Evening star., 1942-12-06

air offensive against the enemy which he
cannot meet, defeat or survive"
His words had particularly warm re-
the Allied world by sending 1000 planes
to bomb Cologne. For two months it was
vigorously argued here and abroad that
Germany could be knocked out OF the
war by the simple process OF bombing
her.
Through the summer the Army Air
Forces bombed Europe time and again
in Flying Fortresses. These excursions
prompted one OF the disagreements that
cursed the United Nations alliance until
the war was almost one year old. The
Raj insisted that for long range bomb
ing over Germany, protected by fighters
that could climb above 10000 feet, the
night bombing by planes with huge bomb
loads, like the Lancaster, Halifax and
Stirling, was the only method feasible.
The Americans held that the Fortresses,
with their precise bombsight, could bomb
Germany in the daytime.
Another. more imposing, threat to the
Americans wondered impatiently when
the attack on Europe was coming, the
Russians irritably told their Allies that
the attack should come at once so that
the German pressure on Russia could be
relieved. In this irritation lay five
months debate over the second 'front.'"
as the issue came to be called. The Rus
slams considered their operation the one
front. The front in Egypt-Libya, where
the British armies confronted the Afrika
Korps of Gen. Erwin Rommel, had no
number. The Russians chose to overlook
the Asiatic front, because to this day
they are at peace with the Japanese.
Molotov Visits America
A visitor to Washington in June was a
PROFESSIONAL looking man from Moscow
who went by the name OF Mr.. Brown.
His real name was Viacheslav Michaelo-
vich Molotov, and he was the foreign
commissar OF the Union OF Soviet So
cialist Republics. He came to Washing
ton incognito to talk with President
Roosevelt about supplies, postwar ar
rangements and the prospect Of attack,
and when he had gone. Mr.. Roosevelt is
sued cryptic statement which haunted
London end Washington for months aft
erward He and Molotov, he said, had
reached full understanding" about the
urgent tasks Of creating second front
in Europe in 1912"
The first stage in the second front was
to be elsewhere. That was decided late
in June when the pink-faced Prime
Minister of Great Britain visited Wash
ington once again. Churchill and Roose-
velt got down to cases. They put their
fingers on French North Africa as the
point of attack. Churchill went home and
an elaborate campaign of psychological
diversion was put into operation.
The French were warned time and
again to be prepared against an invasion
Of France. In August Canadians, Free
French, Englishmen and few American
Rangers attacked the French resort Of
Dieppe. Except for display of air power,
it was disastrous raid, and the English
loudly pointed to it as the perfect
example why an offensive against Europe
was premature. But the men winding
wars clock for the Allies knew that a
zero hour was approaching. The United
States was getting ready. although the
people in the United States wondered
why it took so long. On June %. 1t. Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was made COM
mander Of American forces In England.
It was fateful appointment.