1940-06-14 — Page 23

Friday,

HONGKONG TELEGRAPH

June 14, 1940.

MAGAZINE PAGE

HARBOUR

INCHORAGE

Rosia

GIBRALTAR

BAY

Bauricks

Marracks

MILITARY

HOST NEGARAISON

Europa Bay

mie Barracks Barracks

EUROPA Pri

GUIDE

ΤΟ

GIB.

Grat important post on Britain's sea, route to In-

VIBRALTAR is big news to-day.. Its significance as

din and the Far East is apparent to everyone.

The Rock of Gibraltar is a precipitous narrow crag about three miles long running due north and south. It is also almost completely inaccessible both from the north and south, and it is only because there is a restricted shelf of land on the western alde that it is possible to maintain it as a naval base and 'gar- rison.

When approached from the Spanish side across the race- course and military cemetery, the Rock rises perpendicularly for nearly 1,00011. At

Europa

Polat, directly opposite the African coast, the cliffs rise to 200ft. On the castern side fliere is only a diminutivo beach called Catalan Bay, reached by a narrow track from the north.

The naval harbour works are How very considerable, and have been developed from the first days of the occupation. The amount of ground available for building, and the erection of sheds and barracks was so small that 64 acres had to

bo reclaimed from the sea Some of the recovered innil near the Alameda Gardens was once 40ft.

under water.

To-day the enclosed anchorage, within the huge stone moles, ex- tends to 440 acres. Even at low ide there is clearance of 30ft. In addition, there are three large graving docks, one of them extend- ing to more than 80011.

the

During the Great War Gibraltor was a main coaling station for the British Fleet. Latterly dockyards have been equipped with huge oil fuel stores.

to

The harbour is deep enough at Bil times

the accommodate Mediterranean Fleet in safe an- chorage. And in Admiralty Inngl- age Gibraltar. is known as H.M.S. -Commorant-for-the-purposes.oLre-_

cord.

--

THERE are hidden gallertes all over the Rock and an elaborate tunnelling system. An attempt is being made to equip the forts with sufficiently heavy artillery to de- fend the harbour below against any nttack.

Until recently there was scarce- ly uny anti-aircraft organisation, but now. n, battery has been added the garrison and, further, special local defence force being organised.

to

#

The present Governor and Com-. mander-in-Chief is the famous soldier General Sir Edmund Iron- side. He has under his command a force of some 3,211, consisting of two battalions of infantry--the 2nd King's Regiment and the 2nd Somerset Light Infantry, a Fortress Company of the Royal Engineers, three howitzer batteries, and de talls of Signals and the various corps of the commissarlat.

ATLANTIC OLEAN

SPAIN SOCADIZ

ALGE

GIOR CIRASON DA

TAFIT

•GURALTAR

GIBRALTAR

CLUTAO

TANDEL

PERICIL

APANI

MOROTES

„MEDITERRANEAN

YOU MAY

NOT KNOW

BULGARIA

GRIECE,

Gallipoli

TURKE

Black

Sea

ISTANBUL

Dardanelles

TURKEY

That the Dardanelles, the

narrow strait uniting the Sca

An innocent ·

abroad looks at ERANCE

Corsi

ALGERIA

(Fr.)

TALY

ROME

SICILY

TUNIS

100 700 MUNS

MALTA

[Br.

QUESTION: Where and what is Pantelleria?

ANSWER: A KITLATI Italian Island strategically placed be- Africa, tween Italy and North transformed into a sen and alr base in the last two years.

Like nearby Malto, the British base, it seeks to command the ballle-neck which Joins the western and eastern basins of the Mediterranean,

Some experts say it is better placed than Malta because it les like an anchored battleship right In the only deep-water channel, while Malta Is further to the Boull-cast.

Forty-five

square miles In area, it is crowned by 2,700 feet

high Monte Grande,

Why Tunis gives Italy a headache

by

HARRY GREENWALL

GABES (Tunisla). THE vital importance the French General Staff at- taches to the Protectorate of Tunisia may be gathered from a rémark made to me by a high French official who said: "If Italy declares war we shall in- vade Tripolitania so as to INCE

protect Egypt."

IT:

CORSICA (FR)

Rome SARDINIA

Algiers

Tunis

SICILY

GERIA

200

Mites

Gadames

GRIN AND BEAR IT

PRIVATE

་

ITALIAN LIBYA

By Lichty

STORT BASEBAL OPENING

241

jihy 45

"Can I have to-morrow afternoon off, Boss? My grand- mother's getting married again!”

of Marmara with the Acgoan. A FEW FACTS ABOUT

is the of the two

ways to the Black Sea; the

other is the Bosphorus.'

