Italian forces which
months ago undertook to invade
Egypt from Libya, is now rendered
increasingly unstable.
Graziani Marking Time.
Actually, the great offensive
against Egypt has been marking
time for reasons which might easily
be connected with that fierce block
ade. You can't wage war across the
blistering sands of desert without
water and other supplies.
Meantime, the British have been
moving troops into Egypt to cope
with the numerical superiority Of
the Italians. which so far as I am
informed still exists. Warplanes and
tanks also have been shipped to
Egypt.
With all this, reports continue to
pile up of a growing pro-British SEN
timent in the great French colonies
of Northern Africa. There are large
French military forces there which
could help Britain in a drive against
the Italians If they wished. And
little Halle Selasie, ex-Emperor Of
Ethiopia, has been busy in the Sudan
getting his people set for revolt.
This accumulation of circum-
stances has resulted in the British
p{Topeiyo