Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-07-31
Battle Tough
On BIi+zkrieg
Guns. Motors
State Of Maj Cannon
Remains Puzzle
BY HUGH s. JOHNSON

~ lIiio puLLiils wal WiHSii,
= after all, is a battle of pro-
duction. one uncertain and. APP
parently unpredictable factor is
the state of opposing equipment.
No matter how Hitler is pro-
crossing in Russia. as this
column predict tie d when he
started, il Is no three-weeks
pushover. He must have eX-
pended, even through ordinary
wear and tear, if not through
loss and destruction, a noun
famous supply of munitions and
equipment-gasoline, fuel oil,
lubricants. explosives, shells, air.
planes, tanks and guns.
The guntubes, especially OF
the largest cannon have very
limited life in action. In addition
to -battle-lesses, mechanical and
motorized land ships-tanks and
armored cars moving over tough
terrain with few good roads
suffer an astonishing loss. even
without ever firing a shot.
THESE modern armies can
l. never be self-contained. They
have TO have life-lines for re-
pairs. supplies and small parts
running clear back to the home
front factories and these are ex-
tremely vulnerable. II they
break down Importantly IL is as
bad as a checkmate on the fight
ing front.
The Germans lost the first
Marine because their infantry
outran their artillery and supply
trains. If the Armistice hadn't
come in November IL, 1918. our
advance through the Argonne
would have been stopped be-
cause of failure OF our motor
transport systems behind the
forward movement.
Hitler in Russia is moving on
much longer lines through mitch
more sterile and forbidding
country. 1t wasn't hard to beat
the gun in predicting the slow
ness of this campaign.
The error of the "swift-deci-
sion" experts was in comparing
the short distances. the excel
lent road systems. the dense pop
ulations, the rich concentrations
Of supply in western Europe with
the--Nebraska-like terrain Of
Russia and Poland.
The French catastrophe was
due 10 two cause.-the weakly
held defense of the keystone of
resistance, the forest of Ar
dennes and even more TO the
congestion of all roads by
dense and fleeing population.
These conditions do not subsist
on the eastern front where oper-
atoms of the blitzkrieg variety
take much longer and are for
more difficult.
FURTHERMORE. for years
Il there had been a constable
and constant exchange of stu
dent and observer officers be-
tween the Russian and German
armies. Blitzkrieg was kind Of
Joint invention and, as has been
observed here earlier, you can't
make our younger officers be-
lieve that both didn't get its
principles from studies and ex-
periments at otir infantry school
at Fort Benning which our gen.
eral staff ignored.
OF course, offsetting Hitler's
losses in equipment and material
are his tremendous captures of
such stuff and similar Russian
losses plus the fact that the
Nazis have an efficient replace
ment manufacturing industry
and the Reds haven't.
That is a vital matter 1t
means that IL Russia can't get
new supplies she may crumple
from that alone. 1t is hard 10
see where she will get them. She
is too far away for us to give
much aid.
TIERE is one bright spot in
l. the equipment problem TO
which not enough attention has
been paid. II is that so-and-so-
many airplanes isn't the an
swer. The question is how
many can be kept in the air and
how good they are up there.
II one airplane can be kept
aloft without stopping for re-
pairs twice as long as its coun-
terpart it is almost equivalent
10 doubling the production of
that type.
The excellence and precision
OF our mechanical manufacture
has always been better than
German, French or British and
certainly of Russia. According
TO most reports this is showing
up marvelously in competing
types of planes in this war.
Maybe we shouldn't be too
much discouraged at not get
ting out more planes. Maybe
$4,000 of our planes is the
equivalent of $4,000 of some of
the wobblers they may meet.
Both our manufacturers and