Italy

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24.4.41 [George Orwell]

April 24, 2011 in aeroplanes, armistice, Black Sea, blackmail, Crete, Daily Express, Dardanelles, Germany, Greece, hostages, Italy, Political, Russia, Turkey, War-time by orwelldiaries

No definite news from Greece. All one knows is that a Greek army, or part of a Greek army, or possibly the whole Greek army, has capitulated. No indication as to how many men we have there, what sort of position they are left in, whether it will be possible to hang on, and if so, where etc., etc. Hints thrown out in the Daily Express suggest that we have practically no aeroplanes there. Armistice terms drawn up by the Italians evidently aim at later using Greek prisoners as hostages, with a view to blackmailing the British into giving up Crete and other islands.

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14.3.41 [George Orwell]

March 14, 2011 in Abyssinia, Balkans, berlin, Black Sea, bombs, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Haffner, Italy, Libya, Metaxas, Norway, planes, Political, propaganda, public opinion, Salonika, Sicily, Tripoli, Turkey, U.S.A., War-time, Wavell by orwelldiaries

For the last few days there have been rumours everywhere, also hints in the papers, that “something is going to happen” in the Balkans, i.e. that we are going to send an expeditionary force to Greece.  If so, it must presumably be the army now in Libya, or the bulk of it.[1]  I had heard a month back that Metaxas [2] before he died asked us for 10 divisions and we offered him 4.  It seems a terribly dangerous thing to risk an army anywhere west of the Straits.  To have any worthwhile ideas about the strategy of such a campaign, one would have to know how many men Wavell disposes of and how many are needed to hold Libya, how the shipping position stands, what the communications from Bulgaria into Greece are like, how much of their mechanised stuff the Germans have managed to bring across Europe, and who effectively controls the sea between Sicily and Tripoli.  It would be an appalling disaster if while our own main force was bogged in Salonika the Germans managed to cross the sea from Sicily and win back all the Italians have lost.  Everyone who thinks of the matter is torn both ways.  To place an army in Greece is a tremendous risk and doesn’t offer much positive gain, except that once Turkey is involved our warships can enter the Black Sea: on the other hand if we let Greece down we have demonstrated once and for all that we can’t and won’t help any European nation to keep its independence.  The thing I fear most is half-hearted intervention and a ghastly failure, as in Norway.  I am in favour of putting all our eggs in one basket and risking a big defeat, because I don’t think any defeat or victory in the narrow military sense matters so much as demonstrating that we are the side of the weak against the strong.

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28.11.40 [George Orwell]

November 28, 2010 in Americans, blitz, Coventry, edward VIII, fascism, France, Italy, Laval, monarchy, Mrs Simpson, pierre comert, Political, Stalin, Vichy, War-time by orwelldiaries

Lunching yesterday with C.[1], editor of France. . .  To my surprise he was in good spirits and had no grievances.  I would have expected a French refugee to be grumbling endlessly about the food, etc.  However, C. knows England well and has lived here before.

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8.8.40 [George Orwell]

August 8, 2010 in Belgians, Bolshevik, british somaliland, Churchill, Egypt, french, H G Wells, Italy, lecture, Lord Swinton, Perim, Political, Red Sea, refugees, War Office, War-time, Zouaves by orwelldiaries

The Italian attack on Egypt, or rather on British Somaliland, has begun. No real news yet, but the papers hint that Somaliland can’t be held with the troops we have there. The important point is Perim, loss of which would practically close the Red Sea.

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27.6.40 [George Orwell]

June 27, 2010 in air raid, all clear, aristocracy, Britain, Churchill, Communism, Falangist, France, Franco, german, Hitler, I.L.P., Italy, L. H. Myers, Madrid, MOI, Munich, Mussolini, New Leader, occupation, Petain, Political, propaganda, Rab Butler, recruiting campaign, ruling class, Russia, Russo-German pact, Samuel Hoare, Spanish, Stalin, Tangier, U.S.S.R., War-time by orwelldiaries

It appears that the night before last, during the air-raid alarm, many people all over London were woken by the All Clear signal, took that for a warning and went to the shelters and stayed there till morning, waiting for the All Clear. This after ten months of war and God knows how many explanations of the air-raid precautions.

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20.6.40 [George Orwell]

June 20, 2010 in air raid, arm the people, army, Bevan, bomb, Chamberlain, Churchill, Colonel Blimp, Compton Mackenzie, Dunkirk, George Strauss, German invasion, Glasgow, Hebrides, Hitler, India, intellectuals, Italy, LDV, Lloyd George, Namsos, new statesman, Political, RAF, Rayner Heppenstall, retired colonels, revolutionary war, Richar Crossman, Scotland Yard, Spain, unblimping, War-time by orwelldiaries

Went to the office of the [New Statesman][1] to see what line they are taking about home defence. C.[2], who is now in reality the big noise there, was rather against the “arm the people” line and said that its dangers outweighed its possible advantages[3]. If a German invading force finds civilians armed it may commit such barbarities as will cow the people altogether and make everyone anxious to surrender. He said it was dangerous to count on ordinary people being courageous and instanced the case of some riot in Glasgow when a tank was driven round the town and everyone fled in the most cowardly way. The circumstances were different, however, because the people in that case were unarmed and, as always in internal strife, conscious of fighting with ropes round their necks… C. said that he thought Churchill, though a good man up to a point, was incapable of doing the necessary thing and turning this into a revolutionary war, and for that reason Chamberlain and Co. hesitated to bring the whole nation into the struggle. I don’t of course think Churchill sees it in quite the same colours as we do, but I don’t think he would jib at any step (e.g. equalisation of incomes, independence for India) which he thought necessary for winning the war. Of course it’s possible that today’s secret session may achieve enough to get Chamberlain and Co. out for good. I asked C. what hope he thought there was of this, and he said none at all. But I remember that the day the British began to evacuate Namsos[4] I asked Bevan and Strauss[5], who had just come from the House, what hope there was of this business unseating Chamberlain, and they also said none at all. Yet a week or so later the new government was formed[6].

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10.6.40 [George Orwell]

June 10, 2010 in Allied troops, fascists, Germans, Italy, Madrid, Narvik, Norway, Paris, Political, Spain, taxi-driver, War Office, War-time by orwelldiaries

Have just heard, though it is not in the papers, that Italy has declared war…. The Allied troops are withdrawing from Norway, the reason given being that they can be used elsewhere and Narvik after its capture was rendered useless to the Germans. But in fact Narvik will not be necessary to them till the winter, it wouldn’t have been much use anyway when Norway had ceased to be neutral, and I shouldn’t have thought that the Allies had enough troops in Norway to make much difference. The real reason is probably so as not to have to waste warships.

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