Evening star., 1942-10-02

Of Russiun Forces
MiIitory Writer Discusses
Effort Of Soviet Armies in Cop
Between VoIgo and Don
By Maj. George Fielding Eliot.
The development of second Russian
counterof1ensive on the Staingrad front.
this time south OF the beleaguered city,
is a hopeful sign. The troops delivering
this blow probably were ferried across
the Volga by night. The Russians appear
to be using the Astrakhan railway, which
parallels the Volga some miles to the
eastward, as a line of reinforcements
and supply for 5talingrad.
The Russian counteroffensive north
west of Staiingrad, however, is still the
most important Russian countereffort.
1t is supported partly by the river COM
munications Of the Volga and partly by
the main Moscow-Stalingrad railway.
It is gaining ground slowly in the gap
between the Volga and the Don and
appears to have imperiled some of the
German crossings of the Don, on which
the Nazis' communicate in part de-
pend
1t seems likely that the crisis of the
struggle for Stalingrad that final phase
OF the battle, which has been announced
almost every day for q month by the
Axis radio, may now be actually at hand.
From the strategic point of view, the
gap between the Volga and the Don
into which Marshal Timoshenko,s armies
are driving is an area OF unusual i'm
portance. There seems no doubt that the
immediate German military purpose is
to establish their "Ostwall" along the line
of these two Tivers from the vicinity OF
kursk and Orel down to the Caspian,
keeping the old line roughly in it's pres
ent position from Leningrad to Kursk.
This would give the Germans a some
what longer line for the winter Of 1872
43 than they had last winter, but the
additional length would be made up for
by the fact that the southeastern half Of
the line would have river obstacle along
its greater part.
AS previously pointed out in these ar
ticles, river line is not defense in
itself, but when used as a part OF prop
erly organized defensive system, it does
enable the defenders to enjoy great
economies in men and material. In other
words, front which includes an un-
fordable river as an obstacle can be de-
Tended with fewer troops and fewer forti-
fcations than a front not so fortunately
located. This is extremely important to
the Germans during the coming winter.
for they not only desire to detach troops
to meet possible Anglo American at
tack in Western Europe, but they also
would like to make as many men availa-
BILE as possible for work in their war in
dustries to build up their munitionment
against the trials that will come with
the spring.
The gap between the Don and the
Volga, at Stalingrad, is the only open
gateway in this river line which the Ger
mans hope to hold and this is the prin-
cipal, though not the only. importance
which both they and the Russians at
tach to that city. If the Germans can
not take Stalingrad, they cannot attain
the defensive position for the winter
which would be most advantageous to
them and they may have to retire to a
much shorter line and one which would
not permit them to hold any great part
of the north Caucasian area.
We may, therefore, watch with the
most acute interest the progress Of the
Russian counterattack driving slowly
into this gap. 1t is necessary to point
out that so far in this war, Russian
counterattacks against organized German
positions have not been particularly sue
cessful Whenever the Germans have
had time, even q little time, to dig in,
they usually have been able to hold.
The reason for this is probably the Rus
sian shortage of the mechanical means
necessary for offensive operations, espe-
cially tanks and artillery on self
propelled mounts. The Russian strategy
has been excellent throughout the war.
but it frequently has lacked the tactical
means for executing its purpose. There
is, however. also to be noted the slow
swing Of the pendulum toward the de-
fensive.
In the beginning Of the war; during
the German attacks on Poland and
France, the Nazis' new offensive weapons
and tactics carried everything before
them, but, as always happens, mems
minds turned Immediately toward de-
vising defenses against the new forms
of attacks, and the old equilibrium be-
tween attack and defense is slowly re-
turning. Upon this fact the Germans
have been capitalizing. and it seems
likely that an appreciation of the in
creased powers of the defense lies be-
hind the speech which Hitler made
Wednesday.
The major task Of the United Nations
in the further prosecution of this war
is. indeed, to determine the methods by
which the German defenses may be over
come. The year 1943 will be one in which
we shall be generally on the offensive,
and that offensive, however perfectly it
may be designed from the point of view
of strategy, will have its final success de-
termined on the battlefield in accord
ance with the excellence of the tactical
AL h1, lob