Evening star., 1941-02-28
Stowe
Continued From Page A-1lo

creat prizes for a blitzkrieg through
the Ukraine.
If Hitler cannot occupy the Brit
ish Isles this spring, or if he has to
adjourn the attempt, he will have to
do something startling somewhere
Spain and Portugal wouldn't take
long, though their cost might be long
indeed. Turkey, including Asia
Minor. would be much too long, and
even the cost of the Dardanelles
might be eXorbitant. The Ukraine,
on the other hand. is fiat and open
and temptingly rich. Nazi divisions,
tanks and airplanes could always
strike there with a maximum of
speed and efficiency and-a notable
item-alSo with maximum of con-
fidence. The Ukraine must be kept
in mind as the only comparatively
cheap and highly remunerative
blitzkrieg that Hitler can now find
anywhere to fight. Yet 1t would
seem that Hitler, If he entertalns
any hope of occupying England and
sharing the distinction OF William
he Conqueror, may have to try to
invade Britain first.
Many FOresee Germany's Defeat.
This is an objective survey and
qs close an analysis as my II
months in all corners of Europe
at war enable me to make. From
such q survey one fact, 1 think,
stands out very clearly. Aside from
stalking all on an invasion of Great
--ritain, Hitler has extremely few
flternatives left. There can be no
toubt that he must deal Britain
? mortal blow within few months
!or Nazi-ism will be fighting de-
lonsive battle all over Europe. If
-Eitler fails against Britain, or side
steps Britain, between now and Au-
gust. he will know all too well that
he has lost the war. That possibility
is definitely greater than many
Americans have been led to believe.
In the Balkan countries-and this
is neither by chance nor by wiShful
thinking-this same possibility has
been very widely recognized for
many months. Indeed, most Balkan
inhabitants of all walks of life
regard Nazi Germany's eventual de-
feat as a probability and many OF
them as a certainty.
Suppose, for a moment, that Hit
Ter throws all against the British
Isles, yet fails to strike decisive
blow. Then he would have only
two or three remaining alterna-
tives. He would be compelled to
act violently somewhere. yet any
alternative would be fraught with
extremely grave dangers of over
expansion. Hitler might very well
conquer the Ukraine and shatter
Stalinism and still lose the war.
Even a perfect army of 100000
or 100000 men cannot be spread
too thinly across all of Europe and
parts of western Asia.
For Hitler, the hour of decision
Is close at hand, but the clock
hands of final reckoning threaten
to strike close behind. Without un-
derestimating for moment how
closely the balance wheel in the west
may hang, it would be a great error
to overlook or to minimize this
fact For Hitler, in the greatest
and most fateful gamble of many
centuries, liberty of action is run
ming dangerously low. Hitler has
piled up amazing victories because
he has always been able to choose
when and where to strike next. Now
he is becoming straitjacketed by
circumstance and geography. You
may logically question whether this
fact may not emerge, before many
months, as the turning point of
the second World War.
tcopyrisht 4941. by the Chicago Daily
News