English Translation

-3- 180 We are now busy building and training a very strong army. The same is happening in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India. We are in the first 5th month of the war and the British army is now taking on more and more clear shape. For although sea and air must form the territory of our main mission, we must also have a strong army, well equipped, well armed, trained and organized. It must be able to attack in the course of this war, to free one or the other of the many peoples who long to throw away the hated Nazi yoke. In all these months of the deadly threat of invasion, we have never failed to send reinforcements to our army in Egypt, as far as the space available to us allowed. We transported there not only troops, but also weapons that we had to withdraw from our fighting forces in Great Britain, tithes of Soldateh were sent from our island to the Middle East or transferred from other parts of the world empire. I am grateful to be able to assure the House that the relationship between the armed forces in Egypt and Sudan is far less unfavourable than at the time of France's collapse. Of course, I cannot say anything about the battles that are still to be fought, but I can say that at the beginning of June I would have been very happy to receive the assurance that we would still be able to hold our positions with far stronger powers in November. We have not yet had any serious clashes with the Italians. But we have every reason to be satisfied with the outpost battles and quarrels that have taken place so far on land and in the air. Office. ital. Reports follow up are the Italian losses in Libya 8oo dead, 7oo wounded and 86o missing. Our own losses in the same time and on the same scene amount to 66 dead, 68 wounded and 36 missing. The ratio of the losses is therefore about 2o:l. This fact speaks for itself and should be a good omen for the upcoming battles, which may not develop in winter, but certainly in the coming spring. We have continuously stormed our fleet in the eastern Mediterranean and are always ready to enter dår ital. Fleet in a major battle. Our strength in the Eastern Mediterranean is impressive enough to restore the balance disturbed by the capitulation of France. This is a sure guarantee for the Turkish friends and allies with us that our naval power is unbroken. Unfortunately, we have not yet managed to move the Italian fleet to an open fight, although we know that the Italian Air Force has detected the presence of our ships near the Italian Fleet from the air. It cannot be denied that our situation, whether on the home front, whether in the Mediterranean is better than one would have dared to advance four or five months ago. In these days, the Italian dictator attacked the small but immortal Greek nation in a ruthless way. Without the slightest provocation, without even wanting to negotiate, Mussolini has invaded Greece or at least tried it and his planes have attacked Saloniki and some other open cities in Greece and civilians, women and children in constantly - 4 -