Evening star., 1942-07-26

The deadlock between President
Nsers on war strategy is approaching an
end. The appointment of Admiral Will
liam D. Leahy as chief of staff to Pres
ident Roosevelt is regarded as an in
dication that the Commander in Chief
has decided that the time has come to
end civilian counsel on military matters.
Mr.. Roosevelts civilian advisers are
an influential group of men, They are
so advanced In their ideas Of the future
world that they look on the war as
little more than major incident leading
to far-reaching economic and social
changes.
Their military knowledge is, of course,
extremely limited. They regard naval
and military strategy as something which
must be subordinated to politics and in
ternational commitments. They incline
to the belief that fulfillment of certain
commitments is more vital for the future
OF America and the world than the ques-
tion Of whether we can effectively do so.
For this reason they find no criticism
OF Prime Minister Churchill's actions in
Norway and Greece. He had pledged
himself to come to the rescue of those
invaded countries and had to honor his
engagements, regardless Of the conse-
quences, which proved tragic in the end.
Want Early Intervention.
It Is this group Of advisers who believe
that all-out Intervention in Europe at
l.. {io1 v4n TO-
tors appear relatively inconsequential to
them. There is no harm In trying, they
say, and the fighting forces should fol-
low the motto, If at first you don't sue
ceed. try, try again"
The engagements undertaken by Great
Britain and the United States to help
the U. S. S. r. and to liberate the Nazi-
honored, they say, regardless of the
technical difficulties involved.
These men are, for the most part,
social reformers who gaze in admiration
at the progress made by their fellow
feformers in other countries. Some of
them look toward a better world after
the Axis is defeated world in which
the wolf and the lamb will lie down
together In another League of Nations,
located preferably in Washington.
Others do not 60 so far, but having a
restricted knowledge of geopolitics be-
lieve the only way to defeat Germany
is to invade her by going through France,
crossing the Rhine and occupying Berlin
with waving flags and beating drums.
How this is to be done Is the business Of
the professional soldier. Details are
inconsequential to them, provided the
Job is done.
The admirals and generals share fully
the viewpoint Of the Presidents civilian
advisers, that all possible assistance must
be given to Russia. They also believe
Hitler must be defeated and the Reich
invaded. But they point to insuperable
difnculties, such as the transportation
Of the half million men which would be
necessary 10 invade Europe.
They know. probably better than the
civilians, tnst our ship losses are so great
our yards cannot build enough to replace
them. They know how the Nazis have
fortified the territory between the At
lantic Coast and the Rhine, and also
how limited success we are likely to
have If we take the great plunge and
attempt to land somewhere on the coast
Of Western Europe.
Realized Our Mistake.
Until recently it was not considered
unwise to say that the Nazis were
through and that the Reich was rapidly
disintegratang But when it became
known that the authentic" stories about
Germanys disintegration came from
Propaganda Minister Goebbels' own Of
hces, we began to realize our mistake.
The Allied high command has known
these facts, OF course, and has never be-
iieved that the mere appearance OF sew
: eral hundred thousand men on the
shores Of France, Belgium or Norway
would cause the Reich to collapse On
the contrary, the Germans, knowing
what is in store for them when they are
beaten, would intensity their war effort.
Meanwhile, 1t would be tragic mis-
take for the United Nations to maintain
themselves on the defensive. Our mill
tary and naval strategists believe we
must take the offensive on the front