Evening star., 1941-05-27
Battle for Crete
Hangs in Balance,
Churchill Says
Reinforcements Being Sent
To Gen. Freybere, He
Tells Commons
RS the Associated Press.

iGIiS commons
By the Associated Press.
LONDON, May 27.-Prime Min
lister Churchill, reviewing the wa
for the House of Commons today
announced that the German battle
ship Bismarck had been sunk in tn,
North Atlantic, but said the battl,
for Crete was still hanging in tn,
balance"
In the battle for Crete, the Prim,
Minister said the British Mediter'
ranean fleet had suffered the los
of two cruisers and four destroyers
He added that Gen B. C. Freyberg
the British commander at Crete, wa!
being rushed reinforcements.
Several thousand German troops
had been drowned in the Nazis' owr
attempts at landings there, he said
The new Nazi 8-inch cruiser which
was accompanying the Bismarck
would be intercepted he predicted
He identified the consort cruiser as
the Prince Eugen.
Mr.. Churchill intervened in the
House proceedings to make the
dramatic announcement of the Bis.
marck's destruction. He previously
had given an account of the pur-
suit of the Nazi ship.
Suddenly he came forward, after
q thin slip of white paper had been
handed him, and said:
'I have just received news that
the Bismarck is sunk.
The statement was given the most
exultant reception since the late
Prime Minister Neville Chamber
lain's announcement of September
%, 1888. that he had been invited
to Munich by Adolf Hitler.
The British Navy has lost the
cruisers Gloucester and FIJI and the
destroyers Juno, Greyhound, Kelly
and Kashmir, while two battleships
and several other cruisers" have
been damaged in the battle of Crete
Mr.. Churchill disclosed.
No sea-borne German forces have
landed on Crete, but reinforcements
are reaching the Allied garrison,
he said.
(The German high command
declared yesterday the British
had lost II cruisers, eight de-
stroyers, five torpedo boats and
one submarine in the battle of
Crete and that battleship and
several other British war vessels
had been badly damagedD
The Allied forces were said to have
inflicted very heavy losses on the
Germans since the air-borne Nazi
invasion started a week ago today
The fighting has been most bitter
and severe and enemy losses up tc
the present have been much heavier
than ours" Mr.. Churchill an
nounced.
The battle of Crete now has
lasted for a week and during this
whole time our troops have beer
subjected to an intense and contin-
uous scale of air attacks to which
owing to geographical conditions
our air force has only been able to
make a very limited but gallant
counterpoint.
I'VE have not, however, been able
TO prevent other descents of air.
borne troops to reinforce the enemy
and the weight of this attack has
grown from day to day.
The battle has sWayed backward
and forward with indescribable fury
at Canea and equally fiercely, al
though on smaller scale, at Reti-
mo and Herakleion fCandia).
"ReinforcementS of men and sup
plies have reached and are reach
ing Gen. Freyberg's (Allied) forces
and at this moment the issue of
magnificent resistance hangs in the
balance.
$50 far the Royal Navy has pre-
vented any landing of a sea-borne
expedition, although a few shiploads
of troops in Greek caiques may have
slipped through.
Heavy Losses Inflicted.
every heavy losses have been in
fiicted by our submarines. cruisers
and destroyers upon transports and
upon those small Greek ships and
1t is not possible to state with &C
curacy how many thousands of the
enemy troops have been drowned.
But our losses have been heavy.
Services rendered by the navy
in defense of Crete have not been
discharged without losses to them.
"Our fleet has been compelled to
operate constantly without air pro-
lection.
Claims even more exaggerated
than usual have been made by the
German and Italian wireless which
It has not hitherto been expedient
to deny.
1T may be stated. however, that
we have lost the cruisers Gloucester
and Fiji and four destroyers, the
Juno, Greyhound, Kelly and Kash-
mir.
by far a greater part of theii
crews have been saved.
Deny Damage Is Serious.
1.-TWO battleships and several Other
ships have been damaged, but moi
seriously, either by hits or neal
misses, but all will soon be in actor
again and some already are at sea.
"The Mediterranean fleet is today
relatively stronger compared to th'
Italian Navy than it was before thu
battle of Cape Matapan.
There's no question whatever O.
our naval position in the Eastern
Mediterranean having been preju
dicially affected.
However, the decision of battl
may 60, the stubborn defense o
Crete, one of the important outpost
of Egypt, will always rank high il
the military and naval annals of tn
British Empire.