For nearly 500 years Tur- key has been the guardian of

Dardanelles the

and the

The strait, 47 miles long. divides the peninsula of Galli- poll, on the north-west, from Asia Minor, on the south- THE native

cast. pupulation, mostly

Its strategic import- descended from Italian and Spanish ance is obvious. settlers, totals 10,880. Their num- bers are severely restricted by the authorities because of the limited space in the little town..

"The Rock" has been a symbol of British mastery at 1704, when it was surprised by n combined British and Dutch fleet under Sir George Rooke. Since then it has been maintained as a naval and military base, and only once has our possession been ser ously threatened-at the time of the American War of Indepen- dence, when the Spaniards fald olege to it for four years from 1778 to 1783.

Bosphorus. sen since

For the past 150 years the his- tory of the Rock has been almost uneventful. Even during the Great War it did not figure in any pro- minent naval Incidents, although all those years 114 harbour was tho scene of great naval activity,

THE PERFECT BABY-

JOAN CONSTANCE BENNETT, of Frinrs-gate, Exeter, was once award- ed naliver jug as a perfect baby.

Last week she collapsed and died. She had complained of toothache and about her throat.)

A pathologist, at the inquest, at- tributed her death to a germ which,

he thought, entered the bloodstream through a tooth socket.

Joan, Lone, of 10 children, have been hinein

July

would

After Turkey's defeat in the last war the Straits' were

in

vessel

declared "open, both peace and war, to

every -of--commerce-or-of-war"!...

(Treaty of Sevres, 1920).

This was changed when Turkey recovered under Kemal's loadership. The Straits, demilitarised, were to be closed to warships of any one Power exceeding the strength of the strongest Black Sea fleet (Treaty of Lausanne, 1923).

Thirteen years later, after the Abyssinian and Rhineland crises, Turkey won her do- mand for revision (Montreux Convention, 1936): She was given the right:

1. To remilitarise Straits.

the

2. If engaged in war, to close the Straits. '

3. If threatened by war, to close the Straits unless the League Council decided. this step was not justified." ;

OUR NEW

NEW ENEMY

- ITALY -

Area 119,714 sq. miles. Population 43,578,000.

The extent of land frontiers is 1,185 miles, coast: length being 5,326 miles.

· Agriculture, including the growing of grapes and olives, forms the principal Industry, agricultural land extending to 70,548,878 acres, Is practically self-supporting in foodstuffs, produce of cereals _totalling 10,000,000 tons,

Textiles are the largest and most important manufacturing industry.

Italy is not rich in mineral deposits, and is especially lacking in coal. Production of iron and steel amounts to only about 3,000,000 tons.

The chemical industry has been greatly de- veloped, the production of sulphuric acid being 15,317,273 tons. Oil output is almost negligible.

Mercantile marine totals 2,071,830 tons gross. Italy's colonial empire is principally in Africa, and consists of Italian East Africa (Eritrea, Ethiopia · and Italian Somaliland) and Libya. On Good Fri- day, April 7, 1939, Italy invaded Albania, which in now part of the Italian Empire and is administered by a Lieutenant-General... Population 1,000,000. Area 10,629 sq. miles.

I have reason to know that this plan is within the know- ledge of the Italian Govern- ment, and accounts in no small measure for the outbursts of claims respecting Tunisia.

The Italian-inspired Press states that the French intend to use this country as a jump- ing-off place to attack Tripo- litanib.

Whatever may be the truth concerning the Italian allegation, It must be a well-established foet that the French have absolutely nothing to fear from an kalian at- fack launched from the neighbour- ing culony,

The so-called Tunisian Maginot Line runs southwards from this city alongside the foothills which themselves descend perpendicu- larly to the Italian frontier. It is claimed that this colonial Maginot Line ta even stronger than the Line alongside the Rhine.

. With the official secrets I bave nothing to do, but even a layman cannot imagine any foreign state- gist launching au attuck in this forlorn terrain.

Impassable Barrier

GABES is approximately 250 miles from Tunis, and is linked to it by a rallway line which follows the contours of the coast. The "pill-boxes" and subterranean fortresses which form the first line of defence may be even stronger than the experts say they are; but, at all events, the second line of defence, which is provided by Nature herself, is an impassable -barrier-which-will-defy any weapon-

of offence..except.aeroplanes.

This second line is nothing less than two huge salt lakes which, except for a few miles, link the Algerian-Tunisian frontier with the Mediterranean.

In Arabic a lake is enlled "Chott." To the extreme west is Chott el Gharsa, which goes from the Al- gerian frontier eastwards to a small and narrow neck of land which separates the lake from the enorm- ous Chott el Djerid, the end of which is roughly 20 miles from the Mediterranean.

