H.—l9a.

Fresh facts are coming to hand. In Crete the enemy underestimated our strength and expected to capture the island with parachutists alone. He failed and had to lay on a full-scale attack which used up in all 35,000 highly-trained and perfectlyequipped troops. Although successful, his losses were great and he was severely mauled. He lost at least 4,000 killed, 2,000 drowned, and 11,000 wounded. By having to fight he was delayed a month in his plans, and, when the time came, he had neither material nor troops nor the inclination to face further air landings in either the Western Desert or in Syria. What is even more important, he has now no illusions about the fate which awaits any attempt at air-borne operations against Great Britain. B. C. Freyberg, Major-General, General Officer Commanding 2nd N.Z.E.F.

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