Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-06-26
Stock Of War
Seers Takes
Sharp Slump
No One Knows Hitler
DETECTIVES Yet
BY HUGH $. JOHNSON

through the widest kind of
publicity. and within Dc hours
after Hitler's volcanic action,
that our Washington military
experts predict that Hitler
probably will win" the Rus
sian campaign" in a month and
must win il in three months or
lose the war. All this is accom-
panied with advice TO the Rus
sian high command on how 10
defeat him.
There also are hints in this
story that all along the "ex-
perts" knew what Hitler was
going TO do -- even as MIR
Churchill limited that nc know
what Hitler intended. These dis
patches do not say who these
Washington military experts
are, but presumably the refer
ence is TO our general staff.
To a casual observer this
would seem a good time for
military experts 10 soft-pcdal
their exporting in public and
try 10 produce a little better
quality of their art in practice.
1t is a lot of baloney that they
knew all along about this OK
ploSive move. 1t was always a
possibility and perhaps an
eventual certainty but until
about three days before II oc-
Cured, no indication had APP
peared in our news that II
would happen now.
DERHAPS a few individuals
Il on our general staff n a
high command suspected IT, but
the statement that its immedl-
ate launching was a consensus
Of our military expert opinion
just simply is not true.
The anti-Axis governments,
including Britain and our own.
are in an unhappy spot. If they
didn't know it and weren't pre-.
pared for il. what is the matter
with their military and diplo-
matte services of information
If they did know il and didn :
tell their people about il. what
kind Of "rannykaboo' goes on
here in these democracies?
OF the two embarraSSmentS i
seems to me that il would 40
wise and more honest 10 choose
the former-that they didn
know. In the first place. II *
the true explanation. In the
second. il we are 10 be al our
best in this war. il will have
10 be on basis OF complete
confidence-confidence Of people
in their governments, but also
and even more important If
governments in their people
Hiding the imminence OF such
an earthquake, if its coming
was known, would be almost un-
forgiveable.
AND how about this business
n Of Hitler winning the Rus
sian campaign in a monitor
losing IL if he doSn't win N
three. If the experts dldn
know enough 10 predict 'he
coming of what appears 10 Ne
the biggest land campaign IN
history, they don't know enough
to predict that
They didn't know enough 10
predict a simple one of the
many tremendous results of .ha
astonishing land campaigns in
Western Europe and the Bal
kans. They didn't know enough
TO insist on American rearma-
ment for modern. mechanical,
motorized and aerial warfare.
On that record wouldn't it be
better TO withhold some Of these
ultimate conclusions until a few
more facts about this bewilder-
ing business are al hand?
In the first place. what does
winning the Russian campaign
by Hitler" mean? That is not
al all clear. because his own
detectives. are not clear. The
experts are clearly right in say
ing that his detectives are not
the worthless Quilted shells OF
Russian cities or even fortrcSSes.
They are control of the raw
resource centers of Russia. of
which the richest by far is the
Ukraine.
DOTH because that requires
- the destruction OF Russian
military power and because the
destruction of that power Is a
necessity for Nazi security and
defense. the first objective is
destruction of the Russian
armies. Can that be done in
one month or three?
Not if the Russians can run
fast enough and far enough. Can
they? Not il the Germans can
quickly destroy the few and
woefully inadequate rail and
motor roads and transportation
centers. The military miracle
Of the fall of France was due as
much to crowding destruction
and Generalization Of French
communicating routes behind the
defense lines as TO any other
single cause.