Evening star., 1941-07-05

In one quar- Col Palmer.
ter I heard the suggestion that
Premier Joseph Stain, foreWarned
by the experience of other ravaged
countries, has utilized successfully
his secret police in kindred ferret
cunning to balk the Gestapo; and
Moscow even tells us the Com
munists have turned the tables in
sabotage behind the German lines.
If so, the Gestapo has found in
Russia a sterile field which promised
to be a fertile one.
The Soviet census registers 1900
900 Germans in Russia. There is
also the inheritance of German in
f1uence and power in business and
In technical organization under the
Cars Names of German origin
among those whose fathers and
grandfathers were born in Russia
are not rare.
There are many descendants of
former German coloniStS in the
Ukraine, where as private land
holders they lost their holdings and
privileges under the Soviet regime.
The Gestapo was expected to rely
upon all these elements in Russia to
respond to the ataviStic pull and the
rewards they would receive in a
Germanized Russia.
Oil Is Greater Prize.
A greater prize than the grain OF
the Ukraine for Germany'S most
pressing immediate need is the Rus
sian oil fields. In the German
Army's advance through Poland
panzer divisions swept around the
Polish wells by surprise with such
speed that the wells were captured
in working order We know, too,
that infiltration and Gestapo cratti-
ness gained the Rumanian oil fields
and the copper mines of Yugoslavia.
without either being much damaged.
From its position in Russia at this
writing the German Army has 800
miles to go before it can cut out
the Russian oil fields, which have
four and one-half times the pro-
duction of the Rumanian. It is too
late to get the Russian fields by sur
prise.
Despite the scope of the Soviet
German pact, and the close eco
nomic relations 1t called for, it was
a source OF bitter complaint of Hit
Ter that Stain refused to admit
German technicians to the oil fields
as advisers. However, some did filter
in. and among the Russian tech
nicisns are many OF German
descent.
For this campaign the timing OF
fifth column operations may be con-
nected with occupation of the Oil
fields. The Russians in charge OF
the wells should have ample explo-
sives ready to put the wells out OF
production for at least three or
four months, in line with Stains
announced "scorched earth policy
of retreat.
Another prize in addition to the
grain of the Ukraine is the mines OF
the Ukraine which produce 54 per
cent of the coal and SO per cent OF
the iron of RuSSias total output.
German armored units do not have
to 20 far now to reach them nor
the Russian munitions plants at
Moscow and Kharkov.
Having His Troubles.
But it will take the most powerful
surprise fifth column action yet to
capture the Russian oil fields un-
damaged and the operation must
be carried out without the aid OF
German bombers which would be
only aiding the Russians in the job
of destruction.
All exiles of the old regime agree
about Russian unity under what
ever regime, based on undying in
herited racial antipathy OF the
masses to the Germans and their
instructive defense of the soil.
Without allowing wishful think
ing to discount the grave possibil-
ity, even probability, that the Ger
man blitzkrieg will close all the
western ports of Russia and take
all Western Russia, Hitler is hav-
ing his troubles in carrying through
this conquest according to plan"
Snow in the Carpathians at this
season is a poor excuse when so
small a portion of his great army
enters Russia that way. Transport
congestion is delaying motorized
guns and infantry which must be
up to support the tanks as a hold
ing force to nail down the tanks
gains.
When Stain bids people to leave
their towns and villages and peas
ants to drive their cattle to the
rear, this will hamper mobility in
army delaying actions and expose
more mass targets to the sweep of
machine-gun fire and bomb
ing by planes. But the chaos is not
altogether confined to the Russian
side.
(Relessed by the North American
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