Evening star., 1941-10-19

A military disaster for RuSsia's armies
may have greater consequences than an
ordinary military defeat. 1t may enable
Hitler to start another peace offensive
In Great Britain and the United States.
The Fuehrer has made several such at
tempts in the past. They were rejected
because it was obvious that under the
sanctimonious cloak of peace for the
sake of the suffering masses" was hidden
his real desire of dominating the world
without further strain on GermanyS
man power and resources
This time official quarters feel the
Nazl dictator may be more successful
He is relying on the shock which the
collapse of the Russian armies may
cause in the Western democracies and
hopes that their leaders may be COM
PEELED to listen to his terms. He hopes
that the defeat of the SovietS will
strengthen the cause Of the appeaSerS
who might then urge the people to ac-
cept Hitler's outstretched hand even
though he held a dagger in the other
While at this writing the Russian
armies are fighting with unbelievable
stubbornness, there is no question that
the general outlook for the U. S. S. R.
is gloomy.
British Situation.
Until the outbreak of the Russo
German war the military situation Of
the British was uncomfortable but 1t
was tenable. The people in the United
Kingdom proved they could take the
Nazi air raids and blockade unf1inch-
ingly. Thanks to the speeding up of
American production, leaselend goods
were reaching the British Isles in salts
factory quantities. 1t was safe to say
that the island had become an i'm
pregnable fortress. Although everybody
knew that hard days were ahead, there
was a general belief in government
quarters and among the people that in
the long run the Axis would be de-
feated. The people in the United States
and England realized that it would be
q long -drawn-out war but they felt the
longer it lasted the better would be their
chances. Germany had won victories
but in the final analysis was in a less
favorable position than the seafaring
nations.
Furthermore, it was obvious to Amer
ican and British leaders that a clash
between the Axis powers and the U. S.
S. r. would occur sooner or later.
Russia had been arming for many years
and had fully-equipped army patiently
awaiting its chance. A clash between
the two mightiest military powers on
the European continent was inevitable.
This, it was believed, would take place
as soon as the German people began
to get tired of the incessant fighting
which brought them spectacular mill
tary successes but no final victory.
Clash Was Premature.
The clash unfortunately occurred too
early. And as was anticipated in the
United States, the conflict was launched
by the Germans when it was least ex-
pected. When this occurred on June %
and the Nazi armies appeared to have
been stalled by the Russians, a tidal
wave of optimism surged in the United
States and Great Britain The most
sanguine stories were put out. Every
time the Germans started new Of
fensive and were stopped, We were
told that this was the beginning of
the end-since they had only until
early october to finish off the Russian
armies. After that General Winter"
and General Mud" would take care of
Hitler and his legions. Napoleon's mis-
fortunes in Russia were cited in refu-
tation of any contrary argument The
contentious Of the realists that Napoleon
had to live on the conquered country;
that his supplies had to be carted over
long distances while modern armies are
supplied by fast transport, were brushed
aside as defeatist officials in London
and Washington believed what they
wanted to believe. BY implication, the
people of both countries, whose govern
nlents were their main sources of infor-
nation, shared the general optimism
Military men who viewed the situation
realistically were called fools by diplo-
mats and were told to be silent.