Evening star., 1941-06-24
Psychological Thrust at U.S..
Seen in>Nozi Drive Into Soviet
Capture Of Important Russian Industries
Regarded as Fuel for American Defeutists

in a Nazi-dominated Finland. The
Firms naturally want to recover
their lost land and former boundar-
les. but they have few illusions
about the degree of independence
the Nazis will leave them after the
war. Consequently. the Firms may
fight until they reach the bottleneck
of the Karelian Isthmus, but beyond
that point the Germans may have
to carry the load.
This is likely to be equally true
when the Rumanians have recap
tured Bessarabia. and the slice of
Bukovina which the Soviets seized
one year ago this week. Rumanian
divisions will certainly fight whole
heartedly for Bessarabia, but be-
yond that they will probably show
little enthusiasm. Nazi officers, who
began to supervise the Rumanian
Army's reorganization last October,
we're inclined to belittle the Ru-
manians as military material. Un-
less their attitude was quickly
changed, it is unlikely the Ru-
manians will relish much front
fighting for a German victory in
side Russia proper.
For a solid year now the Turks
have followed a policy of making
no move unless or until they are at
tackled on their own soil In the
first stages of this war, at least, it
is difficult to imagine the Turks
deviating from that policy. If the
Russians should make much bet
ter fight of it, longer and more
resistant fight, than most Balkan
| observers have ever expected per-
haps Turkey would become more
bold. But that is a pretty big per-
| hapS.
The all-important thing is the
! fact that Hitler has decided that
his armed forces could smash the
Red Army and that this had to be
attempted before Britain had been
conquered and before the United
States was completely engaged in
the war. Last February wrote that
| the Ukraine might we'll be the
cheapest and perhaps the last i'm
/ portant blitzkrieg victory that Hit
| Ter can now hope to gain anywhere
in Europe" and if Hitler failed to
invade Britain this spring the
Ukraine seemed his likeliest bet.
Attack Costly for Nazis.
A good many scoffers wrote to
take issue with me at that time,
but this Nazi attack upon Russia
had been in their cards since last
autumn. 1t is the one way for Hit
Ter tomorrow, in the position of a
super-Napoleon, to be able to make
! his most plausible appeal to ap-
peasers in Britain and America.
From the American point of view,
it seems to me prudent to expect
the minimum from Soviet resist
ance but to take full cognizance
of the coStliness of the Nazis' Rus
sian campaign, whatever its dura-
tion may be. The German attack
is certain to cost plenty in war
materials and plenty in dislocation
of Balkan communications as well
as of railroads inside Russia. What
ever territory the Germans occupy
will present enormous problems for
military control and productive or
ganization. Russian peasant CO.
operation is certain to be grudging
| or non-existent.
1t is extremely difficult to i'm
agine that Nazi Germany can
carve off big part of Southwest
ern Russia this summer and still
be in a position to make an all-out
invasion attempt against Britain
before October. If the attack upon
Russia means that Hitler cannot
hope to invade the British Isles
this year. then it is likely to mean
that Germany has lost its last big
| chance.
Her only other alternative would
be an attempt to negotiate peace.
1t seems very possible that Hitler,
as soon as he can turn away from
Russia, will try that. Success or
failure of such peace deal" often
sive may depend largely upon Amer
ican nerves-that is, upon how far
Hitler's psychological offensive
against the American people, but
via Russia, succeeds in it's aims.
| (Copyright, 1e41, By Chicago Daily News)