| Show Mediterranean Naval Commander Commande y 1 Personifies English Seafarer By Br y Clark Lc Ue Lee Representing Combined Am American rican rn I i WITH GENERAL ERAL EISENHOWER ER AT AN ADVANCE ALLIED CO COMMAND OA D POST IN U TIlE THE MEDI- MEDI Dated Dated Dated-Ad- Ad Admiral Not miral Sir Andrew Browne Brown Cunningham Cunningham Cun Cun- who has Just won one of ot the greatest tights lights In British naval history the battle of ot the Mediterranean is the personification tion of ot the British sailor A good many British officers brave bra m men n and great sailors loo loots look and act more like gentlemen tha than seafarers Cunningham ham was born in a distinguished family but that fact tact is entirely irrelevant ant Regardless Regard Regard- less of ot his family background he would still sUIl be in looks and action every inch a sailor Tough Man Ian ManThe ManThe IanThe The admiral Is what the British call a tough man By tough they mean of strong character In all matters pertaining to duty and to the pride of his life the royal navy Cunningham is absolutely ruthless in dealing with shirkers and his s subordinates undoubtedly damn him at times as a stern martinet But they admire him and above all respect his knowledge knowledge knowledge knowl knowl- edge and courage Some call him the greatest British British British Brit Brit- ish admiral since Nelson That is one of the reasons we licked the and the German subs and air force and won this fight a British officer said to tome tome tome me as we watched the surrendered Italian battle batU fleet steam by us off oft the coast of ot Africa Just then Cunningham Dingham took off oft his dark glasses with black tori t tor tortoiseshell r- r tolse toise shell shell and I understood understood under under- stood what the officer meant The admiral has the look of a blood blood- hound His eyes slant steeply and there is a definite suggestion of ot flaps In his Jowls His cheeks are ruddy with hundreds of red and purple veins Stern Face At the time watching the Italian Italian Italian Ital Ital- ian force which was the symbol I of his historic victory Cunningham Cunning Cunning- ham was smiling and Jovial but there was an unmistakable sternness stern stern- n ness fleas Ia in his face tace In his battle Cunningham has one motto Close the range He Heis Heis Hes is s never ne happy his associates s say uy unless the shells are falling talling around him Urn Only a fleet like the British under an admiral like Cunning Cunning- ham am could have won the battle of I the he Mediterranean The fleet was thoroughly indoctrinated with the tho tradition which dictates that you dont don't back out of an assigned job until you are stopped by an enemy inch 15 shell or a a. bomb j Lured Italian After Italy entered the war inthe Inthe in the he early summer ummer of 1940 1910 Cunningham Cunningham Cun Cun- tried to lure the Italian fleet leet out for a finish fight in the Mediterranean Fortunately as it has now turned out with most of the Italian navy safely in our pos pos- session he never quite succeeded although he did hit them often enough and hard enough to prevent prevent prevent pre pre- vent vent- them from being any real menace to British ship hip move move- ments menta The of course was another story tory Cunninghams Cunningham's favorite story concerns the battle of He le sent his cruisers out to lure the Italian battleships into range of the big guns of the British battleships bat- bat Instead of ot luring the enemy enemy enemy ene ene- my heavy ships to destruction the British cruisers found they were being overtaken by the swift Italian Italian Ital- Ital ian an Opens CO Convoy oy Route The admiral had to launch his planes from long distance to atack attack attack at- at tack ack the Italian battleships and save his cruisers from destruction Later the put one in the stomach of the Italian flagship and still later th the fleet air all arm attacked the Italian naval base at Taranto sinking one battleship and damaging two In isolated fights several Italian cruisers and destroyers were sunk and by the end of ot 1940 the Italian fleet was nearly out of action and the he British were running convoys to o Malta Then in January of 1941 the arrived to take a hand and the battle of the Mediterranean Mediterranean I was no longer a classic fight of ot ships against ships but buta a test of air power against air power and air power power- against sea power powe German planes were able to protect protect protect pro pro- the routes over which Italian ships wc we were e running supplies to I Rommel's army in ln Africa and the Germans temporarily won the battle battle battle bat bat- tle of supply enabling their desert armies to advance and throw the British all the way back to the border of Egypt For the British the problem became became became be be- came a desperate one of holding Malta If It Malta alta went the battle of the Mediterranean was lost Cunningham kept kent running convoys convoys con con- voys into the besieged Island starting starting start start- ing one group of ships from the west and one ono from the east and praying enough of ot them would get through to keep Maltas Malta's men and guns supplied In 1911 1941 came the disastrous battle battle bat bat- tle tie of Greece and Crete The royal navy took the imperial troops into those places and very shortly took them out again suffering heavy losses from German air all attacks but remaining completely unmolested unmolested le ted by the Italian fleet which had lad gone Jone back to harbor after the battle of When Malta stood the R RAF A F the fleet air arm surface ships and submarines based on the tiny island island is island is- is land began to win the battle of supply Eventually they did win winit it and General Sir Bernard L L. Montgomery was able to surge urge out of ot Egypt and chase the Germans back across the desert |
