Evening star., 1942-08-16
Bad News Is No Surprise
To i. S. Military Leaders
World Situation Developing in Expected Pattern;
Peace Offensive by Nazis Seen Likely if
Russians Are Driven Across Volga
Bv Constantine Broun.

BY COnSfaj
On the distant war fronts OF the world
the military situation is developing &C
cording to pattern which was fully an
ticipated by most American naval and
military authorities.
The Russians are hard pressed; the
situation in the Near East is far from
cheerful; the civil disobedience move
ment in India is likely to give the Allies
more severe headaches and, what is
worse, may require a much larger force
Than is available to check the incipient
rebellion OF some 3O00o0,000 Indians and.
1t the same time, fight Off another Japa-
nese attack as soon as the monsoon is
ever.
All these facts, which are the logical
outgrowth of a weak military situation,
have developed dramatically before the
peoples of the United States and Britain.
While for months the public has been
fed fairy tales about the crumbling of the
Nazi regime under the pin pricks of the
Russians, the general staff in Washing
ION and London knew that matters were
progressing far from favorably.
No voice of protest was raised from
those quarters while good news" filled
gre front pages of all the newspapers in
khe United States and Great Britain and
while the radio was broadcasting rosy
comments, giving additional reasons for
confidence that the war would be over
In 1912 or 1943.
"Peace Offensive" Feared.
Even in time of war; naval and mill
tary officers are seldom permitted to in
terfere with the propaganda services OF
the Government. There are, of course,
deep differences of opinion between the
armed services and civilian officials over
how best to boost morale. Several months
Of unwarranted optimism may now have
an unfavorable reaction and the belated
'pessimistic' tone of the publicity Or
ganizations may not serve its purpose.
The defeats suffered by the Russian
armies have been expected by the mill
tary but came as a thunderbolt to the
public. The fact that the Nazis are ad-
vancing toward the Caucasus and the
Caspian Sea worries the administration
less than the peace offensive" which the
Nazis are expected TO launch sometime
next monti: if the Russians are pushed
back of the Volga River.
According to available information the
Nazis plan to offer the American and
British peoples negotiated peace which
WOW MA, = a vo,.o 1,Ja ~, t,oa c,,rfo 20 ts,4
in actuality will mean the surrender Of
everything we Afe fighting for Neither
the American Government nor the pres
ent British government has the slightest
intention Of opening any kind OF nego-
tiations until peace terms can be die
tated to the Axis.
Opportunity for Appeasers.
But the effect Of present bad news
from Russia. and prospective ill-tidings
from the Near East. may have strong
repercussions among the masses and give
those few remaining appeasement ele-
ments the opportunity to shout, why
lives and precious materials when we
can talk honorably to the enemy"
The military situation appears worse
from superficial examination than it
actually is 1t is true that the Russians
are breathing heavily, but this was inevi-
table. They have a vast supply of man
power but lack war materials. Their
factories are producing only small
fraction OF their needs.
The volume of supplies from the
United States has not fulfilled expecta-
tions for these reasons:
l. We have not been able to manufac-
ture as much as all the United Nations
needed and a portion of our shipments
has had to be sent to the equally vital
Near East front.
2. Losses of shipping because Of Nazi
submarine and plane attacks have been
great.
3. Communications from Murmansk
and Archangel to the battle front in
Southern Russia have been unsatis-
factory because of distance The trans
portation route from the Persian Gulf
across Iran to Astrakan has proved
equally unsatisfactory.
Orgy of Wishful Thinking.
In contrast to the Allies communica-
ton difficulties the enemys supplies have
been located within few hundred miles
of the front and communication lines
with factories in the rear were uninter-
yupted.
Under these conditions it was obvious
to all who knew these facts that if the
NaZis staged large-scale offensive dur
ing the summer the Russians would not
be able to check 1t. 1t was not consid-
cred well, however, to say so publicly
since Il might have been interpreted as
giving aid and comfort to the enemy
We preferred to let our people indulge
in an orgy of wishful thinking rather
than prepare thep for the worst.
Regardless of what may happen in
Russia, sound American naval and mill
tary men, who examine the situation as
a doctor would diagnose patients ills
see nothing to worry too much about as
long as we keep our feet on the ground
and do not yield to emotionalism None
of these competent men has the slightest
doubt of the final outcome of the war
even if before it is over it should become
a struggle between two hemispheres.
Hit Before We Were Ready.
Our war production has not been slow
our military, naval and air prepared
ness has not Jagged. We have been al
war for less than one year. When WE
were attacked last December we haC
less than a skeleton Army. We hae
many men in uniform, but few real sol.
diers. The men were being trained with