Evening star., 1941-06-02
Quick Nazi Attempt
To Invade Cyprus
Seen by British
Axis Demand That Turkey
Permit Troops Passage
Predicted in London
By the Associated Press.

LONDON. June "A quick Ger
man attempt to invade Britain S
easternmost Mediterranean island
stronghold of Cyprus and demands
for Turkey either to join the Axis
pact or permit the passage of Nazi
armored divisions were predicted
today by the British as they counted
the cost of their l2-day defeat in
Crete.
Slightly more than $4,000 empire
forces were declared officially yes
terday to have been withdrawn
from Crete to Egypt to fight again
: in the steadily unfolding battle for
the Suez Canal.
The British were estimated to
have had more than 10000 troops on
1.-THE island, and the Germans claimed
to have captured 3,000-including
| Greeks. The War Office acknowl-
edged severe" losses.
$4,000 Nazis Reported Killed.
BY contrast, Greek sources in
Cairo last week reported $4,000 Ger
mans had been killed in the invasion
OF Crete, including 5000 drowned
under the guns of the British fleet.
The withdrawal from the Medi-
terranean island fell in the same
period, a year later, as the Allied
flight from Dunkerque, escape port
from the bloody battle of Flanders.
Besides casualties, the British
admit that Nazi dive bombing as
saults in the waters around Crete
cost Britain three cruisers, four de-
Stroyers. and damage to two battle
ships and several other warcraft.
On her side of the ledger. Britain
marked down victory in oil-rich
Iraq under an armistice effective
yesterday morning, one day less
than month after Premier Rashid
Ali Al Gallant called upon the Ger
mans for aid and pitted his forces
against the British
BritonS expressed the view that
Turkey now is in the position Yugo-
slavia was when the Nazis moved
into Bulgaria-that she has been
partly encircled finds herself within
quick striking range of the Ger
mans, and may be called upon to
sign with Rome and Berlin or let
the NaZis through to new battle
grounds TO the southeast.
Lack Of adequate air support was
given by the War Office as a basic
reason for the British defeat in
Crete.
1T became clear" the War Office
statement said that our naval and
military forces could not be ex-
pected to operate Indefinitely in and
near Crete without more air sup
port than could be provided from
our air bases in Africa"
A. V. Alexander, First Lord of the
Admiralty, declared in speech last
night that off Crete the navy has
been fighting one of the sternest
battles of its history against con-
tinuous attacks from the air. with
the one thought that we could not
let the army down"
Partly TO the work of the navy in
the bomb-splattered waters and
partly to R. A. F. support from dis
tant bases was attributed the sue
cess in evacuating roughly half of
the empire forces on Crete
Throughout the weekend the
r. A. F. stayed in the fight, smash
ing at German planes on para
chutlSt-captured airdromes of Crete
and battling with German and
Italian bombers along the south
coast Of the island.
Dispatches from Cairo credited
the British flyers with downing five
German Junker planes and two
Italian bombers Saturday in raging
cir battles south of the island.
The British. meanwhile. put Act
ing Air Marshal A. w. Tedder in
charge as commander in chief of
the r. A. F. Near East command,
succeeding his immediate superior,
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur M.
Longmore, who became r. A. F.
inspector general.
The Air Ministry reported yes
terday that 260 Axis planes had
been destroyed in the Near East
operations during May to 81 r. A.
r. losses, and that 1896 German
and Italian planes had been de-
stroyed in the Near East since the
first operations there a year ago.
Prepared for Defeat.
Communicates on British reverses
In Crete during the past week had
prepared the British public for the
blow of the new defeat.
1T has been apparent for some
days that the odds against us in
Crete were too many" the Daily
Telegraph said "and that no hope
remained of holding the island
Undoubtedly there will be some
questioning of the conduct of this
brief miniature campaign"
The newspaper declared many
times in this war has such a story
been retold" and asked: why has
1t been repeated in Crete? We have
been on the island since November.
What was done in those seven
months which failed to prevent an
other evacuation after a l2-day
campaign"
The press generally took a dour
view of the Crete defeat.
The Evening Standard said "a
erievous miscalculation" had been
made and an Evening News edi-
torial said the brutal truth is that
we were driven out of Crete by
well-planned and determined attack
on lines which found us, with our
minds still dwelling on methods of
the last war, inadequately pre-
pared.