The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-09-03
NAvIES
 ON OFFENSIVE IN ATLANTIC
By |. 8. DTsTzER CUnlted Press stan Correspondent with United states Naval Forces

with United States Naval Forces
 London, sept 3. tUp)-The fourth year Of the world conflict opens with the United Nations waglng unlfled naval war on the front of Europe" with events possibly Shap- Ing for Q terrific struggle,
 British and American cofn- mands, almost merging, have been lnterminRled, and American war; Vhips under co-ordlnated British. American control are on Europe's front lines, apparently aligned for role in any Allied move on the continent.
 Meanwhile, American partlcipa- Elon h the Atlantic battling itself hes spread until United States war; Ships are in virtually every area where British are battling,
 British warships are aiding In an lntenslfylng patrol of American waters. American ships are in Eu- ropean waters, Warcraft of both nations and allied nations, are conveying and patroillng across the Atlantic, in many instances operating under unified commands.
 Judged from the overall view the Allies have passed in the Ate lantic from defense to offenge, They are stronger. They have sur- vived from most critical part Of the battle.
 Atlantic Lifeline Holds
 The gittiation now is.
 The United Nations are starting Ehe 4eth month of fighting with their lifeline across the Atlantic unbroken; U-boats, although pos sihly increasing In number appar. ently are decreasing in effective ness in the western Atlantic; and German surface naval forces, though strong and threatening, largely are bottled up, while the addition of the American task force to the British home fleet has strengthened considerably the al- lied naval hand in northern Eu- rope,
 Axis air-seacraft operations stlll are unchecked in the eastern At- lantic, and there are recurrent t,- dlcations that the north Atlantic supply route to Russia has been at least disrupted.
 It still Is anyone's fight in the North Sea.
 Tn addition, the intense warfare on the Russian route, coupled with reported slackening of ship sink ings in the west and increased Ger man air and U-boat activity around Iceland have been taken in some quarters as possible indica. ton that the Axis attention now is pivoting toward Europe.
 Slmh 6 move could indicate Axis acceptance of check in the west and may portend the opening Of a hitter naval war around the British Isles.
 Any Allied naval strategy in Eu- ropsan waters must consider CD that the troubling, strong German navy based on Norway has not been defeated, and (2) that supply flows musE be guaranteed while naval strength is concentrated as & nec- essagy condition to any movement of troops to the continent.
 Based on the Norwegian coast and recurrently foraying out are German warships which singly could give tough fight to any Al- lied vessel and jointly could pre- cipitate one of the biggest naval battles of all time.
 Among them is the battleship Tirpltz, which naval observers be- lieve could stand up to warship of the North Carolina class and make the fight one of the classics of history.
 Still others are the new battle ships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst and the powerful cruiser Prinz Eugen. Probably other ships, pos sibly as strong, have joined them. Tn still greater addition there are destroyers, swift torpedo boats, aircraft carriers - the components of a formidable navy.
 The American role in the devel- oping eastern Atlantic war is being taken at least by a group including A battleship, cruiser and deStroyers which joined the British Home Fleet last Easter Sunday and al- ready has battled successfully with Axis planes.
 Heading the American warfare are two Pennsylvanians, one of them co-ordinating strategy, the other directing the fighting forces on the scene.
 On March g white-haired Ad-