Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-11-10
LiddelI Hart Says:
.Soviets Hold
On All Sectors
Except Crinned
LiddeII Hart Says;
By CAPT. b. II. LIDDELL HART
Famous British Military Expert
and Analvat

Famous British Military Expert
and Analyst
written Exclusively for Init News serviee)
LONDON, Nov. 10.-The past
week may be reckoned on the bal
ance as another week gained by
the Russians in delaying the in
vader's achievements of his main
aims.
Neither toward Moscow nor to-
ward Rostov, which is an even
more strategic key point, have the
Germans made any perceptible
progress.
For the moment the pressure
seems to have been flattened.
Snow-drifts near Moscow and mud
near Rostov are baking the eff
forts of the Germans and costing
them time.
SET BACK IN CRIMEA
II would have been a good week
for the Russians but for events in
the Crimea. Here the Germans,
following up their success in
penetrating the narrow Perekop
IsthmuS, spread like a flood over
the peninsula.
editor note: The German
high command today claimed
the capture of Valtu. on the
southern shore of the CrimeaO
Splitting the Russian forces they
swept southwark TO the outer de-
lenses of Sevastopol and eastward
to Feodosia and the neck of land
leading to the Port of Kerch.
Significance of these develop
ments is two-fold. They endanger
Russias naval control of the Black
Sea and they offer the Germans
an alternative line of approach 10
the Queensland with il a
potential lever against the rear OF
Marshal S e m yon Timoshenko S
armies covering Rostov.
On their advance TO Sevastopol
the Germans appear 10 have
reached the River Alma line or
which 81 years ago the Russians
stopped to mete the French anc
British armies.
DIFFERENT OBJECTIVE
In that invasion the political
object was markedly different, de.
fenSive rather than offensive-tc
protect Turkey and indirectly the
Allies own Mediterranean com.
munications-but their strategic
objective was the same-to cripple
Russia's Black Sea fleet by de-
stroying its base.
Almost year passed, however
between the crossing OF the Alma
and the fall of Sevastopol. i
hardly can he hoped that the
present campaign in the Crimes
will last as long.
Failure of the Russians TO holt
such short and easily defensibl,
front as the Perekop Isthmus doe
not suggest their Crimean forces
have much capacity for resistance
such as their troops in the norti
have shown.
KERCH is BIG QUESTION
| A crucial question now arises IL
this quarter: Whether German
troops can reach the easterly iii
of the Cremean Peninsula-Kercl
and from there cross the narrow
straits TO the mainland east Of IN,
sea Of AZov.
If they achieved this, they would
be within so miles of Novorossisl
and would threaten TO turn the
main line OF the Russian defense,
along the River Don and through
Rostov. They could then reach IN,
oil fields in the Caucasus noun
tains without forcing this barrier
line.
The deeper significance OF tn,
lCrimean campaign lies in its bear
ing on the issue of land power
versus sea power. -a--
Like the Cretan campaign
though in different form, il is al
lattempt TO see how far technical,
land geographically a combination
lof land and air forces can over
: leone and circumvent naval bar