The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-04-23

their 1ull strength because or the mountainous terrain.
 The flight of the Greek king and his government to Crete indicated that the British Expeditionary Force might try to get there and perhaps other Aegan Islands.
 Greeks May Fight On
 The flight was regarded as a sign that the Greeks intended to continue to fight on as they could and it was denied here that any Greek army but that of the Episur had surrendered.
 It was believed that the British and other foreign diplomatic mis- sions would accompany the Greek king and government.
 Britain was relying on its navy to keep open the sea and command the supply lines to the Dardanelles and to hold valuable naval and bombing bases regardless of the collapse in Greece.
 It was necessary to anticipate the loss of both men and materials because of the surrender of the | ATIHy Ol Gpu us.
 Further the Germans were now able to release even more men to increase their tremendous pressure on Athens.
 There were strong indications that the British command in Greece had realized several days ago that the situation was desperate and a | p yA aatlAya k< ktaA aA only possible solution.
 It was hoped here that part of the Greek army would continue the fight with the British and that to- gether the two armies would be able to delay the German advance for a considerable time.
 But 1t was admitted unofficially that to stop the drive Of the Ger man hordes definitely was militarily impossible.
 AS in Flanders the Germans had been immeasurably superior in men, material and planes.
 Against Strategy
 Public opinion in Britain had rec ognized that the dispatch of Empire troops to Greece was above all a political move and was against all rules of military strategy. It was prepared for another evacuation like "the miracle of Dunkirk" If Q miracle could be repeated.
 But there was believed a likely political repercussion in Australia involving the fall of the government of Robert Gordon Menzies.
 Australians expressed belief that the failure of the Australian war cabinet to consult the advisory war council on the dispatch of Austra- Han troops to Greece would give the Australian Labor party an easy victory against the government in the Canberra parliament, where Prime Minister Menzies has a ma jority of only one.
 There had been no word here by mid day to confirm the Axis claims of the surrender of the Greek army of the Epirus and Macedonia or the German claim to a break through at Thermopylae. But 1t was known that the Greeks had been fighting heroically against impossible odds and that the Germans had put ter. rife pressure on Thermopylae.
 Raiders At Bardia
 London, April 23.-(UP)-A Brit ish raiding force was landed at Bar dia, Lbya, Saturday night, British military quarters announced today.
 It blew up a bridge, fired military stores, and rendered four coast de- fense guns useless. A major part of the force returned to its base, but about 60 failed to re-embark and are presumed to have been captured The raid marked the growing Brit ish counter-attack against the Aixs forces in Libya which in three weeks drove 700 miles from Tripoli across Libya to the Egyptian frontier. At dawn Monday, the British fleet had bombarded Tripoli, their chief base.
 (The raid on Bardio was first men, toned - sketchily - in the Italian war communique Tuesday. It said all the raiders had been captured)
 The raid represented a daring il1- cursion behind the Axis line which is halted for the moment on the Egyptian frontier at Sollum. Bardia had been taken two weeks ago in the rapid march of German me- chanized columns across the Nbyan desert.
 Italians Captured
 Cairo, April g. - (UP)-Middle east headquarters reported today that Australian troops have cap- tured IT Italian officers and 430 troops in two successful raids from besieged Tobruk.
 The raids were made night before last, the high command reported, and cost the Australian forces only slight casualties.
 The Royal Air Force reported that four enemy planes were shot down over Tobruk yesterday and others damaged.
 The communique said:
 Tn Libya, during the night of April 2l-22. Australian troops car- ried out two highly successful raids from Tobruk. Seventeen Italian of- ficers and 430 men of other ranks were captured while our own casual ties were slight.
 "One enemy field gun was de- stroyed in the Sollum area. Our pa- trols and artillery are continuing offensive activities
 Strike Brest Again
 London, April 23-(uP)-British bombers struck twice last night at Brest on the French invasion coast, where the German battle cruiser