So, even 37

an attacking 'force successfully overran the "Maginot" Line" along the mountains to the south, it would be faced by a pro- blem such as no military chief since Hannibal has ever had face,

10

From impressions gained by per-.. sonal Inspection, and from know- ledge imparted by persons who speak with the voice of authority, I am able to affirm that the French General Staff does not anticipate any danger from the mouth, but if the danger of allack does terialise it will come from the east, and for, this reason work in going on day and night to forily the Gulf of Hammamet,

ma-

Huge batteries of long-rango guns have been erected just to the north of Sousse, and other batteries are being built between Zaghouart and “Hammamet.

Bone Of Contention

IT is claimed that the Port of Bizerte, north of Tunis, is a ter rideally strong position, and that the artificial lako behind Bizerte is big, enough and deep enough to hold the whole British Mediter- raneon Fleet in comfort and safe- ty.

This, I am afraid, is at the pre- sent moment rather on exaggera...” tion.

The territory of Tunisia is about one-third the size of France, but a considerable part of it is uninha... bilable. The population at the Inst census was 2,400,000.

ol

We at home are apt to think "of this country, or one of those very 'far away places, and, yet do you

know, this backdoor colony France is just a mere 28 hours by son from Marseilles, and by plane Just un fniarvał balwem in carly. breakfast and a Inte lunch?

HONGKONG WAR GIFT

Public Meeting Called

Next Friday

For

At the recent public meeting in 5%. Andrew's Hall, which was called to discuss waye and means of assisting the British War Organisation Fund. it was considered that many local re- sidents would like to be associated with an effort to raise money for some speclio it, such as an acro- plane, an ambulance, a tank molor torpedo-boat, and the Rev. J. R. Higgo was asked to call another- publie meiing to decide which one of these should be selected,

or

Mr. Higgs therefore announces that a publle meeting will be held in the Rose Room of the Peninsula Hotel next Friday, June 21, at 0 p.m.

All members and sections of the public on both sides of the harbour are invited to be present, and it is hoped that the attendance will be worthy of the purpose of the meet- ing.

BANKS

THE CHARTERED BANK OF INDIA, AUSTRALIA & CHINA.

Tacorporated "by Royal Charter 1853, Faid-up Capital .............. £3,000,000 Reserve Liability of Proprietors 43,000,000 Heserve Fund

............................... £3,000,00

HEAD OFFICE:-LONDON. 38 Bishopsgate, E.0.1. Rub-Agencies in London: 117/123, Leadenhall Street, E.CA. West End ranchi 14/16, Cockspur street, 8.W3.

Manchester Branch:

57, Moshy Street, Manchester, 2.

AGENCES AND BRANCHEB:

Alor Star Arrir tar Bangkok Batavia Bombay

Rangoon Haigon

Harbin

Hongkong

Ipoli

Semarang

Jolto

Seremban

Karachi

Shanghai

Calcutta

Klang

Singapore

Agencies:

Kobe

Clive Street

Kunla

Sitiawan Hourabaya

Fatrie Placo Lumpur

Taiping

Canton

Kuching

Tientsin

Cawnpore

Madras

Tangkah

Cebu Colombo

Manita

(huket)

Madan

Tsingtao

New York

Yokohama

Haiphong Hamburg

Paiping

(Peking)

Penang

Delh!

Hankow.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE and Genera Banking Budders transacted.

CURRENT ACCOUNTS opened and FIXED DEPOSITS received for One Year or shorter periods in Local or Other Cur remotes at Yales which will be quoted on application.

SAVINGS ACCOUNTS also opened is Local Cultancy and Sterling with intere allowed at rates obtainable on application

The Bank's Hond Office in London undertakes Executor & Trustee businest, and claims, jecovery of British · Incone Tax overpaid, on terms which may be scertained al any of its Agencies" and Branches.

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HONG KONG SOCIETY. FOR THE

PROTECTION OF CHILDREN,

THE SOCIETY ASKS TON

$35,000

in 1940 to meet the Increasing needs of sick and destitute children In Hongkong, against which the Income to date 1 $22,000 only.

In order to continue its work, The Society' ap- Don for the balance of

#13.000

before the close of the financial yeır on 31st October

The Socity now administers to over 2,000 children at ught Centres and, in addition, supporte za children at various Institutions and. 09 bables at Ita Creche,

Hon. Treurern (from whom a copy of the Annual Report for 1000 may be obtained)i

Mr. A. McKellar, C.A.

0/ Mackinnon Mecrencie '& Co.'

P. & G. Building.

- Dr. Kwak' Chan,

c/o This Banqué de L'Indo-Chine.

HONG KONG

lat, Junė, 1940,