Evening star., 1942-08-23

that they have destroyed 1000 Ger
man tanks in three months of fight
ing in the south up to August Is.
Tanks for 30 New Divisions.
What percentage of tank produc-
ton capacity of Germany and her
vassal-state factories do $4,000 tanks
represent? I do not pretend to
know the exact figures. But if the
/ United States, starting from almost
/ zero l8 months ago, can produce
! about 10000 tanks this year. does
| it seem possible that the combined
industries of Germany. Czecho-
slovakia, Poland. Rumania, France,
Belgium and Italy can be producing
less than that per year? Especially
when some of these countries, nota-
| bly, Germany. had been building
tanks for many years before Amer
lea even started?
In view OF these facts, it appears
| conservative to estimate that the
Nazis must be able to construct much
more than $4,000 tanks per year
perhaps a great deal more than
that. So Nazi-dominated countries
may be expected to turn out 10000
| to 10000 tanks during next winter S
lull-between October and mid
April. Hitler's general staff will
not need half that number of tanks
to fight on defensive lines against
the Russians next Summer-If the
Nazis are permitted to win the lower
Volga and the Caucasus this Au-
tumn.
1t is safe to estimate that, if Ger
man-controlled tank production
next winter, at least 10000 tanks
can be allotted for the defense of
Europes western coastline against a
British American invasion. That
would arm 80 new Nazi armored
divisions with full war strength of
500 tanks per division and leave
5000 or more tanks in reserve.
Final Round in West.
Can the Anglo-American armies
count on being able to land as
many as Is armored divisions in
France or Belgium next spring? We
DO not meet any British and Ameri-
can officers in this part of the
world who make any such rash pre-
dictions. Yet the fact remains that
the Nazis have one-twentieth, or
perhaps nesfortieth, as much tank
strength IN Western Europe today
as they are certain to have there
next April or May. BY that time
nall or two thirds of the veteran
armored divisions which are now
Sighting in southern Russia can be
/ reformed, completely rested and
waiting for the British American in
vaders, from Norway to the Spanish
border.
What is true of tanks is equally
true OF howitzers. field guns, mortars
ana aTplanes. If there is no second
front this autumn. German-con-
trolled production of all these heavy
war materials will pile up huge re-
serves once more-with the bulk of
them designed to make Western
Europe impregnable against inva-
sion.
t The Nazis' whole strategy is to
cripple the Red Army's offensive
power, to do it while Russias allies
are inactive in Western Europe--
and then to figh1the final round of
the war against the British and
Americans when Russia can be pin
ned and held SO that she can give
them virtually no noteworthy helm
Nazis Gain by Delay.
The Germans will be proportion
ately very much stronger in man
power and the most decisive
weapons in the West, next spring
than they can possibly be at anv
| time in the next two or three
months.
1t was last winters fighting lull
and its accompanying building up
OF tremendous reserves in material
which has given the Germans their
serious dagger thrusts to the Volga S
1rlnges and the heart of the Cau-
caSus. The Nazis are so deeply en-
tangled here now that they cannot
reverse themselves across the en-
tire European continent before the
snow flies. No observer, however
can doubt for a moment that the
Germans armored might will have
been transferred in its preponder
ance to Western Europe long be-
fore it is tulip time once more in
Holland.
If the British and Americans are
short of ships today for landings in
France, Belgium, or elsewhere. will
they not need 10 or 20 times as
many ships when the Nazis have
several scores of additional divi-
SONS re-entrenched in the West, in
cluding among them IS or perhaps
even rs or more motorized diyi-
sions?
Answer Needed Now.
Ihls Is one of those embarrassing
questions which needs to be WEIGHED
ana answered by British and Ameri-