Evening star., 1941-08-24

progress. hOneu, q DIVISIONAL COM
mander at the beginning. appar-
emily Is one Of those ofiicers whose
natural qualities Of leadership are
brought out by the test of war.
The first visit of the British mill
tary mission to the front appears to
have taken place in this area, and
1t. Gen. MISUNDERSTANDING pays
high tribute to the discipline and
leadership Of the Russian troops,
with particular comment on the ex-
cellence of ground-air cooperation.
Proponents Of a separate air force
in this country might take note of
this; the Russians do not have a
separate air force, their air units,
like ours, being part of the army
or navy.
Advances in Leningrad Area.
In the Leningrad area the Ger
mans have made advances, and so
have the Firms on the Karelian
Isthmus. Here the decision to be
made by Marshal Voroshilov is a
serious one. Like Budyenny, his
job is to save his army. The Ger
mans at Novgorod and Staraya Rus
sia seem to be held up on the edge
of the vast tract Of marshland
which covers Leningrad from the
south; Voroshilov may believe he
can hold them there If not, and
if they cut the LeningradMoscow
railway and continue their advance,
then Voroshilov has but two rail-
way lines and one main highway by
which to withdraw his garrison to
the westward
The fact that he has called on the
population to form militia units and
fight to the last suggests that he is
at least making preliminary prep
arations against possible with
drawal of his regular troops; but
that would be sound precaution in
any case. A further advance by the
Firms between Lakes Omega and
Ladoga would force decision on him
since it would threaten his remain
ing lines of retreat; however, this
does not appear to be developing at
the moment, Mannerheim's chief
effort being made on the Karelian
Isthmus.
Probably the most interesting area
for the moment is that of Gomel
If the Germans can find sufficient
forces to develop strong south
eastward thrust from this region
behind Budyenny, they may for the
first time be within reach Of de-
cisive success. Hence it seems quite
probable that a strong Russian
countereffort will develop possibly
from the direction Of Bryansk and
Novozibkov.
Racing Against Time.
The Germans are racing against
time: the Russians are playing for
delay. But the Germans are playing
a wider game, too; they are not for
getting, they never forget the polit-
ical and psychological fronts. While
it seems quite possible now that
there may be stabilization of the
front and a winter campaign in
Russia, it is by no means certain.
Yet from Berlin come what are
called "Nazi admissions" that this
is likely. No such "admissions" ever
get out Of Berlin unless DR.. Goeb-
bells wants them to. Why do we
get them now? Possibly because the
Germans wish to prepare the way
for the bad news; but just as pos
sibly because they want Britons and
Americans to continue to think the
Russians will win the war for them,
to relax and take it easy.
1t is not certain how much the
Germans have weakened themselves
in the west as q result of the un-
expectedly heavy drains of the Rus
sian campaign. The unrest in
France suggests that the German
strength may be much reduced
Whether a British offensive on q
large or small scale or soon will be
possible remains in doubt. There is