Evening star., 1942-09-07
Links Fury in Russio
With Peuce-Bid Plan
MiIitory Writer Says Successes
In Eost Are Needed by Nozis
To Bolster Political Offensive

Stalingrad with a determination which
clearly indicates the tremendous import
ance which they attach to success In this
operation. The history of the last two
weeks has largely centered around this
German effort, which has been char
acterized by a series of checks due to
Russian resistance and local counter
attacks followed in each case by re-
neWal of the German effort brought
about by the introduction of fresh troops
into the battle. The number of German
divisions which have been withdrawn for
rest and reorganization must be con-
siderable, as likewise must be the number
of fresh divisions which have been put
in to carry on the fighting.
Stalingrad is an important military and
industrial objective, but all these German
sacrifices are not being made to gain
this prize because of its material value
either from the military or the economic
point of view. The Germans certainly
have material objectives in mind in their
operations in Russia this year; but the
Germans wage total war-which means
that political and psychological objec-
tives are always included in their plans.
From the material point of view, their
purpose in Russia this year is so to
reduce the Russian fighting power as to
make it impossible for the Russians to
stage full-scale counter offensive dur
ing the winter, or in the spring of 1943
This the Germans hope to accomplish by
a combination of effects-the destruction
of good part of the Russian armies, the
cutting off of the main Russian armies
from their Caucasian oil supply, or at least
reduction of the volume Of that supply,
and the pushing back of the Russians to
positions from which a counter offensive
really dangerous to the Germans cannot
be launched with any prospect of sue
cess. To all this may be added the effect
to be produced by depriving the Russians
of areas such as the Donets Basin which
are sources of foodstuffs, raw materials
and manpoWer as we'll as of industrial
production, and the restrictions put upon
their communication system by the loss
Of some of its main arteries.
If the Germans can free themselves
attack by the Russians within the i'm
mediate future, they will be able to turn
their major military attention to the
west, and perhaps also provide sufficient
forces for attempting further enter
prises in the Middle East; and they will
be able likewise to proceed with the
consolidation Of their position in the
interior of Europe
However, even the Germans can
hardly suppose that they will be in a
position to take the offensive on a
major scale against the British Isles
until they have made certain that they
will not in the meanwhile be called
upon for major effort elsewhere and
until they have had an opportunity to
organize the resources of conquered
Europe to support their operations.
Their need at the moment is for a
breathing spell; breathing spell on the
basis of their retention of the whole or
major part of their present conuuests.
To employ such breathing spell effec-
lively, it must be brought about in
such manner as to procure the sub
mission of most of the conquered
peoples to Nazi domination and ex-
ploitation. The fundamental Nazi idea
is to present the world with the picture
of Europe united under Nazi rule a
Europe self-contained economically and
militarily impregnable. In the accom-
plishment of such a purpose the cap
ture OF Stalingrad would serve symbolic
and psychological end as we'll as a
| strictly military one, which the almost
frantic and astonishingly persistent ex-
| ploitation by the Germans of their
| version of the Allied raid on Dieppe
| very clearly shows their anxiety to i'm
| press every one, their own people as
we'll as their enemies and their enslaved
neighbors, with the impregnability of
| their western flank
| That a great Nazi peace offensive will
come during the winter has long been a
| fo1egone conclusion. The object of this
| peace offensive will be to gain the breath
ing space necessary to the German plans
of world conquest: but to make such a
| peace offensive even family plausible
! there must be at least the appearance
| of great German successes in Russia
there must be situation on that front
| which the Germans can make to appear
sufficiently favorable to themselves that
their plea for peace-by which they really
mean merely temporary cessation of
hostilities-may find some response
among the more fainthearted of their
opponents.
The objectives of the United Nations
in Europe must therefore be to support
the Russians in every possible way, to
block the Nazi plans for unified Europe
by every military and political means
and to keep up such offensive operations
as are possible not only for the military
results to be obtained but for the psv-
Geological effect on our own peoples and
those whom we hope to free from Naz
rule. We must never forget that to win
this war material superiority alone will
not be enough; if we put all our faith In
material factors we shall be defeated We
must meet the enemy with faith. a fire
and fury superior to his own, with q
fanatical belief in the sacredness of our
cause which will exclude from our minds
the very thought of possible defeat: all
welded into an unshakable will to victory
Our enemies know full well that they
have more to fear from our progress
toward spiritual unity of purpose than
they would from the doubling of the
output of our factories and trainine
centers.