Hostilities Cease Throughout Iraq; Crete Falls to Nazis

[Globalization41]

London, Special Cable to The New York
Times, Sunday, June 1, 1941: [In 1918 the
British captured Mesopotamia from Turkey.
The area was mandated to the British by the
League of Nations following World War I. The
British renamed the area Iraq in 1921 and
declared it independent in 1932 but retained oil
and air-base rights. Early in 1941 a pro-
German government grabbed power in a coup.]
Hostilities ceased throughout Iraq today as
Emir Abdul Illah, the Regent, entered
Baghdad. Six-year-old King Feisal II, who had
been reported kidnapped by Premier Rashid Ali
el Gailani, who fled to Iran, is said unofficially
to be safe. ... A brief outline of the terms of
the settlement of the Iraqi-British war reached
here tonight. The British are certain to gain
access to all highways, railroads, airports, and
all other communications facilities, as provided
in the original Anglo-Iraqi treaty, which Rashid
Ali broke two months ago. The Premier's
action brought about the war. ... Iraqi troops
are to be returned to their peacetime stations
-- including the Ramadi garrison, which
threatened the Royal Air Force station at
Habbania. British prisoners are to be
released and Germans and Italians are to be
interned. Iraqis who were captured will be
handed over to Abdul Illah, who will deal with
them. ... A large gathering of Baghdad's
prominent citizens joined Sir Kinahan
Cornwallis, the British Ambassador to Iraq, in
greeting Abdul Illah at the gates of the capital
this morning. He received them a short time
later at a reception. Among those present was
Paul Knabenshue, the United States Minister.
... Word has reached London from Cairo that
the important Mosul oil fields in Northern Iraq
are controlled by authorities friendly to Britain.
This tempers anxiety over German activity
there, as it is known that German agents have
been entrenched there for months and have
established air bases. The Iraqi Governor in
Mosul is said to have long opposed Rashid Ali;
so it is expected that he will take steps to
counteract the German influence. ... The
British, taking stock of their month-long
campaign in Iraq, have come to the conclusion
that close cooperation between the ground and
air forces played a decisive part. ... Air Vice
Marshal John H. d'Albiac, who commanded
the Royal Air Force in Iraq, was in hourly
contact with the General Staff of the Imperial
troops from 6 o'clock each morning until
midnight, working out a system for mutual
support.

Berlin, By Telephone to The New York
Times, Sunday, June 1, 1941: It was said in
Berlin tonight that the invasion of Crete had
now successfully been completed. With the
joining of forces at Ierapetra, which occurred
yesterday the precipitous southern Cretan coast
is now in Axis hands. The cleaning up of the
dispersed remnants of the Allied forces in the
southern portion of Crete is making good
progress.

Berlin, United Press, The New York Times,
Monday, June 2, 1941: [Late Sun., U.S. time]
Germany today jubilantly hailed her air-borne
conquest of Crete as "Britain's greatest defeat
of the war." Nazi official claims said more
than 10,000 Britons and Greeks had been taken
prisoner and that the British Mediterranean
Fleet suffered its heaviest losses of the entire
war in the 13-day battle of Crete. ...
Intimating that new blows would be unleashed
without pause, D.N.B. said that the conquest of
Crete stood as a warning of "what the British
Mediterranean Fleet will have to expect."

Ankara, Special Broadcast to The New York
Times, Sunday, June 1, 1941: The British
Government may soon declare Syria and
Lebanon enemy-occupied territory, it was
understood here today in neutral diplomatic
circles as reports from Jerusalem and Beirut and
in Ankara indicated a general belief that Allied
action against the [French] mandated territories
was imminent. ... According to information
available here, Britain is expected to classify
Syria as occupied and to warn all shipping
against proceeding through Syrian territorial
waters unless there is an immediate change in
French policy as administered from Beirut. ...
Simultaneous with these reports, the Jerusalem
radio stated in its news broadcast last night that
"developments" were to be expected in Syria
and that the "Free French" forces in Palestine
were "ready." The Ankara radio, in an
analysis of the foreign situation, said that "the
next battlefield would seem to be Syria." It
went on to say that "the atmosphere there is
electric as British and `Free French' forces
prepare for the campaign." ... From Beirut it
is learned that Germans are still landing
aircraft at Syrian and Lebanese airdromes and
that among recent groups of Nazi "tourists"
who have come in have been many bearing
Bulgarian passports. There is said to be a
general feeling of apprehension. [During
World War I, the British took Syria, Lebanon,
and Palestine from Turkey. The British kept
Palestine, promising to establish a Jewish
homeland, and gave control of Lebanon and
Syria to the French. The British and French
were granted mandates in their respective areas
by the League of Nations in 1920.] ... ... The
New York Times, Sunday, June 1, 1941: Nazi
aerial raiders gave a northwestern town in
England the severest pounding in months early
[Monday]. ... London anti-aircraft guns fired
at planes, but no bombs were dropped.

The New York Times, Sunday, June 1, 1941:
With millions of Americans clogging highways
and taxing transportation facilities throughout
the nation as they ended their Memorial Day
weekend [Sunday], it was reported that more
than 400 persons had been killed in automobile
and other accidents. ... The National Safety
Council predicted that the total would exceed
500 by dawn [Monday]. ... The customary
confusion that prevails at transportation
terminals was aggravated this year in New
York City as thousands of soldiers, here on
furlough, returned to camp from Pennsylvania
Station and Grand Central Terminal. ... A
spokesman for the Pennsylvania Railroad said
travel was as great as on Thursday, which was
the heaviest experienced since the station was
opened in 1911.

