Evening star., 1941-11-01
Crimeun Prize

SrIme0n PrIze
After a fortnight of terrific fight
ing, the Germans seem to have
broken into the Crimea. This large
peninsula, shaped like a rough dia-
mond and about the size of Mary
land, is great strategic prize The
Crimea blocks the outlet from the
Sea of Azov into the Black Sea. Be-
yond that narrow strait, less than
five miles wide, stretches the open
country which extends eastward to
the Caspian Sea and southwark to
the Caucasus mountain wall. Once
the Germans firmly control the
Crimea, they could pass that narrow
strait and outflank the line of the
Don River to the northward, where
the Russians are fighting desperately
to save Rostov, the key point of the
line.
Furthermore, by pressing due east
ward some seventy miles, the Ger
mans could threaten Novorossisk,
RuSsia's only remaining naval base
after Sevastopol in the Crimea.
Thenceforth the Russian Black Sea
fleet would have no dockage or re-
pair facilities and could not long
maintain itself against submarine
and air attacks. Lastly, the German
advance from the Crimean strait
would be less than 200 miles from
Maikop, one OF the rich oil fields
which lie on the northern side of the
Caucasus Mountains. Thereby they
would be enabled to refuel their
armies locally both for a further
drive toward the Volga River and
the Caspian, and for operations
against the Caucasus. the gateway to
Iran and the Middle East.
These strategic possibilities explain
the ferocity with which both sides
have been fighting over the Crimean
prize. German accounts make no
effort to conceal the heavy losses
suffered and the enormous diff
cultieS which have been overcome.
The Crimean Peninsula is connected
with the mainland by the narrow
1sthmus of Perekop, only four miles
wide and backed by marshes and
salt lakes. Here the Russians had
built line after line Of Notifications
laced with barbed wire, tank traps,
mine fields, sheer concrete walls and
trenches sometimes forty feet deep.
These permanent defenses were sup
ported at both ends of the peninsula
by naval guns of units of the Black
Sea fleet. When the Luftwaffe roared
over in waves to soften" these de-
lenses by wholesale bombings,
swarms of Russian fighter planes
rose to meet them. Every device of
modern warfare was thrown into the
conflict. Stuka bombers and heavy
artillery laid down pulverizing bar
RACES. Engineers blasted a path
through barbed wire and touched of
mines. Flame throwers blinded
Russian gunners who tried to shoot
from casemates Finally, the Ger
man tanks and infantry crashed
through.
II, as Berlin reports, the Perekop
Isthmus has been forced, the Ger
mans should have much easier 60
ing. Beyond lies nearly 100 miles
OF open, treeless downs, which the
German high command describes as
good tank country" The final strug-
gle will come when the invaders
approach the southern coasts. Here,
| a mountain wall rising from the
depths Of the Black Sea forms high
escarpment, at whose western tip
lies the great naval base of Sevas-
topol. South of the mountains
stretches a narrow strip of coast
known as the Russian Riviera. Pro-
tected by the overhanging mountains
from the cold northern winds, this is
a favored littoral, green with almost
semi-tropical vegetation and dotted
with former winter palaces and
villas OF Cars and great mobiles, now
turned into peoples sanatoria and
rest homes.
The Russian Riviera will be a pre-
cious boon to the Germans this win
ter to quarter their wounded and
tired troops. There is still stir fight
ing to be done before they reach that
goal. Yet, with land connection cut
of and deprived of fresh supplies
except by sea, the Russian garrison
will find it extremely difficult to hold
out indefinitely.
It is strange how often in the
course Of day an average citizen
will say Thanks" to perfect
strangers, yet cannot spare two or
three minutes to make similar ac-
knowledgment to his Creator.
In case Treasury accountants are
puzzled over how to classify expendi-
lures on our Atlantic anti submarine
patrol, how about listing them as 4
sinking fund?
The Chesapeake Bay oyster crop is