Evening star., 1942-03-18

"Spring ofensiUe"-,chere toiH
the AriS polDerS and the Unlted
Nations Strike2 The progress OF
the Uar and its probable course
are examined here BY an eminent
German ,Uriter 1UhO has tOretold
manu- OF the NdaiS' mOUeS. DR..
RauSchning 1CaS for Seuerdl years
q special adUiSer to the German
FOREIGN Office and 1UaS high in
the Na2i party'S inner councils
until 1885. Uhen he broke 1rlth
Hitler and LETT Germany.
By DR.. HERMANN RAUSCHNING.
(Copyright 1912 by North American
Newspaper AllianceD
Nineteen hundred and forty-tWo
Is the fateful year in the present
var. It's danger lies in the tempta-
zion to mistake subsidiary actions
for the main engagement and to
fight the war on the basis OF these
subordinate action instead OF the
decisive struggle Here IS a source
of damaging cOnfuslorS that would
put off the decision.
Painful as the Pacific losses of
the United Nations may be on patri-
otic and economic grounds. Strategl-
cally they are important only as a
preparatory operation by the enemy
TO cover his fanks and rear before
opening his main drives.
Important Allied lines OF COM
munication are interrupted, and
valuable sources of raw materials
are reinforcing the enemy's econo-
my. But these successes are not
of decisive import. To compare
them with the collapse of France
during the European phase of the
war would be a mistake They are
more of a parallel to the German
occupation of Denmark and Nor
way in 1910.
The struggle for the Asiatic coast
Is not what will count in the world
wide phase that the war is now en-
tering. What will count is the
struggle for the great unified Conti-
mental area from VladivoStok to
Leningrad. from Shanghai to Mos
COW. including the subContinents of
India and Asia Minor to Suez and
Constantinople. 1t is one unit. AS
such it must be exploited militarily.
Here is the great. almost inexhausti-
bic reservoir of Allied resistance.
Space Factor Vital.
Roughly speaking, the time fac
tor is not the only important one to
the United Nations at this stage.
The space factor is equally vital.
the space for Allied operations in
continuing the War-to make the
war useless owing TO lack of space
and to hurl the Allies back on their
own immediate territory. On the
other hand the great advantage
with the Allies is the huge extent
of the central fighting front. 1t
affords them an opportunity to
maintain an elastic defense until
the time is ripe for a counter
offensive. 1t gives them a chance
to sacrifice space in order to gain
time. A very few lines and points
alone absolutely must hold out with
all available force.
To illustrate the relationship and
relative importance Of the strategl-
cal problems in the coming stage
it is not sufficient to sketch map
with America or the British Isles
in the center; this would cut the
vital unified area through the mid
Ole. Instead we must spin the globe
to bring the great central mass OF
Asia and Eastern Europe before us
This region may be called the
central front. Russia was attacked
by Germany in an essentially Eu-
ropean war. Through her stubborn
resistance Russia has managed tC
develop the full strategic signifl-
canoe that she enjoys in the present
stage as the worlds greatest conti-
mental power. The same thing holds
for China in relation to the jap
anese attack. Neither of these huge
loosely joined territories was con-
ouered in the preceding stage of the
war. when they were attacked sep
arately. Where isolated wars have
been Waged so far. there is now
one vast front in which India, Iran
Iraq and Syria are connecting links
while the Siberian Pacific coast
territory Is the outermost and most
vital anchor to eastward.
Gives Focus to War.
The task facing the AXiS-tO break
up and occupy this enormous mass
of territory-can be accomplished
only by tearing the area apart at
seams and weak spots and isolating
the parts For the United Nations
this means protecting the integral
strategic unity Of the huge de-
tensive area against such cleavage
by united command and reinforc-
ing the defense at the probable
points of attack
Along with the struggle for the
huge continental area the perma-
nent naval battle is blazing in both
Atlantic and Pacific. Here the two
great positive factors, Russian and
Chinese resistance, are reinforced
by the third. decisive factor in this
worldwide stage of the war.
The entrance of the United
States into the war stands revealed
in its full revolutionary effect. This
is not. as in the last war, an event
that merely helps bring about the
military decision without essentially
changing the military fronts and
obiectives in themselves. Today
the entrance of America into the
World War on the side of the United
Nations affords nothing less than
the strategical and political focus
that the war had lacked. The de-
cjsive impact of her central location
will not be felt. however, until the
final stage of the war. We are still
az the start of a middle stage, in
which the shift from defensive to
victorious offensive will only gradu-
ally take place.
IF We cnip tho oIohe m hripu tbe