London, Special Cable to The New York
Times, Sunday, June 1, 1941: Heavy and sad,
though not unexpected, was the news that the
War Office announced of Crete tonight. It said
that 15,000 British troops had been withdrawn
after 12 days of the most furious fighting of
this war. "It must be admitted that our losses
have been severe," the War office said. ... In
hundreds if not thousands of British homes
tonight there is sadness and worry as the
people wait for a War Office telegram telling
of death or wounds or imprisonment visited on
their loved ones. ... [With the loss of Crete]
there is the fact that the Germans will move
next against Cyprus and by this method form a
strong triangle whereby they can move ships,
troops, and supplies into Syria and then down
into the oil fields of Iraq. Such a move would
be a tremendous threat to the Suez Canal and
the entire British position in the Middle East.
... Should the Crete success continue and the
British be driven from the Mediterranean, an
unstoppable hole would be driven through the
British blockade. ... There is also the method
and efficiency with which the Crete conquest
was carried out. News is beginning to trickle
in showing the old pattern of incredible
German efficiency and superiority in
equipment. This pattern shows again in the
complete and serene ruthlessness with which
the Germans sacrifice men and material. ...
[The article then described the German use of
troop-carrying glider planes discarded after
crash landing.] [The Germans] could [radio]
in the air arm in virtually no time at all.

Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, The New York
Times, Sunday, June 1, 1941: The skies were
gray, the air was damp and chilly, and rain
threatened, but in the hearts of 21,354 Flatbush
fans all was sunshine and warmth. For they
saw the Dodgers knock over the Cardinals,
3-2, and ascend into a tie for first place in the
National League -- a coveted spot from which
they were pushed by the same Gas Housers
in St. Louis on May 21. ... Lippy Leo
Durocher's men had the game won by the end
of the 3rd inning, when a solid single by
Cookie Lavagetto sent Billy Herman and Pete
Reiser scampering across the plate with the
second and third Brooklyn runs. But they
never were sure of the victory until the 9th,
when Herman scooped up Jimmy Brown's hot
grounder and tossed to Pee Wee Reese to force
Johnny Hopp for the final out. ... Max
Lanier, the fireballing southpaw of Billy
Southworth's staff, limited the Dodgers to four
hits, retiring 15 Dodgers in a row after
Lavagetto's winning blow in the 3rd. ... Kirby
Higby, who went the distance for the first time
since he beat the Phillies on May 11, was
nicked for seven hits, and three of them,
coming in the 5th frame, accounted for the
Cards' pair of runs. But from that inning on
Kirby pitched much more effectively. ... It
was an unearned run that eventually proved the
margin by which the Dodgers ran their current
winning streak to nine straight games. Reese
walked to start the Brooklyn 1st and moved to
third on Herman's line single just inside the
right-field foul line. ... Here Reiser lifted a fly
to short right which Enos Slaughter caught,
just missing a collision with Creepy Crespi.
Reese broke for home and, although
Slaughter's off balance throw wasn't too good,
the ball beat Pee Wee home and Gus Mancuso
had him clearly blocked off the plate. But Gus
dropped the ball and the run scored. ... In the
3rd, with two out, Herman drew a pass and
stopped at second on Reiser's line single to
center. Then Lanier committed a balk that put
both men in scoring position -- a move that
possibly cost him the game. Lavagetto, with
two strikes on him, lashed a hot single into left
center and Herman and Reiser scored easily.
Higby was in trouble in both the 1st and 3rd
innings, but pitched out each time, leaving
three Cardinals stranded each frame. In the
5th Hopp opened with a grounder that bounced
high and just off Dolph Camilli's glove for a
double. Brown flied out but Terry Moore
walked and Don Padgett delivered a scoring
single to left and, trying to stretch the blow,
was thrown out Joe Medwick to Herman.
Another single to left center by Slaughter
scored Moore from third with the second and
final St. Louis run. ... ... Johnny Mize has a
jammed index finger on his left hand and it is
uncertain when he'll return to the lineup. He
can still swing that big bat, though. His pinch
drive to Medwick in the 9th didn't miss
becoming a base hit by much. ... Medwick
went hitless but was intentionally passed in the
1st inning. Joe struck out in the 3rd, swinging
at a slow curve a foot outside the plate. ...
Reiser has hit safely in 12 straight games. ...
Lavagetto became the club's leader in runs
batted in with his 3rd-inning hit. He has now
sent 31 across the plate. ... Although Higbe's
previous complete game was on May 11, he
went 11 innings on May 16 [when] Mace
Brown [gave up] a home-run ball to Elbie
Fletcher. ... [Monday] Kemp Wicker, who
didn't do so well in his first start against the
Cards in St. Louis, will try it again, opposed
probably by Ernie White.

Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Associated Press,
The New York Times, Sunday, June 1, 1941:
The Cubs moved into the first division today
by downing the Phillies, 9-5 and 1-0, in a
doubleheader played in rain and mist before
4,365 as Cincinnati dropped to fifth by splitting
with the Giants. ... The Cubs won the first
game when they knocked Ike Pearson from the
box in the 5th inning with a five-run drive.
Bobby Bragan drove in four Philadelphia runs
by clouting a homer with the bases loaded in
the 7th. ... In the nightcap, Jake Mooty
outpitched Lee Grissom in a brilliant duel.
Successive doubles by Lou Stringer and Dom
Dallessandro in the 5th inning produced the
only tally. It was Mooty's first shutout this
season.

Rome, United Press, The New York Times,
June 1: The fall of Crete was regarded here
tonight as proof that the Axis can invade the
British Isles and of opening up a new route for
the transportation of Russian grain and oil to
Italy [by having cleared the Eastern Med.].

[Stay tuned for late breaking war bulletins.
... Globalization41.]