Evening star., 1942-03-21
Hitler Recalls

authenticated dispatches from
neutral European listening posts"
indicate that Adolf Hitler is recalling
many, II not most. of the high
ranking generals he dismissed early
last winter from their posts on the
Eastern front. These reinStatements
are headed by none other than Field
Marshal Walther Won Brauchitsch,
whom Hitler personally supplanted
as commander in chief last Decem-
Der, coupling this action with the
sensational statement that he was
thenceforth to be guided by his "in-
tuition" That strange pronounce
ment has given rise to endless specu-
lation, and the Fuehrers present
about face should stimulate much
new speculative comment.
The prevailing idea has been that
Hitler fell out with his generals be-
cause they objected to the last
desperate German drive on Moscow,
which cost so dearly. That maneuver
generally has been thought to have
been Hitler's conception, induced by
political motives against sound stra-
tegic considerations, which counseled
an extensive retirement to prepared
defenSes with proper communica-
tions for winter shelter and supply.
This theory is supported by the un-
doubted fact that the German
armies in Russia have been gravely
handicapped by lack of warm cloth
ing and other things which show
they were not prepared for active
winter campaigning. That they have
come through the winter without
suffering a disaster comparable to
Napoleon's grand army is attribut-
able largely to iron discipline and
a system Of hedgehog defense" con-
sisting Of series Of fortified strong
points which cushioned and canalized
the relentless assaults Of the Red
forces. Nevertheless, the price has
been heavy one, and it is by no
means certain that the Wehrmacht
may not have been crippled in ad-
vance for its anticipated summer
counteroffensive.
A few military commentators have
suggested a somewhat different ex-
PLANTATION of last winters shifts in
the German high command. Accord
ing to this theory, the dismissed
generals were all offensive" spec
ialists. So. when the offensive broke
down, generals with peculiarly de-
fensive attributes were needed to
carry the Wehrmacht through the
winter ordeal. That would accord
with the highly specialized nature of
the German war machine, and would
likewise account for the reinstate-
ment of last years generals, now that
a renewed offensive is becoming
climatically possible.
Certain personal aspects of the
affair are also open to dispute.
Though Won Brauchitsch is a men,
Der of the Junker military caste, he
had acquired the dubious reputation
of being a political general" more
pliable to Nazi pressure than his Sc
verely professional colleagues. If this
be true, his retirement last December
may have been due less to a quarrel
with Hitler than to the necessity of
finding a scapegoat to cover the
failure before Moscow. The willy
Fuehrer has never hesitated to sac
rifice any one for personal or party
reasons.
However, this would not apply in
the same measure to the two gen.
erals next in prominence among
those superseded and now recalled.
These are Generals Won Rundstedt
and Won Book. Both are ultrapro-
fessional soldiers of the stricteSt
Prussian type. This redoubtable pair
might very we'll have stood up to
Hitler If he did, in fact, personally
order a winter offensive against their
best judgment. II, despite this, they
have now been recalled to their
commands, it would tend to suggest
the inadequacy of intuition" as a
military guide, and to show the COM
pelling need for their talents. And,
since they are offensive specialists,
this would be further evidence that
an all-out drive on the Eastern front
actually is in preparation.