Evening star., 1941-11-23
Rostov FuIIs

Rostov FuIIs
The capture of Rostov-on-Don an
nounced yesterday by the German
high command, is an extremely i'm
portant though not unexpected
event. Russian control of the city
had been threatened, not only by
the German advance overland but
also by the capture of Kerch in the
Crimea. Kerch controls the narrow
strait leading from the Black Sea to
the extensive body of water known
as the Sea of Azov. This is really
the enlarged estuary Of the Don and
DonetS Rivers, and RoStov sits at
their navigable mouth. Much OF
Rostov'S supplies and reinforcements
came by water over this route. With
the Germans controlling the Sea of
Azov and poised at Kerch, the eastern
tip of the Crimea, for jump across
the narrow strait into the Northern
Caucasus, ROStov was menaced with
encirclement from flank and rear.
Conversely. the fall of Rostov gives
the Germans a second springboard
for the invasion of the Northern
Caucasus from the northWard.
This region of the Northern Cau-
caSus. known as the Kuban, is open
Steppe country, good terrain for
tanks and trucks. Once across the
KerCh Straits and the Don River,
German motorized spearheadS may
be expected to strike swiftly into the
kuban. There are no natural OBJ
staCleS between them and the Cas-
plan Sea. far to the eastward, and
the Caucasus Mountains on the
south.
The Germans eastward objective
is Astrakhan at the mouth of the
mighty Volga River where it flows
into the Caspian Sea- That would
seal up the last remaining water
route for supplies into European
Russia from the Caucasus and Iran.
The rail connection from those re-
gionS has been broken with the fall
of RoStov. Also. the pipe line from
the oil-bearing districts north Of the
Caucasus has been severed.
The Caucasus Mountains rise
steeply from the Kuban steppes,
forming a natural barrier running
almost due east and west. These
mountains actually plunge into the
Black Sea at their western end; so
a German advance along the Black
Sea coast toward Transcaucasia and
Iran is impracticable. However, the
chain of oil fields north Of the noun
tains and the naval base of Novoros-
SiiSk lie open to the German advance.
The fall of Novorossiisk would de-
prive the Russian Black Sea fleet of
its last dockage and repair base,
assuming that Sevastopol in the
Crimea is reduced by the besieging
Germans.
The real danger to TranScaucasia
and Iran lies eastward along the
Caspian. Here, the Caucasus range
stops some distance from the coast.
The intervening stretch of coastal
plain, known as the Gates of Der
bent, has been a natural highroad
for conquering armies since the dawn
of history. 1t is there that the Rus
slams must make a desperate stand,
presumably reinforced by British
forces rushed up from Iran. Just
south Of the Derbent Gates lies
Baku the richest oil field in the
Soviet Union. If the Germans sue
ceed in capturing Baku in addition
to the North Caucasus fields, they
will have all the oil they need, once
they have redrilled the presumably
destroyed wells, installed new re-
fnery equipment and arranged for
transportation. That probably would
take some months, but there is no
reason for believing that their pres
ent oil stocks will not last through
this intervening period
The capture of Kerch and the fall
of Rostov coincide with a renewed
German drive at Moscow which i'm
mobilizes the Russian central army
group and renders aid to the south
ern armies impracticable. Thus,
British aid in the Caucasus on
large scale would seem to be i'm
perative if the Middle East is to be
safeguarded from German aggression.